Lange Winery Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018
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Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir has aromas of blueberry, blackberry, savoryherbs, spice cake, crushed stone and flavors of huckleberry, blueberry compote,cocoa powder. The body has velvety tannins build to a firm, commanding finish of mineral tones, baking spice, and cigar box.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Impressively fresh aromas of red cherries and cherry pie with a stony and leafy edge, hints of chalk and raspberry compote. The nose is very expressive with some more cryptic flashes. The palate has the same dichotomy with such plush, ripe red cherries to start out with. It has a supple, succulent feel with a sense of levity in this warmer vintage. Then, the velvety mid palate builds to a firm, commanding yet fine finish, reminding us where we really are. Power with purpose here. Best from 2023.
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Wine Enthusiast
The first bottle was lightly corked, which dampened the fruit and attenuated the finish. The second bottle was fine, with a mix of mulberry, blueberry and plum, along with ample backing acidity. Aged in 40% new French oak, it's likely to benefit from a couple more years of cellaring.
Other Vintages
2019-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine
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Suckling
James
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Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine
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Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine
More than thirty years ago, Don and Wendy Lange founded their winery in the Dundee Hills of Oregon’s northern Willamette Valley. The year 1987 marked the Langes’ first vintage and consisted of the three varietals they embrace today: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay.
New-world pioneers in the production of Pinot Gris, Lange Estate was the first to release a barrel-fermented reserve–an effort Matt Kramer of the WINE SPECTATOR calls “a bench-mark bottling.” Don Lange’s work as a winemaker has been termed “brilliant” by Hugh Johnson, and the WINE ENTHUSIAST proclaimed Lange Estate to be “one of the great Pinot Noir producers in the United States.”
Lange Estate is known for crafting beautifully balanced wines from fruit grown on the winery Estate, located in the heart of the prestigious Dundee Hills appellation. To further supplement our case production, the Langes purchase additional fruit from the best vineyards in the surrounding area. Long-standing relationships with these blue-ribbon sites have helped the winery establish a well-deserved reputation for consistency and complexity in the wines.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.