2021 Martin Woods Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard
– “Willamette Valley Red Wine of the Vintage” (Decanter)
– His Chambolle-Musigny Vineyard
– Nose: Stunning Aromas- Sweet and Spicy Red Cherries
– Strawberry. Blackberry
– Deep and Penetrating
– World Class Clarity
– So Complex and Expansive
– So Refined and Gorgeous
– Deep Fruit and a Lipstick-Like Intensity
– Palate is Awesome
– Elegant and Refined
– Top Notch Energy and Linearity
– Tiny Cherry Berry Fruit Intensity
– Concentrated and Super Complex
– 97 Points Decanter & “Willamette Valley Red Wine of the Vintage”.
2019 Martin Woods Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard
– 97 Points WA
– “Detailed and silky” (WA)
– “the palate is bursting with waves of concentrated, nuanced fruit, energized by mouthwatering acidity” (WA)
2017 Martin Woods Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard
– Shows What This Wine Can Do with Age
– Drinking Beautifully
Why do people not trust me when it comes to wines from Oregon?
This intro is going to be long and ranty as sometimes if a wine person stakes out a position in the wine business as a fan or promoter of X or Y region then that’s tied around your leg like a weight for your entire wine existence. I love German and French wine and that’s what I am most associated with and that’s great. I am also trying to make a name for myself in Swiss and Italian wine and that seems to be going very well. But god forbid I try and expand to new regions, some people say, I don’t know, Oregon wine, and that’s hung around my neck like an albatross. It’s to be frank, very annoying as for what I look for in all wines is the same. Freshness, balance, acidity, ripe fruit but not too ripe and for a transparency that exhibits the terroir. A classicism. I don’t like vulgar, oaky or high alcohol wines. And I don’t sell them or promote them. It’s that simple. So why do people not trust me when it comes to wines from Oregon? Yes we don’t sell as much of our one Oregon estate as all the other estates and it’s crazy to me as Martin Woods is a brilliant estate and the wines compete with all my terrific French and German estates. Actually Martin Woods is the most underrated estate we work with. It’s not close. Evan is a superstar winemaker.
I will be proven correct as time goes on like I was for Jean Marc Bouley, Francois Buffet, Pierre Brisset, Marie Demets (you’ll see!), Perseval Farge, Thorle, Steinmetz and on and on.
Stephen Bitterolf of Vom Boden Sells Them Too
You know you else has a track record? Stephen Bitterolf of Vom Boden, the national importer of mostly German wines. Stephen and I worked together at Crush and me, him and Joe Salamone were in an informal tasting group as we kind of all share the same palate. This was around 2005-2008. Now Stephen has a very successful import company and guess who he picked up recently? Yes, Martin Woods! Did you see Terry Theise and Rudi Wiest out there promoting Kalin Cellars or Dunn and sharing them? Of course not as they disliked each other first of all and were also in a brutal competition. Terry was all about sweet German wines and Rudi was all about dry German wines (but had some sweet). Terry at one point said German winemakers were “raping the sugar out of the wines to make them dry!” As I said a brutal competition. But as time marches on so does progress and I am writing about Stephen in an email. How far we have all come. Stephen has a great palate and he was blown away by Martin Woods as was I. When Evan came to town this last February Stephen came to my house and we all tasted together and it was a brilliant tasting. Now Stephen is doing what I can’t, which is getting Evan’s wines on the lists of the top restaurants in NYC and the country. My emails will help him as it will bring more awareness as there are tons of sommeliers on my list and that will help Evan and me by selling more wines. It’s a win-win-win. Coopetition I guess it’s called. So two of the top German wine importers in the country both sell this one Oregon estate. Stephen has a handful of other domestic wineries as well and this is my only one.
Can both of us be wrong?
No.
Why?
Because we aren’t wrong. We are right.We believe in Evan and his wines like nothing else. And with that I’ve given you a peek behind the curtain and now to get to today’s wines.
Martin Woods – A Man and His Vineyards
In the United States, we are so accustomed to thinking about the style of winemakers and often not much else. In Europe, of course, any discussion of a winemaker is intertwined with the vineyards where they work.
And so we spend a lot of time looking overseas for wine that reflects terroir. And rightly so. But here, under our noses in Oregon is a winemaker who is terroir focused, who is dedicated to giving us wines that are of a similar approach but all different.
