I was all set to open up the '07 WestREY Justice Pinot…but my neighbor just had to bring over the 2001 Hamacher Pinot Noir Willamette Valley for a game of Scrabble. According to the back label, this includes grapes of the Mantia, Durant, Manuella, Shea, Brunker-Hall and Anderson vineyards.
The ruby color is rusting a bit, the perfume maturing and a touch bottle sweet with lovely integrated black cherry, mushroom, dried leaf, tea and spice all integrated and seamless. I really enjoyed smelling this wine over a couple of hours. In the mouth it’s softly tannic with pretty cherry, spice and mushroom flavors. There’s good length and nothing sticks out. It’s just seamless Hamacher pinot that rides the line between Oregon and Burgundy, without any candy sweetness but perhaps lacking the structure something from Burgundy. What a delicious, elegant Oregon pinot noir that’s ready to go but should hold a few years yet. Thanks Jamie.