Acclaim for Our Wine
Ratings
Dijon Blocks Pinot Noir Ratings
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Ruby-red. Complex. perfumed bouquet of dark cherry, cassis, anise and Indian spices. Luscious black raspberry and kirsch flavors offer impressive depth and are enlived by zesty minerality. Gains energy and focus on the long, vibrant finish.
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Perfumed with floral and cherry notes, this wine draws you in from the start. . . . An elegant Pinot lover's Pinot.
- 90 Points - Bright red. Expressive, perfumed bouquet of blackberry, blueberry and cherry preserves, with an exotic suggestion of Asian spices. Lush and silky, with sweet red and dark berry flavors, a deeper note of cured tobacco, and gentle tannins. The sweet finish features a light hint of cured meat and excellent length. This is really vibrant and delicious.
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92 Points - A seductive style, very ripe and rich in flavor, with polished texture to carry the smoky, spicy black cherry and dark berry flavors through the long generous finish. Drink now through 2013.
- 89 Points - On the tart side, but rich in texture, offering tangy cherry, earth and exotic spice flavors, finishing on a smoky note.
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Deep cherry and leather aromas, with hints of cedar and vanilla; earthy fruit - dried cherries and plums - with black tea.
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Aromas of berry, black cherry and mint. Warm, bold, and rich on the palate with black cherry flavors in the finish. Focused and balanced; pair with roast leg of lamb.
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Oregon Pinot Noir just keeps getting better; this velvety beauty with hints of ripe black cherry will do your holiday table proud.
Estate Pinot Gris Ratings
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Silver Medal
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Silver Medal
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Outstanding. Over the past several years, few Oregon wineries have made wine as consistently delicious as Van Duzer in Dallas. Winemaker Jim Kakacek crafted this wine from estate grapes, and it's marvelous.It opens with aromas of pineapples, lemons and limes, followed by flavors of tropical fruits and citrus. It is perfectly crisp, never stepping over the line to bitter. Food matches: Enjoy with scallops, oysters or Dungeness crab.
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Great Oyster Wine - 2008 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition
- 88 Points - Light yellow. Fresh peach and melon aromas are underscored by white flowers and chalky minerality. Juicy, finely etched orchard fruit and melon flavors offer refreshing energy and finish with good lift and cut.
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3 Stars - Excellent - Top Rated Oregon Pinot Gris.Van Duzer's estate vineyard has the same average high daily temperatures as all of northern Willamette Valley, but its average lows are 13 degrees lower. Grapes there ripen later, developing more flavor while maintaining their natural acidity. That plays out in this wine, which features bright pineapple and green apple fruit and keeps evolving in the glass.
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Crab-friendly Pinot Gris - Edgy citrus and stone fruit are set off by an interesting minerality.
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Top 100 Wines - The Best in the West - Quite simply, our favorite American Pinot Gris this year, from two blocks in a cool-climate estate vineyard west of Salem, Ore. It takes a moment to open up, but then there's layers of bright lime and green apple offering a sharp-edged profile atop a dense texture on the palate. The finish is snappy and perfectly tuned.
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Refreshment in a bottle. Light, crisp, with bright peach, juicy green apple and honeyed citrus fruit. Come on 80 degree days!
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This wine is as alluring as the artist's rendering of Zephyra, a tribute to the westerly breezes that sail through the Van Duzer corridor. Jim Kakecek's release has Riesling-like floral notes and is heavy with orchard fruit. Stone fruit flavors with nice lime and tangerine citrus are joined by great acidity and a delicious finish of pears and pear peel bitterness.
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From one of Oregon's rising stars, this is pretty and dynamic, with slightly opulent aromas acacia and orange blossom. It's a wine with stuffing, pillow-soft on the tongue but with a precise definition and a juicy, clean finish.
- Fresh and lively, with peach and almond flavors that remain juicy through the refreshing finish.
- Van Duzer is an easy winery to recognize on the shelves because of its wildly colorful and whimsical label, but it's what's inside the bottle that makes this Willamette Valley winery memorable. Winemaker Jim Kakacek has a deft touch with Pinot Gris, and this new release is fantastic, thanks to approachable aromas of lilacs, tropical fruit and orange oil, followed by crisp flavors of peaches, melons and palate-cleansing grapefruits. Buy early and drink often.
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...utterly different from most Pinot Grigio: filled with ripe fruit, but tightly wound into a crisp, mineral and very refreshing whole that's one of the more satisfying American whites we've drunk in some time.