I know that many of our Burgundy lovers are starting to love the wines of Martin Woods. I decided to give a quick rundown of his Pinot Noir vineyards. If you love Burgundy, you should try them all.
Jessie James Vineyard is the Romanee Conti as if it had a magic you can not put your finger on. It’s energetic, structured, silky and sweet and easily the most compact and complete wine in the lineup.
Bednarik Vineyard is the La Tache with its super hedonistic fruit and its seemingly unlimited supply of energy. It i sapid and has brilliant tiny berry fruit intensity.
Hyland (today’s vineyard) is the Chambolle-Musigny as it has profound sweet fruit allied with a haunting ethereal quality that is unmatched in the lineup.
Today I have 3 wines as Evan has kindly opened his cellar to me for some back vintages.
The Wines
The 2021 Martin Woods Pinot Noir “Hyland Vineyard” can be had for $52.99 a bottle today on a 3-pack and it’s just a stunning stunning bottle of Pinot. Of course it can age but If there is a Pinot in the lineup to drink young it is this one.
Stunning aromas. Sweet and spicy red cherries. Strawberry. Blackberry. Deep penetrating aromas with world class clarity. Spice cake. Angel food cake. Elite bubble gum. Herbs. So complex and expansive. Mid season cherry, smoke, herbs, deep fruit, tea, spice and just the most perfect sour cherry. This is so refined and gorgeous. The refinement of the aromas only grows with air. So so fine. As it airs the florals become wacky. Deep fruit and a lipstick-like intensity. Also some dark ripe black and red plums develop. After some air gorgeous florals develop on the nose. Nose has deep Xmas spice on the second pour. Gorgeous and so so deep. Day 2 even better! A gorgeous deep nose of spice and minerals. Really deep cherry and cranberry. Strawberry.
Palate is awesome. Palate is elegant and refined with intense sour cherry fruit and substantial structure and tannins. The energy and linearity are top notch. Really fine. Such terrific tiny cherry berry fruit intensity. Concentrated and super complex with terrific purity and freshness. The freshness and energy here are top top notch. Awesome velvety tannins andjuicy, tart cherry fruit with just huge volume and density but so fine and refined. Massive tiny berry fruit intensity builds on the finish. Really light color like a Bertheau Chambolle. Decadent sweetness and so compact and fresh but finishes with that tart tiny berry fruit intensity and almost a hit of cherry gumdrop. Just so pure. A genius wine.
On day 2, palate is juicy, loosey-goosey, Lacey and ethereal. So finesse-driven today. Juicy, clean and ripe, super mineral driven. Great. Drink now until 2040.
“Evan Martin’s 2021 Hyland Pinot Noir shows masterfully but promises to get even better in time. From the dry-farmed old vines at 200m in the McMinnville AVA comes a wine of purity, finesse and elegance. Fresh, mineral and full of life, the aromatics hint at early-season bright raspberry, crushed stone and violets, all expressed with an underlying verve and electricity. The palate is simply beautiful. Elegant and supple, accented by ripe yet energetic berry fruits, and a minerality savouriness that show a great depth and complexity with many years to unravel.” – 97 Points Decanter
Please remember, I only have five cases of the 2021 to offer, which I’m pulling from my library for you. I have up to 10 cases each of the 2017 and 2019 available to you. 2019 has a 97-point score from the Advocate. 2021 is Decanter 97-point “Willamette Valley Red Wine of the Vintage”. The 2017 is aging gorgeously with lots of life ahead of it.
I also have 2019 Martin Woods Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard for $56.99 a bottle on a 3-pack and this got 97 points by the Wine Advocate and the review is below.
“The 2019 Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard comes from self-rooted vines planted in 1989. It was vinified with about 15% whole clusters and matured for 14 months. It has layered aromas of kirsch, pipe tobacco, tea leaves and Angostura bitters, offering something new with each return to the glass. Detailed and silky, the palate is bursting with waves of concentrated, nuanced fruit, energized by mouthwatering acidity, and it has a compellingly long finish with a fan of spicy accents.”
97 Points, WA, Erin Brooks
I also have 2017 Martin Woods Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard for $59.99 a bottle on a 3-pack and it shows what these can do with age.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your firstorder if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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