2006 Hamacher Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Eric Hamacher grew up in my hometown of Carmel, California and has made wine at Chalone, the moved north to work at Etude, before following his personal path to Mecca and ending up making wines in the Willamette Valley. Eric fell in love with the place and the style of Pinot Noir they could achieve there, finding the near perfect balance between old and new world. If you get a chance to tour the Willamette Valley region, you should look him up at the Carlton Winemakers Studio where he makes his wines in a state-of-the-art facility along with some other young talents, you will be rewarded, I promise. 2006 was a Pinot drinker’s vintage in Oregon where near perfect conditions and warm harvest gave big rich wines, with bold ripe flavors. Eric’s amazing 2006 Pinot has it all, lush textures, layers of dark fruit, flowery perfume and a super long finish. The fruit explodes on the palate with blackberry, cherry, plum and currant, before touches of spice, mocha, mineral, smoke and vanilla come through in the background. This wine has it all and then some, while Eric himself like the more delicate lighter vintages, I am a huge fan of Oregon’s 2006 vintage and this might be one of my top choices! ($45-50 Est.) 94+ Points, grapelive