- Van Duzer, it seems, sometimes gets lost amid other Wilamette Valley wineries. But this Dallas, Ore., producer should not be overlooked because all it does is craft one delicious wine after another. Take, for example, this Pinot Gris, which exemplifies the Oregon version of this grape: aromas of minerals, white peaches and dried apricots, followed by graceful flavors of ripe apples and pineapples. Just a mere hint of sweetness is expertly balanced with refreshing acidity.
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We were hooked just watching the legs cling to the glass. The wine's light, fruity palate - with hints of pineapple and pear - and the crisp finish were simply a bonus.
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Light to medium bodied with honeydew melon, citrus, and mint; pleasant finish. Sole with lemon beurre blanc.
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Light, fruity nose, some melon and fruit cocktail aromas; dry, light fruity style, tangy pear flavors, lingering finish. Great for sipping or pairing with Asian-inspired cuisine.
Estate Pinot Noir Ratings
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A fleshy pinot noir with complex flavors. Notes of dried cherry, herbs and spice. Bright fruit. Balanced.
- Moderately light garnet color. Very attractive pure and bright aromas of dark red stone fruits and berries with a note of oak-derived roasted marshmallow in the background. Light in weight but flavorful, with attractive tastes of dark red fruits, earth, mushroom, and oak. Very silky and refreshing with an appealing gentleness.
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Silver Medal - Deep garnet hue. High-toned, mineral cola aromas have a pronounced gamey-earthy accent. A lean entry leads a drying, moderately full-bodied palate with firm, grippy tannins and fresh acidity. Tightly wound with a hint of "green". Should develop over the next couple years. Try with hearty seafood.
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Fragrant, expressive nose of fresh ripe strawberries, red raspberries. In the mouth you get similar flavors, though slightly more muted - starting with strawberry, raspberry, and cherry up front, eventually also deliverying some pomegraate, green notes and mild earth, before finally finishing with a hint of white chocolate and tart cranberry. Textre is smooth. Acidity is medium, tannins are soft. Alcohol is slightly noticeable at the very end, but in good balance with the fruit - it's not hot at all. With its slightly stemmy character, pure earthy fruit, and food-friendly astringency, it reminds me more of a Pinot Noir from Alsace than one from Burgundy or California. It's OK alone but much better with food. Match it with chicken dishes, turkey, lean sausage, gamey fish, charcuterie, saucisses, mild cheese plates.
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This Willamette Valley Pinot Noir offers classic Burgundy character. Big black cherry core, earthy underscoring, and hints of herbs like lavender and violet. The body is moderate, with a bracing tartness that pairs well with food. Thought very young, Van Duzer's Estate Pinot makes for reasonably easy drinking today, though I suspect a couple of years in the bottle will help mellow out some of its mild tannin and allow some of the flavor characters - which are right now a touch out of balance - to harmonize. Excellent wine for the price.
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A beautiful dark red garnet color meets the eye as the nose detects aromas of ripe red fruits and a subtle interplay of blackberry and black cherry.Complex spice notes derived from the Dijon clones and French oak barrels mingle with floral notes of violet and purple jasmine.This is not an astringent or aggressive wine, rather, soft-textured tannins greet the mouth. Integrated spicy oak marries with the fruit to carry through on a moderately long finish.
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Wine of the Week - I love the label! To me it captures the personality of the wine... playful, tempting, inviting, abundant. The Van Duzer is all of those and more. It's a great example of why Oregon and Pinot are a perfect pairing. And with so many good Pinot's now getting very pricey, this Estate bottled offering hits my "good value" meter. Add to that the fact that Van Duzer is into sustainable farming and this is a wine pick that's easy to make.
This wine delivers on the reason Pinot is a favorite. From the dark fruit aromas to the lucious feel in your mouth when you take a sip to the rich flavors of black cherry and crisply acidic finish, it's all Pinot Noir and it shows off why Oregon is America's Burgundy.Like Burgundy, there is the complexity that Pinot is know for, but also there's the All-American emphasis on letting the fruitiness lead the taste experience.
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Ruby-red. Ripe, gamey dark berry scents, with hints of aged beef, licorice and lavender. Rich cassis and cherry flavors show very good sweetness and are deepened by candied licorice and sweet mocha. Impressively lush and creamy on the finish, which features a bright raspberry note.
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I first tasted this wine at Beano's Cabin in Beaver Creek last year and I really enjoyed it. Though it was a romantic evening to begin with, the dark red garnet wine only heightened the night's charm. Thre are subtle aromas of blackberry and black cherry in this wine. In the mouth, bright fruit flavors stand out. The wine is anything but aggressive - all smooth tannins, soft textures and a creamy finish. In all, this is a very easy-drinking, pleasurable Pinot.
