Beaux Freres The Beaux Freres Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018 (750ML)

95 WS / 95 VM / 94+ WA / 94 JS

#9 Wine Spectator Top 100 2020

A wine of presence and expression, impeccably structured yet elegantly layered, with evocative raspberry, rose petal and brown baking spice notes that pick up richness and tension toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2029. 

Beaux Frères has helped set the standard for modern Pinot Noir in Oregon since its founding in the late 1980s, part of the second generation of Willamette Valley wineries. Founder Mike Etzel is not hands-on in the cellar these days, but son Mike D. Etzel and his team haven’t lost a beat. This 2018 is the wine of the vintage to date, from a year that had its challenges. The 24-acre Beaux Frères Vineyard is planted to a mixture of Pommard, Wädenswil and newer Dijon clones on a steep south-facing slope on Ribbon Ridge, a sweet spot in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. The winemaking consists of wild-yeast fermentation and aging one year in French oak, about 40 percent of which is new. - TF, Wine Spectator

Brilliant ruby. Intense red and blue fruit, floral and spice qualities on the highly perfumed nose, along with hints of cola and licorice. Juicy and precise, offering concentrated raspberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors that take on a five-spice-powder nuance with air. Plays power off delicacy with a sure hand and finishes extremely long and silky, with polished tannins framing lingering red fruit and candied rose notes. 45% new oak. - Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media

The medium ruby-purple colored 2018 Pinot Noir The Beaux Frères Vineyard opens to lush rhubarb, cranberries and loamy earth with layers of blood orange, tea leaves, charcuterie and flowers. The medium-bodied palate offers broody, concentrated fruits with fine earth and spice accents, with a seamless, silky frame and lifted finish. - Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate

This is a blend of twelve parcels from around Willamette Valley. Rich, dark and deeply intense aromas of spicy red plums and wild cherries with sappy notes, as well as forest wood and pomegranate. The palate has taut tannin texture and a rich array of ripe dark plums and a fine yet firm build on the finish. Long and approachable now. Drink or hold. - James Suckling