The 10s were 10s they said, somehow, through all of that.
The other factor at play was the impeding rain storms. Few vintages, even cool wet years are marked with a nearly universal end date. For 2010 it was October 23rd. The valley saw serious storms that day that lasted a few days, that was more or less the end of harvest 2010. Fortunately, most of October was just about perfect, and so, it may be argued are the Pinot Noirs.
The previous cool vintage for Oregon to that point was 2007 and while those remain my favorites, what made them starkly different from the 2010s was that the 2007s were not so obviously fantastic so early. The 2010s were such a darling because the media loved them, from the jump. The same media that more or less damned 2007 loved the 2010s for the same characteristics, only the media has zero patience and the 2010s were good for people with the patience of a 5 year old, people like Harvey Steiman.
In 2013 I wrote this about the 2010s I had been tasting: Alcohol levels are low across the board but the wines were plenty ripe from a flavor standpoint, thanks to that long hang-time and the lower yields, many vineyards produced half of what they would in a normal year. The result generally, is medium bodied wine, with lots of red and blue fruits, and really fine, pretty tannin structures. As great as they're drinking now, the acidity allows you to hold onto some favorites, it appears to be a very age worthy vintage.
As it turns out, I'd have the opportunity to taste through the vintage, across the valley, nearly three years later to see how they were doing. Willamette Valley Vineyards is one of the Valley's greatest champions. Not in that they like one a contest, but in how they conduct themselves. I liken them to the role that Chateau Ste Michelle plays in Washington state, while they are a fraction of the size of CSM. Like that big winery in Washington, Jim Bernau is committed to the quality not just of his wines, but of his region. Willamette Valley Vineyards makes quality wines across the board, but more than that, they use their resources for good, not just their good, but the good of the rest of the Oregon Pinot industry. They're also concerned with the good of my curiosity and to that end sent my a cross section of the Willamette Valley in 2010, a study in that instantly delicious vintage, and an opportunity to see how it's fared. (For brevity's sake I am going to start using WVV, I'm not paid by the word, in fact, I'm not paid, which is a great explanation for why you don't see me publishing nearly as much as I used to on this site.)
The winery has plenty of estate fruit but they also do an AVA series bottling to showcase the site specificity all across the Willamette Valley.
Let's start in the north and work our way southward.
2010 Willamette Valley Vineyards, Ribbon Ridge AVA
Ribbon Ridge along the Chehalem Mountain AVA mark the coolest parts of the Willamette Valley and are reliably earthy, at least in my experience. This 2010 bottling from WVV is from Redman Vineyard, which was a bit of a surprise to me because I was unaware that the New Jersey rapper had any stake in vineyards in Oregon, or anywhere for that matter. There's a lot to like in this wine, the structure comes to the fore, with great tannin and texture. This was a cool vintage but the palate is mouth filling and elegant, not the least bit meek, while it remains a bit angular. Aromas of brambleberry, turned earth and dried violets and a palate that is a core of blue fruit, wrapped in earthen minerality and dried fig.
2010 Willamette Valley Vineyards, Yamhill Carlton AVA
In the Yamhill-Carlton AVA the closest thing to a rapper is probably Byron Dooley and he owns the Luminous Hills vineyard which is one of the AVA's most dynamic. It's a kaleidoscope of soil types and exposures and as a result allows him to grow fruit with a variety of different characteristics. I tasted Byron's own 2010 bottling in 2013 from this vintage and it's interesting to taste the wine from a different winemaker and winery. The aromatics on this wine include a fair bit of clove and maybe even a note of cinnamon, all backed with a sweet blueberry note. The palate is more of an intensity of fruit than it's northern (sort of) counterpart. Flavors of black plum, fennel and a slight kiss of fresh mint that brings on the finish.
2010 Willamette Valley Vineyards, Dundee Hills AVA
The Dundee Hills is pretty much the sweet spot for the whole Willamette Valley, it's damn near the bullseye and it's of course where David Lett set-up shop and paved the way for the best wine in all of America (Oregon Pinot Noir), if you ask me anyways. The Dundee Hills bottling from WVV is out of the Winter's Hill vineyard, which is just west of the Stoller estate. This is an impressive wine from one of the Valley's greatest AVAs, it is so loaded with floral and mineral aromas as to make you think it came from the Chehalem Mountain AVA. Red fruit intensity and minerality mark the palate of this wine, which I imagine was singing upon release. The structure has further buoyed it over time.
2010 Willamette Valley Vineyards, McMinnville AVA
Heading south to McMinnville AVA we land in the Momtazi vineyard, another growing site in the valley that has established a reputation for excellence. The vineyard itself is managed using holistic farming that integrates a lot of biodynamic practices. The wine shows up, six years on, with outstanding structure, and intense aromas of moss, earth and dried fig. Flavors of candied blueberry, herbs and soaring acidity.
2010 Willamette Valley Vineyards, Elton Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills AVA
The WVV has most of its vineyard holdings in the Eola-Amity hills area around Salem, and so it makes sense that this is the first of the their single vineyard serious that is from estate fruit. There's an intensity of blue and black fruit aromas, dusty blackberry and clove. The palate is rich, lush and full of fruit. Black cherry, currant and black plums along with clove and cola notes. The finish is elegant, fresh and lively.
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