Lemelson Cuvee X Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2018

When I was at Lemelson a few years ago, they walked me through their one-of-a-kind gravity flow winery with a spider looking machine that looks like the movie Wild Wild West, and a three-story gravity flow operation that has the winemaking team walking up and down regularly to check on the state of things. It made me think that no winery can boast the kind of calves that Eric Lemelson and his team can.

It does make a difference in the wine though– no pumps, no machines, no additives — just the purest expression of Willamette Valley Pinot possible with virtually no human intervention. It’ll never pay off what it cost, but I’m pretty sure the Lemelson’s aren’t worried– the payout is in the finished product.

You’re going to absolutely love this wine. Once again, it has similarities in composition to the Thea’s Selection though this one stylistically is a little more intense and full-bodied. It’s made from organically farmed Pinot harvested from the Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains and the legendary Yamhill-Carlton. 

It’s another beauty – a classy wine from one of the producers Wine Enthusiast has identified as “elite” in Oregon, along with Domaine Serene (who charges 3-5x more for their Pinots).