One of the outstanding producers of Oregon wine, Holocene is the brainchild of superstar winemaker Todd Alexander who was formerly with Bryant Family before taking over as winemaker at Force Majeure. He has taken Washington wine by storm and is now doing the same in Oregon. Todd is a Burgundy lover who wanted to make world-class Oregon Pinot Noir from diverse sites in the Willamette Valley. The brand began in 2015 and the new releases come from the moderate 2022 vintage — one that had a cool summer and relatively warm temperatures throughout the fall, with a late harvest.
Todd is now making more wines from the Willamette Valley and has made his first Chardonnay for the Holocene brand that is nothing short of insanely good. I am totally enamored by the 2023 Holocene ‘Aureolin’ Chardonnay (OB, 97) which is deep and viscous with serious flavor density. This wine is deep and concentrated, giving it a very Napa v. Oregon feel. I love the new 2022 Holocene ‘Apocrypha’ Pinot Noir (OB, 96) which is deep and serious, shooing outstanding flavor range and density. Learn more about this awesome Oregon outpost at http://holocenewines.com Here are the beautiful new 2022 release wines by Holocene.
2023 Holocene ‘Aureolin’ Chardonnay- The outstanding 2023 Holocene ‘Aureolin’ Chardonnay comes from the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. This is gorgeous, tension-filled wine with serious viscosity and verve. Lemon oil, flint, orange blossom water, and suggestions of Japanese pear all brilliantly combine on the palate. Full-bodied and full of energy, enjoy this beautiful wine now and over the next fifteen years to come. Showing so brilliantly in its heady you makes you wonder why wait? Drink 2024-2039- 97
2022 Holocene ‘Codex’ Pinot Noir- The 2022 ‘Codex’ Pinot Noir comes from vineyards throughout the Willamette Valley. Stored in mainly neural oak, this offers a smooth texture with beautiful red fruits that combine with salty minerals and kumquat zest notes. Medium to full-bodied and nicely textured, enjoy now and over the next ten years to come. Drink 2024-2034- 94
2022 Holocene ‘Apocrypha’ Pinot Noir- The brilliant 2022 Holocene ‘Apocrypha’ A 50/50 blend of Case and Doration Vineyards and underwent partial whole cluster fermentation. Stored in mostly neutral oak barrels (15% new), this Chehalem Mountains AVA Pinot Noir delivers Yakima cherry and pomegranate seed with guava and orange rind, with loamy soil accents on the nose. The palate is deep and concentrated, loaded with stony minerals and a very pure core of red fruits with red rose water and salty/stony soil accents. A total knockout, enjoy this 2022 Pinot Noir now and over two decades. Drink 2024-2044- 96