2023 Sandstone Pinot Noir

Tasting Notes:

Our third release of the Soil Series shows off Willakenzie's signature core of deep blackberry, black cherry, and black currant with anise and floral layers. Waves of silky fruit and spice hit your palate with notes of creme de cassis and subtle earthiness. 330 cases made

Our Soil Series Pinot Noir

Here in the Willamette Valley, we are blessed with an ideal combination of exciting soils and a perfect climate for growing Pinot Noir. The cool climate creates an ideal situation for Pinot Noir to showcase the uniqueness of our impressive array of soils found throughout the valley. Each year we’ll pick one soil type out and blend multiple vineyards of the same soil together to create a delicious, small-production SOIL SERIES Pinot Noir.

Our third Soil Series release is named “Sandstone,” and represents some of the oldest soils found in the Willamette Valley. Our region's sandstone soils were deposited in deep, cold oceans between 20-40 million years ago. It is primarily found close to the coast range and areas that have been lifted and exposed by tectonic movement. These areas, namely the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, and Ribbon Ridge AVA, are famous for their free-draining sandstone bedrock soils stressing the vines into producing bold, dark-fruited wines packed with loads of black fruit characteristics, such as black cherry, blackberry, and black currant.

Pike Road Pinot Noir is hand-picked and hand-sorted then fermented in small open-top stainless steel tanks. Our Soil Series Pinot Noir is barrel-aged for 9 months in mainly neutral French oak barrels to highlight the soil's impact on the wine. 

The 2021 Vintage

The 2021 vintage was an exceptional year. The timing of weather events was key to our success in 2021. We experienced a bit of rainfall during bloom which helped to lower yields by producing some hens and chicks (variable-sized berries). Then a historic heat event happened during late June which brought worrisome temperatures at a time that luckily did not result in any damage to our grape crop. Growth resumed normally once temperatures cooled with average heat from July through September bringing even ripening to the plentiful small, loose clusters. For Pinot Noirs, expect intense color and flavors bursting out of the glass, while white wines and rosés are fruit-forward with great acidity and balance.