Grapelive Daily Pick
By Kerry Winslow
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2008 Ken Wright Pinot Noir “Carter Vineyard” Willamette Valley, Oregon. *New release.
Ken Wright and Beaux Freres are the small iconic estates in the Willamette Valley that wine lovers and collectors can’t seem to get enough of. Ken Wright’s Pinots are elegant, balanced and show terroir very well and clearly, especially as he sources from many unique sites and many different AVA’s in the region. His classic sites for me are Shea and now this wine from the Carter Vineyard. After a lean year in 2007, the 2008 vintage is classic Oregon and shows all that is great about the region and its Burgundy like character, the Carter Vineyard is like Shea, with complex rich flavors and terroir, and it should fill out nicely for the next few years and even drinks great now. The nose is bright and fresh with a bouquet of roses and minerally red fruits and asian spices, before a rich and round palate of black cherry, bramble berry, plum and tangy red berry, with hints of sweet oak, smoke, earth and vanilla.($55-60 Est.) 93-94 Points, grapelive