It was a long journey from Seattle down to the cozy confines of Salem, Oregon. Located right off I-5 I was well-fed and well-caffeinated before I started my visit with Willamette Valley Vineyards and winemaker Terry Culton. Culton is a longtime veteran of the Willamette Valley. Initially inspired by his mentor Kenneth Volk, founder of Wild Horse Vineyard and Kenneth Volk Vineyards, Terry worked the “Pinot Trail” in California’s Anderson Valley and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. He first worked at Willamette in 1997 as Willamette Valley Vineyards Cellar Master, supervising the cellar crew and managing inventory as well as the bottling line.
From there, Terry went on to develop a 20-year career making acclaimed wines for several California wineries, including work at Calera in Hollister, California, where he worked with the pioneering Pinot Noir maker Josh Jensen. Terry left Calera to work with Hoffman Mountain Ranch’s vast plantings of Rhône Varietals. Terry had the itch to start his own winery in California. He eventually founded Culton Wines, which produced mainly Rhône varietals and blends in small lots from ultra-premium Central Coast grapes. He is very talented and experienced. . . and an absolute blast to chat wine with. Originally from Canada, we barrel-tasted as he shared stories from his celebrated career. We tasted through several of his top bottlings which were really outstanding. The best wine I tasted was the 2021 Willamette Valley Vineyards ‘Fuller’ Pinot Noir (OB, 95) which is deep, fleshy and entirely delicious — an intense bottling from this warm vintage. I can’t wait to see what is next from Culton and the team. Learn more about these outstanding wines at wvv.com and here are my reviews of the premium wines by Willamette Valley Vineyards.
2021 Willamette Valley Vineyards ‘Vintage 48’ Chardonnay- This comes from vines planted back in 1973. The wine was stored in 25% new French oak for ten months before bottling. Poached pear and nutmeg laced brioche combine with banana on the nose. This shows beautiful texture and salty character on the palate, with a great core of citrus and melon fruits. Drink 2024-2034- 93
2018 Elton ‘Florine Eola-Amity Hills’ Pinot Noir- This 2018 is one of their library release offers red rose petals and orange peel with bergamot and shades of salty soils on the nose. The palate is silky smooth with serious texture and good weight and length, with plenty of salty minerals from the marine sedimentary soils. Drink 2024-2036- 93
2021 Willamette Valley Vineyards ‘Fuller’ Pinot Noir- This 2021 bottling is named after Bill Fuller who is the original founder of the Tualatin Estate Vineyard. He continues to consult with Willamette Valley Vineyards. Black truffle and black cherry combine with shades of boysenberry and volcanic soils on the nose. Fresh and beautifully textured, woven together with copious minerals, this is a gorgeous bottling that has a long way to go in the cellar. Drink 2024-2040- 95