Nicolas-Jay Bishop Creek Pinot Noir (2021) – Just a spectacular vintage from this unparalleled, ungrafted old-vine site in the NW corner of the Yamhill-Carlton district. It opens with anise, pencil led and a gamey quality as the dark-colored wine moves slowly around the glass. After further aeration there’s a roasted plum and cassis aroma, then a forest floor freshness emerges with a candied fennel and balsamic element. There’s a lingering earth quality but as the wine warms there’s the classic Bishop Creek crushed granite and blackberry crumble nuances interwoven with new French oak and dusty river stones. It’s distinctive, a wine of nobility with a long finish comprised of minerals and delicious black fruits interlaced a medium-weight, dusty tannin structure.
