I have been really impressed with Lavinea, an Oregon producer of world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery was founded by Greg Ralston and Isabelle Meunier. From 1988 to 2009 Greg worked closely with Jim Barrett at Chateau Montelena Winery, the last ten years as Managing Director. He then took on a role as Sr. VP of Strategic Initiatives with Wilson Daniels, collaborating with Jack Daniels and renowned Estates such as Castello di Volpaia and Ceretto from Italy, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Domaine Leflaive from Burgundy, Schramsberg from Napa Valley among others. Recruited to become President & CEO of Evening Land Vineyards in 2012, Greg oversaw related wineries in California, Burgundy and Oregon.
Isabelle Meunier is one of Oregon’s great winemakers. She formerly worked for Dominique Lafon to oversee winemaking at his then-new Oregon consulting project, Evening Land, in 2007. In a short amount of time she became one of Oregon’s most acclaimed winemakers. Isabelle has degrees in winemaking and viticulture from the University of Dijon in Burgundy, and in New Zealand at Lincoln University. Her new wines were spectacular. I adored the 2022 Lavinea ‘Temperance Hill Vineyard’ Pinot Noir (OB, 95) which is more about tension than the ’21 edition but has crazy good aromatic and flavor range. Learn more about these top class wines at lavinea.com and here are my reviews of the new wines by Lavinea.
2023 Lavinea ‘Eola-Amity Hills’ Chardonnay- The outstanding 2023 Lavinea ‘Eola-Amity Hills’ Chardonnay delivers a smooth mouthfeel with good weight and length. This glides throughout the drinking experience with buttercream and shades of brioche bread that combine with lemon rind and green melon accents. With salty and stony accents and bright underlying acidity, enjoy now and over the next ten plus years. Drink 2025-2036- 94
2023 Lavinea ‘Eola-Amity Hills’ Pinot Noir- The brilliant new 2023 ‘Eola-Amity Hills’ Pinot Noir stands dark in the glass, offering aromatics of tar, wet stone and menthol alongside shades of wild blackberry. The palate is fresh and neatly textured, with a fleshy mouthfeel and great underlying verve. Very stony and rich, in terms of its black and red fruit core, for an entry-level Oregon Pinot this is nothing short of world-class. Drink 2025-2038- 94
2022 Lavinea ‘Tualatin Estate’ Pinot Noir- The 2022 Lavinea ‘Tualatin Estate’ Pinot Noir stands translucent in the glass, offering red currants and guava puree on the nose with mulberry and orange rind notes. The palate is beautifully textured with good weight and lip-smacking acidity. Glorious now in it vibrant youth, enjoy over the next fifteen plus years. Drink 2025-2040- 94
2022 Lavinea ‘Temperance Hill Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The sensational 2022 Lavinea ‘Temperance Hill Vineyard’ Pinot Noir was stored in nearly all neutral French oak before bottling. Soft and supple upon entry, this shows boysenberry compote and black truffle shavings on the palate, alongside toasty oak, and bergamot tones, with forest floor accents. This is highly-complex and delicious stuff that is already nicely evolved. Drink 2025-2040- 95