Today we bring you a fantastic boutique winery in Oregon. It was quite a search for the right site for Dan Warnshuis. Originally from Napa, Dan did some careful research before finding his Utopia Vineyard in the center of the Ribbon Ridge AVA. The vineyard underwent three plantings in 2005, 2008 and 2010 and is composed of 16.8 acres of south-facing hillsides with vines set on Willakenzie soils. The vineyard is planted to twelve clones of Pinot Noir and three low-yielding Dijon Chardonnay clones., Daniel created his first vintage of Pinot Noir nearly fifteen years ago in 2006. He serves as not only owner but also Utopia Vineyard winemaker.
The vineyard utilizes Sustainable Organic Farming practices, and has been L.I.V.E. certified since 2008. I have had the chance to try these wines on several occasions and they have been consistently good. The new releases are both outstanding, coming from the warm 2017 vintage. They are both wines that have really great range, texture and weight. Both are highly recommended for any serious lover of Oregon Pinot Noir. Learn more about these beautiful wines at https://www.utopiawine.com/ Here are my tasting notes of the great new 2017 releases from Utopia Vineyard.
2017 Utopia ‘The Utopia Vineyard’ Pinot Noir-Sourced from their Ribbon Ridge AVA estate, the ‘The Utopia Vineyard’ Pinot Noir shows rich red fruit flavors that collide with copious minerals, forest floor and shades of Mandarin orange rind on the palate. The combination of verve and texture really entices. A complete, wine, this glorious new release will provide drinking enjoyment for a decade or more. Drink 2020-2030- 92
2017 Utopia ‘Paradise Estate Reserve’ Pinot Noir- The 2017 ‘Paradise Estate Reserve’ is a silky new bottling from Utopia. On the nose this takes on lovely damp earth and peat moss tones that connect with the bright guava and strawberry tones that collect momentum in the glass. The palate is silky smooth, showing a soft texture and good sense of weight. Bright red fruits dance with shades of blood orange rind and forest floor tones on the palate. Fantastic to enjoy in its youth, this beautiful wine will cellar well for at least another decade. Drink 2020-2030- 92