- Pacific Northwest Wine of the West - OUTSTANDING - Violets, blackberries, plum chutney, straw and a whiff of spicy/sweetness akin to H P Steak Sauce set the table for this deliciously structured Pinot Noir from winemaker Jim Kakacek. Huge blackberry flavors include toast and leather with a velvety touch, yet with enough tannin to even more greatly reward a bit of patience."Food matches: This will pair well with roasted meats or grilled vegetables. Keep a bottle around for the Thanksgiving table.
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Snap this one up quickly, it's the best Wilamette Valley Estate from Van Duzer ever. In our opinion, it's a better wine than the 91 point rated (WS) 2003 vintage. Oregon's 2004 vintage was more balanced than 2003, and Jim works his magic here to get every bit of ooomph out of Van Duzer's Estate Vineyard. The wine has a distinct hint of rose petals and violets in the nose, along with dominant black cherry, black currant, and a hint of spicy scent Flavors are first of rich black cherry and blackberry, with hints of boysenberry, black raspberry, currants, cinnamon, graham, white pepper, and lavender following on the long finish.
- Dark ruby-red. Deep, concentrated nose exudes pungent scents of cherry, damson plum, tobacco, dark chocolate, dry-aged beef and violet. Distinctly wild and gamey, with intense cherry, dark berry, anise and iron flavors supported by serious structure. This attention-grabbing, earthy, sweet wine demands full-flavored, fatty dishes. Scrape off the tripe and invite the in-laws!
- 91 Points - 2005 Annual Top Picks - Lithe, seductive and lingering, with lovely blueberry, cherry and currant flavors that point right through the long finish, shaded with hints of nutmeg and a floral note. Drink now through 2013.
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This is the second vintage running that this wine has garnered a great score. Still reasonably priced, this one has a great price-to-quality ratio! It's basically another jammy, rich, '03 fruit bomb. Seamless, lush, ready to wallow in.
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93 Points, Top 52 Ranked - Wow! A deep extraction of ruby-purple coated the glass as frisky aromas of cherry, strawberry preserves, rose petals, anise and figs all tried to jump out of it at once with colt-like glee. Mouth-filling flavors of red fruit, plum, molasses and cinnamon were supported by silky tannins as this able youngster continued all the way down the stretch with a lengthy finale of cherries, grapes and tannins."
- 91 points - Spectator Selections - Dramatically aromatic, brimming with black cherry, hinting at smoke and spices as the flavors play against firm tannins. Needs time to soften, then fasten your seatbelt.
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A west wind cools its vineyards, producing a pinot noir that brims with black cherry, smoke and spices.
- The Top 100 - Made entirely from the winery's 77-acre estate vineyard, this red represents a blend of three clonal selections - Dijon and Pommard from Burgundy and Wädenswil from Switzerland. It undergoes malolactic fermentation in a mix of new and used French oak barrels before being bottled.
Flagpole Block Pinot Noir Ratings
- Ruby-red. Deep, brooding aromas of cherry, plum and licorice. Broad and fleshy, offering concentrated dark fruit compote flavors, firm structure and a late note of espresso. With aggressive aeration a black raspberry note emerged. Winemake Jim Kakacek told me that he is dedicated to making wines for the long haul, and that this wine is a prime example of what he is after.
- . . . darker-colored and richer in style than any of the other Pinot Noirs in the lineup. I liked this one for its floral notes in the nose and on the palate. Nicely balanced, with a tangy finish featuring a citrus edge.
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90 Points - Dark red. Deep blackberry and cassis aromas are distinctly ripe, with exotic Asian spice notes adding complexity. Darker, liqueur-like kirsch and bitter chocolate flavors on the palate, with supple tannins and an earthy tobacco quality carrying through the finish. More weighty and serious than the Dijon Blocks; this will pair nicely with grilled lamb or aged beef.
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90 Points - Firm, with a sweet undercurrent of nicely focused blueberry, currant, and vanilla spice aromas and flavors that persists appealingly against the fine tannins. Best from 2007 through 2012.
- 91 Points - Ripe and spicy, a generous mouthful of plum, blueberry and currant flavors shaded with hints of bay leaf and earth, while ultrafine tannins frame the finish. Drink now through 2012.
