The southern end of the Willamette Valley is a remote, beautiful and desolate location that houses one of the great estates in Oregon. Ed King had the vision to start his winery here many decades ago and built the winery into a national industry power. It is quite remarkable that King Estate is one of the few wineries in North America (potentially the only one) where more vines of Pinot Gris are grown than any other varietal. There is a reason for this — year after year King Estate delivers two of the best Pinot Gris bottling in the state, with their entry level wine and their top of the line ‘Domaine’ Pinot Gris. I have had every ‘Domaine’ Pinot Gris back to 2011 and I have been pretty overwhelmed with the quality in this bottling which shows amazing texture and range. These also age marvelously as I did a retrospective on these wines a few years back and found them to be standout wines in even hot vintages.
One of the most beautiful Oregon wineries, I have cherished my visits with winemaker Brent Stone, who has been at the helm since 2011. He originally came to King Estate to serve as lab manager and moved his way up to head winemaker. Brent crafts some beautiful Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir wines but is now also making some fantastic sparkling wines. This brand has been synonymous with value. His ‘Willamette Valley’ collection of wines has been synonymous with value. I adore the fresh and vibrant 2022 King Estate Pinot Gris (OB, 91) which offers nice texture and finesse, showing excellent varietal character. Also fantastic is the 2022 King Estate Rose (OB, 91) which also is nicely textured and shows a very pretty core of red fruits with earthy undertones. This is a perfect wine to enjoy during the last warm moments of summer. Learn more about this famed Oregon estate at https://www.kingestate.com and here are my tasting notes from the new King Estate wines.
2022 King Estate ‘Oregon’ Sauvignon Blanc- You don’t see too many Sauvignon Blancs with the ‘Oregon’ designation. This 2022 edition of the wine has 5% Semillon blended in and mainly comes from the Willig and Barrel vineyards. Fresh and soft on the mouth, this delivers green apple and lemon peel flavors that mingle with copious stony minerals on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2023-2027- 90
2022 King Estate ‘Artisan Series’ Pinot Gris- This 2022 Pinot Gris comes from a range of sites in the Willamette Valley and was aged in stainless steel before bottling. It comes off wonderfully juicy with mango and kiwi fruit flavors alongside a good sense of tension on the palate. Very fresh and fragrant, this beautiful wine is good to go right now and is begging for a hot summer day. Drink 2023-2028- 90
2022 King Estate ‘Willamette Valley’ Pinot Gris- Mainly coming from the King Estate Vineyard, the 2022 King Estate Pinot Gris is another fantastic bottling from this storied house. Once on the nose this offers a smooth texture with bright Japanese pear and Mandarin orange zest flavors alongside shades of gooseberry. This is a delicious effort that is best consumed now in its bright youth. Drink 2023-2028- 91
2022 King Estate Rose- Made entirely from Pinot Noir grapes, this mostly was sourced from the King Estate Vineyard as well as the Pfeiffer and Bradshaw vineyards. Juicy and round on the mouth, this offers cranberry, wild mushroom and strawberry flavors with racy acidity and a smooth texture. This is brilliantly done. Drink 2023-2029- 91
2021 Inscription ‘Willamette Valley’ Pinot Noir- Coming from a range of sites including the King Estate, Stagger and Greiten Vineyards, this offers juicy red currant and red cherry flavors with tobacco leaf and orange peel notes. Juicy, showing good finesse, this awesome value is a delight to drink right now. Drink 2023-2028- 90
2019 The Soldier ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2019 ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon has 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc blended in. Coming from this cooler vintage, the wine reveals a soft mouthfeel with great balance and poise. Medium-bodied dark currants dance with tobacco leaf, coffee grounds and shades of menthol. This is really good stuff for the price. Drink 2023-2030- 91