Region: Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon

Vintage: 2018

Composition: 100% Pinot Noir

History: 22 years ago, Betz Family Winery was founded on a core principle: the relentless pursuit of the highest quality vineyard sites, paying attention to every vineyard detail, then allowing time in the cellar for the slow evolution of characteristics unique to each plot. The French have a saying for this emphasis on the vineyard as the prime mover for wine quality and character, “Sous Nous,” meaning “below us.” We believe that the soul of our wine is not in the cellar…it is below us in the messy mix of earth and vine. This search for unique expressions of site and variety, or “Sous Nous,” has led us through the finest Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, and Grenache plantings throughout Washington. He took us to the ancient dry-grown bush vines of Chenin Blanc in South Africa. And now, it has led us to a new and perhaps inevitable destination: limited-production bottlings of Pinot Noir from exceptional single vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Tasting Notes:

“Smoky mulberries, darker cherry fruits, and earthy spice, toast, and violet notes emerge from the 2018 Pinot Noir Saffron Fields Vineyard. It’s one of the bigger wines in the lineup, offering medium to full body, a layered, seamless texture, and ripe, impressive tannins.” – Jeb Dunnuck.

Awards: 94pts Jeb Dunnuck