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Oregon's Willamette Valley makes tasty, affordable pinot noir and pinot gris. This year, owners Carl and Marilynn Thoma and winemaker Jim Kakacek are releasing three vineyard designate wines. The wines represent the best of the harvest in each specific vineyard. The melodic wines are beautiful collaborations between fruit and forest, with long, gentle tannins. Excellent to sip in the quiet of the evening or alongside lamb, duck or salmon. I love these wines.
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This is a very nice Pinot Noir, with good, spicy aromatics (beetroot, clove) and bright cranberry-strawberry flavors. Even better, the wine has good acidity not unlike a red burgundy, and while the fruit is solid, it's not overripe and heavy like so many California Pinot Noirs.
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90 points - Medium-deep ruby purple color; deep spice, black cherry aromas, slightly closed on nose; big, full flavored, lots of black cherry, spice and an earthy component on the palate, nice structure with a lingering finish. While it's drinking well now, this Pinot will reward patience.
Homestead Block Pinot Noir Ratings
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Great wine for a summer patio BBQ with salmon or poultry. Refreshing acidity with bright fruits. Food Pairings: Star anise braised lamb, grilled salmon.Very well balanced with dark cherry aromas . . . The velvety finish on the palate lingered. It went fantastically with a pork dish I created, that was a Coffee and Cocoa encrusted Pork Tenderloin cooked on a mesquite plank.Cindy Hutson, Ortanique on the Mile, Corla Gables, FloridaIt took me 5 minutes to taste the wine because I was enjoying the nose so much. This is a perfect Oregon Pinot. The smell immediately transformed me to another place, maybe Burgundy. Food Pairings: Bass with butter sauce, grilled lamb with chimi chusi, raw tuna with raw quail egg, spicy sauce.Sean Huggard, Black Pearl and Encore on Colfax, Denver, Colorado
- Moderately dark reddish-purple color. Darkly fruited aromas, particularly mu shu plum sauce and black raspberries, draw you into the glass. Earth-dusted black fruits cascade through the palate still encased in noticeable but refined tannins. Oak plays a supporting role in the background. A full-bodied fruit-driven wine displaying the appealing smooth texture characteristic of all the Van Duzer Pinot Noirs.
This wine is still a Lolita and will benefit from even further cellaring. Decant if you can’t wait.
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Recommended Pretty floral, red cherry, and graham aromas are fresh in the nose.
Youthful flavors of black cherries are accented by notes of dust earth, cola and dried rose petals on the tongue. An interesting amalgam of fruit, spice, and floral qualities gives this Pinot plenty of character. Allow it time in the glass to open before serving with boeuf bourguignon.
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Recommended - Always a big wine, made from juicy, silky lush old vine (24 year) Pommard vines, less than 300 cases of this big wine were made. The original farm house was built on this plot, ths the "Homested" designation.
Note that 12.6% alcohol, quite low for an Oregon Pinot noir, and makes this wine about flavor, not "kick."
Big, weighty, this wine takes its time opening up but rewards with big flavors. Scents of rose, hibiscus, and violet mingle with hints of black cherry, cedar, barrel toast and mint. Flavors restate the sentents, and add off-the-charts intense juicy dark cherry, with cedar, sweet oak and creamy pie spices adding to a classic Pinot "meaty" quality. The meaty, savory, massive quality steps into the background with age and aeration, opening up to those rich red and black cherry flavors we love in a Pommard.
This is a big, weighty wine. It's tight and young, needs cellaring or, if you must, lengthy decanting to show itself at its best right now. There are very finegrained, silky tannins in the creamy finish.
The balance and layered flavors make this wine our favorite of the last three vintages, especially for cellaring. Drink from 2008 - 2014 - comparable to much more expensive Pinots with aging.
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89 Points - Big and rawboned for a Pinot Noir, with plum and berry flavors against an alcoholic feel, picking up savory meaty notes as the finish persists. Best after 2007.
- 92 Points - Plump and generous, brimming with currant, white pepper and spice flavors that linger beautifully on the fine-grained finish. Impressive for its persistence without apparent weight. Drink now through 2012.
- Deep, brooding aromas of black cherry, plum, and cola. Big, warm, and opulent, with concentrated flavors of black fruit and plum. Round and well balanced, with a note of black tea in the long finish. Serve with pomegranate/molasses-glazed roast duck.
Pinot Noir Rosé Ratings
- . . . just wonderful for summer—a dry Rosé of Pinot Noir, flavors of tart pie cherries, summer herbs, caraway, and fresh strawberry on the finish. Have this wine chilled on a hot summer day wit barbequed chicken and a big salad, and you’ll think you’ve gone to heaven. Just delish and highly recommended.
