For years I have admired the wines from Lange, one of Oregon’s great historic wineries, It was back in 1987 that Don Lange, took a chance by acquiring a large chunk of land that had sweeping views of the Willamette Valley. Don made the wines for many years and over time his son Jesse transitioned into their head winemaker, taking over for his father.
Jesse’s formal winemaking training occurred at New Zealand’s Lincoln University while on a student exchange scholarship from Oregon State in 1999. Jesse then spent two years as cellar rat for winemaker Bruce McGuire at Santa Barbara Winery prior to coming back to his family winery. He joined the winemaking team in 2004 and has served on the board of the Willamette Valley Wineries Association. They opened their new tasting room in 2018 which is simply gorgeous.
I adored the new releases by Lange. Don’t miss on the stunning new 2021 Lange ‘Reserve’ Pinot Noir (OB, 93) which has great stuffing and some serious aging potential. Almost as good is the excellent value 2021 Lange ‘Three Hills Cuvee’ Pinot Noir (OB, 92) which shows loads of finesse and mouth-watering acidity Learn more about this outstanding Oregon winery at https://www.langewinery.com/ Here are the great new wines by Lange Estate
2021 Lange ‘Three Hills Cuvee’ Pinot Noir- The gorgeous ‘Three Hills Cuvee’ offers forward and juicy pomegranate, strawberry, citrus rind and bergamot flavors on the palate. It is medium to full-bodied and chalk-filled of minerality, with an incredible purity of red fruits, this is a simply delicious wine that is already very beautiful to consume now. Drink 2023-2029- 92
2021 Lange ‘Reserve’ Pinot Noir- I’ve been tasting this wine back more than a decade and the 2021 ‘Reserve’ is up there with the finest renditions of this wine that I have tasted. A barrel selection wine, the ‘Reserve’ takes off with very pretty guava and red cherry notes that combine with garrigue accents and salty soils on the palate. Very fresh and fragrant, this thing is only starting to hit its stride. Considering the richness, flavor density and finesse, you have the feeling that this beauty will go another twenty years! Drink 2023-2038- 93
2021 Lange ‘Yamhill-Carlton Assemblage’ Pinot Noir- This beautiful 2021 Pinot Noir comes fro several vineyards in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Once on the nose he takes on layers of ripe guava and boysenberry alongside freshly tilled soils and suggestions of roasted hazelnut that all meld in the glass. The palate is very polished and fresh with good concentration and underlying tension. Delicious to consume now, enjoy over the next decade. Drink 2023-2033- 92
2021 Lange ‘Freedom Hill Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- For years I have enjoyed the finesse-driven wines from the famed ‘Freedom Hill Vineyard’ which was first planted back back in 1981. This is very fresh and finesse-driven with tart pomegranate, orange rind, caramel and suggestions of volcanic soils on the palate. Dense, heady and also very weightless, this is beautiful Pinot Noir that is already very well-integrated at the two year mark. Drink 2023-2038- 93