2022 Lange Winery Pinot Noir Members Only Dundee Hills 750 ml

The conversation started on a warm spring day, on the deck overlooking Jesse Lange’s home vineyard. The backdrop was a snow-capped Mount Hood, 70+ miles in the distance but looking like you could reach out and touch it. Our table was already strewn with glasses when Jesse brought out an unmarked bottle.

He poured a ruby-red Pinot pulled straight from the barrel, only a few weeks away from being bottled. It was fantastic. But knowing Jesse’s methods—he’s famous for assembling his Pinots slowly, selecting from hundreds of lots over a period of months—we knew it was far from what we’d taste in the final blend. 

We were bold enough to ask for a trip into the barrel room to taste a little more. And that's when we got to talking.

Three hours later, we had a plan. And three visits later, we had put together the 2022 Lange Estate Members Only Pinot, our first-ever custom Pinot. Think of it as an NDA wine, but with no NDA. 

“This is the backyard where David Lett and Dick Erath started our industry in the 70s,” Jesse said, gesturing to the hills surrounding his family’s estate. No boasting, just facts: To sit at Lange Estate is to be in the cradle of the Willamette Valley’s wine industry. 

The clonal mix brings out the beautiful red-fruited side of the Langes’ Dundee Estate. “There's a lot of triple-seven and a splash of 115 in there,” Jesse explained. “And Pommard—it's one of the heritage clones here in the valley, so along with Wadenswil, it’s got more like the head-filling aromatics, really high toned. And I think with this 2022 the undercurrent of Pommard is really well represented.”