The Resonance Vineyard has been one of the Willamette Valley's gems for some time. It is perhaps less well known than places like Shea or Temperance Hill, owing to its small size, but it has long produced wines of intensity and focus and has overtime become synonymous with the name Peter Rosback and Sineann Wines.
The vineyard has long been organic and is certified biodynamic; it was planted in 1981 by the Chambers Family. A warm site in the cool Yamhill Carlton AVA. In addition to the Sineann Wines, there have been well received bottlings from Big Table Farm and Lemelson from fruit from Resonance Vineyard. The vineyard is on its own rootstock and includes nineteen acres of Pinot Noir including the clones Pommard, Wädenswil, and Dijon 777 as well as a bit of Gewurztraminer (one and a half acre).
The wines from this site are always single vineyard bottling material. The Resonance Vineyard fruit reliably produces wines of intense elegance. There's a mineral emphasis, a core of layered fruit and perhaps what makes it stand out the most is the incredible, refined structure. The site is a Willamette Valley original, while perhaps not as old as a handful of plantings by the pioneers, it is certainly among the Valley's founding vineyard sites.
All of these features caught the eye and perhaps more importantly the palate of the folks at Louis Jadot, the famed Burgundy negociant. A winery that has been in operation since 1859 and in the business of vineyard acquisition since 1826. This then is high praise for the potential they see in Oregon and in the Resonance Vineyard. This is a site that has always made notable wines and so in getting their foot in the door the folks at Jadot went straight to one of the Willamette's gems.
After forty two years heading up the wine production at Jadot, Jacques Lardière decided it was time to retire. However that retirement was short-lived and he was called into service by Jadot to head to the Yamhill-Carlton AVA and head up the stateside production. These are the only wines and the only vineyard Jadot has ever made outside of France. Lardière is producing the wines but also keeping tabs on the vineyard and learning about what makes Oregon so special. The wines are being made at the Trisateum facility initially, but they will likely continuing growing their Oregon presence and footprint.
In the first wine that the Jadot has produced you have a perfect blend of what is purely Oregon with a winemaker who has for a long time made very classic Burgundy. The wine is stunning.
2013 Résonance Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton AVA
This is a really incredible first go at Oregon Pinot Noir by the uber talented Burgundian winemaker Jacques Lardière. This Pinot Noir is ripe certainly but it's richness is not in a rounded character so much as an intensity of elegance and minerality. Aromas of violets, fresh turned earth, crushed stone and clove. The palate is intensely focused and beautifully structured. Freshness of fruit pulsates through the wine's flavor profile, ripe blackberry and hints of fresh fennel around a core of mineral driven, black fruit. $65
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