2022 Witness Pinot Noir Eolia Amity Hills
The threat of 200% tariffs is something we’ll follow closely over the next few weeks and promise to keep you posted. One obvious repercussion of tariffs on European wine will be a reexamination of domestic wines.
As it turns out, I happen to have one up my sleeve! A long time client and Burgundy fanatic, Matt Felton, called one day and asked if sold domestic Pinot Noir? “I don’t” I replied. He was momentarily taken a-back but then went on to tell me about a new project he was working on in Oregon. Matt has always bought the best of the best from me and his passion for excellence is impressive. I knew that if he was putting his money into it, it was going to be something worthwhile. I agreed to try a few bottles.
The wine arrived and I’m ashamed to say it sat in the box for at least a month! I was biased based on a trip to Oregon in the early 2000’s when the area was starting to find its way. Many of the vineyards at that time were being grafted from some other fruit bearing plant. I wanted to embrace the wines but never really came across anything that I loved.
Finally, I got around to tasting Matt’s wine and I was flat out impressed! This is the most Burgundian New World wine I had ever tasted .
A few weeks later I slipped this in at one of our wine lunches and had the guys taste it blind. The guesses started with Chambolle and hit about every appellation in the Cote when I finally revealed it to be from Oregon! The utter disbelief was priceless, one of the reasons I love blind tasting so much. You evaluate what is in the bottle, not what’s in your head, or on the label. This is clearly going to warrant a trip up there soon.
This wine is red fruited, with great purity, displaying elegance and class like I have never experienced with domestic wine. Matt tells me that 2023 is even better, which is hard to imagine but expect great things from this emerging Oregon property.
There is a story about the artist label they used for the first vintage. You can read more about it on their website https://witnesswines.com/artful-vision/
I can’t speak highly enough about this wine. It is legit in every way.
The 2022 Pinot Noir Witness dazzles the senses with a lifted and cool-toned bouquet as delicate aromas of lavender and sweet spice complement wild blueberries. This is racy and energetic yet also light on its feet, impressing with a solid core of red berry fruits and tactile mineral tones that add tension toward the close. A tart cranberry crunchiness and a thrust of herbs lingers along with a subtle tinge of fine tannin as this finishes long, staining and refined. This is the inaugural vintage from Matthew Felton and his Witness Tree fruit, and if it's any indication, the future is very bright.
- Vinous Media, 92
