The 2009 Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve displays a touch of herbs as well as a darker shade of fruit. Black cherry, black raspberry, and plum notes lead to a savory, plump, chunky effort that narrows slightly in the finish. It will be at its best from 2012 to 2019. Bethel Heights Vineyard is moving toward using 100% estate fruit for its wines. They produce a substantial amount of solid quality white wine and around 10,000 cases of Pinot Noir with the Willamette Valley and Estate bottlings accounting for roughly 80% of that total. And if the truth be told, and to the credit of Bethel Heights, the quality of these entry level cuvees is very close to the Vineyard and Block-designated wines at a fraction of the price.Tel. (503) 581-2262; www.bethelheights.com

The Bethel Heights 2009 Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve exhibits alkaline, resinous, black tea- and bacon-smoky and faintly fishbowl-like scents but also intimates in the nose the fresh and distilled black fruits that emerge on the palate. This has the richness and complexity without the energy or lift of the best Bethel Heights Pinots I’ve been having the pleasure of tasting. Ben Casteel returned home in 2005 from a stage in Burgundy and a five year stint at Rex Hill to work a crush alongside his father and founding winemaker Terry; after which, he took over that job. Cousin Mimi Casteel – whose background is horticulture and forest ecology – acts as both general manager and viticulturalist. This site northwest of Salem, whose oldest block dates to the Casteels’ original 1977 and 1979 plantings, is known for consistently delivering fine Pinots, although the Casteels also source somewhat beyond its bounds and are serious about white grapes – theirs and those of neighbors – as well, even if with mixed success. The team here is beginning to favor a certain percentage of whole clusters and stems in Pinot depending on vintage, though fermentation is usually still induced by inoculation. Tel. (503) 581-2262