Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir Meyer Vineyard has aromas of raspberry preserves, spice box and incense with a hint of potpourri. Full-bodied, rich and generously fruited in the mouth, it has plush, velvety tannins and excellent persistence.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Meyer Vineyard comes from vines planted in 2000/2001 on Jory soils and it was raised in around 60% new oak. It has a highly perfumed bouquet ,quite floral with blueberry, cassis and blackberry scents that make quite an impression, developing a subtle sea-salt note with time. The palate is medium-bodied and it delivers impressive substance with a fine lattice of tannin; this is harmonious with palpable mineralité and tension towards the finish, which shows solid backbone. This is another impressive 2014 Pinot from Lemelson that should give 12-15 years of pleasure.

The 2012 Pinot Noir Meyer Vineyard comes from volcanic soils and tends to produce wines with pH of around 3.4, probably due to the potassium in the soil. The bouquet has more cohesion than the Thea's Selection, with mulberry and undergrowth scents emerging from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly grainy tannin, a little dry and masculine, but with appreciable tension on the finish.

The Lemelson 2011 Pinot Noir Meyer Vineyard reflects a western exposure planted to Dijon Clone 777 and picked at higher brix than that from its cooler Powell Hill slope, but matured in the same 50% new oak. Sandalwood; vanilla and lightly-caramelized resin from barrel; game; ash and humus, all vie for attention with red raspberry and pomegranate fruit. There is a core of juicy brightness – what the wine’s author refers to as “citric” – that serves for sheer refreshment, and it might well harmonize (or compete more synergistically) with the gamey and oaky elements as the wine matures. Licorice, vanilla, and caramel lend a confectionary cast to the finish, setting-up tension with the fresh fruit acidity, but by no means eclipsing the other aspects of this Pinot’s undeniable complexity. I would want to revisit it in a year or so before attempting to prognosticate as to its longer-term potential. Eric Lemelson – about whom, and about whose vineyards, I wrote extensively in issue 202 – testified that his 2011 fruit had thinner skins, less spice, and more prominent acidity (he said “citrus”) than that of 2010. But he claims to have chaptalized “almost not at all” in 2011, while still reaching 13-13.5% alcohol in his finished Pinots, picked in the third week of October. I’m beginning to associate my tepid response to many of Lemelson’s Pinots with the tendency of both youthful gaminess and their typically 50% new wood (the balance often second-fill) to encroach on or slightly dry-out their fruit. Each of the three Pinots here reviewed in their 2011 instantiations is monoclonal; but I certainly wouldn’t suggest that they lack for complexity. Tel. (503) 852-6619

The Lemelson 2010 Pinot Noir Meyer Vineyard delivers tart cranberry with pungent sage and horehound overtones that point toward a degree of reduction, a hypothesis confirmed for me by the tightness and tartness this displays mid-palate and all the way through its finish. “It needs to fatten up,” King acknowledges, “but it will,” he seeks to assure me, adding that “reduction is typical of this site.” At 30%, this was assigned the smallest share of new barrel of any Lemelson 2010, and considering the amount of tannin I perceive lurking here as is, that was surely a smart move. I’d want to re-taste this before attempting a prognostication. Although he practiced environmental law for some years, Eric Lemelson was by then already smitten with Pinot and in a position to plant a vineyard in 1995 and build a state-of-the-art winery in time to receive its first harvest. The number of estate vineyards planted by Lemelson now stands at seven, several subjected to dedicated bottlings. Anthony King arrived here as winemaker from California in 2006. Mindful of the tannic proclivities I witnessed in the wines I tasted, King says he is sparing with punch-downs. He also notes that he put his wines to barrel after somewhat less settling in 2010 as his 2009s taste woodier than he had wanted, adding (and echoing many other winemakers I spoke with) that the inexplicable proclivity of Willamette Pinot Noir to reduce is what keeps him from putting wine into barrel “dirty” (i.e. without settling). The percentage of new oak varies from one- to two-thirds, though hearing the names of Lemelson’s favored tonneliers suggested to me one reason for the prevalence of smoky, toasty, and overtly wood resin character whose prominence bothered me in several of their wines. Apropos which, readers will perceive that I’m out-of-step with the generally highly laudatory consensus about these wines among my fellow critics, and I’ll be especially anxious to taste Lemelson releases again next year, having had no time to follow-up on my sole session in July. (Incidentally, this is among the many Willamette Valley wineries to label with that broad appellation, even where a more specific A.V.A. applies.) Tel. (503) 852-6619