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Refreshing, bright flavors of fresh strawberry, hibiscus and a hint of mineral glide across your palate. This dry, yet very drinkable rosé will complement a variety of fresh summer dishes.
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Try on Something Pink for Summer. . . after years of staying away from anything pink, both of us are among the many drinkers who have recently come around to favor bone-dry rosés, sending these well-made, complex wines to their own height of popularity.Right in the middle, the 2007 Van Duzer Pinot Noir Rosé from Oregon's Willamette Valley is medium-bodied and well balanced, pairing beautifully with grilled chicken, salmon or tuna.
- 88 Points - Pale pink. Intense strawberry and raspberry aromas are brightened by piquant minerals and orange zest. The palate displays red berries and guava, with firm acidity providing lift and cut to the finish. An elegant, brisk style, and ideal for aperitif duty.
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Dry rosés also work exceptionally well in the fall, their plump, lip-smacking textures matching perfectly with many types of food. . . . one to seek out is the intensely floral Van DUzer Pinot Noir Rosé, scented with rose petal and strawberries.
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A perfect wine to pair with grilled salmon or any other seafood is the Van Duzer Pinot Noir Rosé. It’s a beautiful fuchsia-tinged pink shade and has beguiling aromas of guava, strawberry, cherry and raspberry telegraph the wine’s Pinot Noir parentage, notably the Dijon 777 and Wädensville Pinot Noir grapes, with contributions from Dijon 115 and 667. Faint hints of clove and cinnamon spring from the three Dijon clones in the wine.
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A dusky salmon pink rosé from Willamette Valley keeps all those strawberry/cranberry/limestone notes in check with finely structured balance. Pour this one after an afternoon spent on the sidelines of a hot and windy soccer game.
- 3 Stars - Rather than making the pink wine with a random selection of grapes, winemaker Jim Kakacek chose a particular block of Pommard clone Pinot Noir for its fruit intensity and floral character. The flowers are subtle; what we liked was the wild strawberry and watermelon fruit, along with the soft mouthfeel and citrusy finish.
- Top 100 - The Best of the West Rare is the vintner who devotes vineyard blocks to rosé, but Jim Kakacek set aside a specific portion of Pommard clone grapes and gave them just five hours of skin contact. The result is gorgeous: subtle white flowers, sachet and wild strawberries on the nose, followed by a radiant sweet fruit overtone in this fully dry wine, and an enveloping texture that balances the high-toned acidity.
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Outstanding! Here's a perfect wine for spring and summer lunches and picnics. This Rosé's brilliant pink hue invites further exploration, setting you up for aromas of cherries and strawberries that extend to the palate. It's bone dry with crisp acidity, yet its fruit-driven flavors provide a lush commentary across the palate. Pair this with a fruit and cheese plate or a platter of fresh seafood.
Vintner's Cuvée Pinot Noir Ratings
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Recommended Deep ruby-garnet hue. Spicy, high-toned, minerally red berry aromas have an earthy undertone. A lean entry leads a drying, medium-bodied palate with a taut structure and drying tannins through the finish. A lighter style with an herbaceous edge. Try with Chevre.
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Vintner’s Cuvée Paired with Entrée in O Chicago wine consultant Cathy Mantuano collaborated with her husband, Spiaggia chef Tony Mantuano, to create five recipes for the January issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Her wine pairings on Oprah.com recommended Van Duzer Vintner’s Cuvée for Chickpea and Olive Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette.Mantuano liked the compatibility of Vintner’s Cuvée Pinot Noir with “the sweet, salty and spicy elements” in the salad. “It has a wonderfully soft, velvety texture, strong notes of blackberry and currant, aromas of plum and gentle spice, and a long, persistent finish.”
- Complex aromatic profile of dark raspberries and plums, smoky oak, spice and graham. Moderately rich dark fruits with a hint of root beer and oak in the background. Soft tannins and a very pleasing smooth mouth feel. A solid daily drinker
- 2009 Best Oregon Value Pinot Noir
- 88 Points Deep ruby. Wild, smoky aromas of dark cherry, blackcurrant, raw meat, animal fur and espresso. Round and sweet, with flavors of deep, dark fruit compote, smoky herbs and rare meat. Gains depth and freshness with air, finishing broad and long.
Windfall Oregon Port Ratings
- Best Dessert Wine
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This is an engaging wine with hints of gingerbread, German spice cookies, figs and rich flavors of chocolate raspberries and Amaretto cherries with very firm tannins.
