Witness - Pinot Noir

It is not often I write about domestic wines, especially Pinot Noir. Just know that if I'm writing about it, it is truly something special, and the second release from Witness Wines is something that deserves your full attention.

Longtime client and Burgundy nut Matt Felton called me last year and asked if I sold any Oregon wine. My response, nope! After an uncomfortable pause, we got to talking, and he explained he had a new project he was involved with, making Pinot Noir from the Witness Tree Vineyard he had acquired.

I'm always skeptical about domestic Pinot Noir, as it has always had a quality on the nose that screams "not Burgundy." I tasted the wine when it arrived and was immediately impressed, it tasted like no other domestic Pinot Noir I had ever had. I put it to the test with my wine group at one of our lunches, where everything is served blind. People were all over the place, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle Musigny, a few even guessed Volnay. The consensus was universal love for the aromatics and the silky texture. On the reveal, everyone was stunned, nobody could believe this was a domestic wine.

Matt called a few weeks ago with news that the 2023 was ready for release. "I want you to judge for yourself," he said, "but I think this is even a step up from last year." The wine arrived the other day and I had a bottle open within minutes, impressive is an understatement! The nose soared from the glass with scents of cherry and raspberry, layers of spice emerging beneath as it opened up. The mouthfeel is where this wine really shows its pedigree, the palate is dense, the flavors expansive, the tannins refined, leaving a long lingering finish that makes you crave another sip.

I'd challenge anyone to tell me this doesn't rival a great Burgundy. Both cuvées are sourced from the Witness Tree Vineyard, made with approximately 35% whole cluster and raised in French oak. The Reverie is a small portion of the harvest, a handful of the best barrels selected and carefully blended together.

I invite you to be pleasantly surprised. Pour this blind for your own skeptics, the ones who roll their eyes at "domestic Pinot Noir," and watch what happens. This is a wine that earns its place at the table alongside the Burgundy you already love, not as an imitation, but as a genuine expression of what Eola-Amity Hills is capable of. In stock limited quantities!