The 2019 Pinot Noir Provocateur has a medium ruby color and scents of dark cherries, charcuterie, burnt orange peel, earth and spice. The medium-bodied palate offers a satisfying depth of earthy fruit, a soft, juicy mouthfeel and a spicy finish.

Bottled under screwcap, the 2017 Pinot Noir Provocateur is the freshest wine from J K Carriere. It has scents of pomegranate, rhubarb, dried earth and potpourri, with light to medium weight, spicy red fruits, a soft frame and good freshness. 2,725 cases produced.

Bottled already in March, the J. F. Carriere 2011 Pinot Noir Provocateur (whose immediate predecessor, reviewed in Issue 202, constituted a blend of 2009 and 2010 fruit) is widely sourced, most notably from Anderson, Black Walnut, Brooks, and Lewis vineyards. Sappy, tart cherry and wild plum are threaded with and saline suggestions of smoked meats for an impression of energy and juiciness through to a tangy finish. Texturally a bit spare, its 12.5% alcohol (like that of this year’s other Carriere Pinots) conduces to a pleasant impression of levity. I would plan to enjoy this through 2015. I offered some details in Issue 202 concerning Jim Prosser’s methodology and diverse sources, but this year paid my first visit to his impressively immaculate and deftly designed cellars, their barrels stored inside twelve foot-high corrugated highway tunnels buried into a Parrett Mountain Hillside. Prosser utilizes open cylindrical stainless steel fermenters he says are designed to achieve enough mass to support the sort of relatively high-temperature fermentative regimen he prefers (and to nest neatly into one another when not in use.) Nine of his own thirty-some arable Jory acres surrounding the winery were recently planted to Pommard and Wadenswil selection of Pinot, after initial failure pointed to the necessity of a deer fence. Prosser found his 2011s “a bit stand-offish” on the occasion when we tasted them together, and noted that the putting on of weight that he anticipates in his top Pinots over their first three years in bottle will be especially beneficial and important with this vintage. With one exception, though, I was already highly impressed with them. Prosser, incidentally, was one of those Willamette vintners whose impressive 2012s I tasted through from barrel, and some of his comments about them as well as about 2011 can be found in my general introduction to this report. Tel. (503) 554.0721

The 2009 Pinot Noir Provocateur in which Temperance Hill fruit plays a large role. Herbal notes stop just short of being too green. Aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, and plum lead to a savory, moderately structured wine that has good balance and length. It will drink well for another 5-6 years. New father Jim Prosser is well-established in his winery on Parrot Hill in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. He is pleased by the fact that he was able to bring all of his 2009s in under 14% alcohol. Tel. (503) 554-0721; www.jkcarriere.com