2019 Brittan "Basalt" McMinnville Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
98RP
93JD
93VN
$49.95
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98
Wine Advocate
Reviewed August 2023The 2019 Pinot Noir Basalt Block has a singular expression, with notable elegance and complexity. The nose offers a deep core of warm plums, red cherries, lavender and wafts of star anise, mushroom, nori, pipe tobacco and iron. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with layers of ripe fruit and spice, structured with powdery tannins and vibrant acidity. It has a generous floral perfume and a very long, iron-and-violet finish. It deserves another 3-5 years in bottle to unwind and will be long-lived in the cellar. (EB)
Professional Reviews
93
Jeb Dunnuck
The opaque dark ruby 2019 Pinot Noir Basalt Block is packed with baked cherry pie, turned earth, cola, and balsamic herbs. It offers significant structure, with a tension-packed spine of acidity, youthful gravelly tannins, and notes of black tea on the finish. It is an earth-driven wine that will take some time to soften. (AF)
93
Vinous
Hauntingly dark, the 2019 Pinot Noir Basalt Block captivates with its dusty violet and lavender tones before giving way to crushed blackberries. This is sleek and racy in style with tart wild berries and saline minerals underscored by a core of tantalizing acidity. It finishes structured, tense and long, leaving a licorice tinge and remnants of red currant. (EG)
Staff Reviews
RW
Brittan's stunning "Basalt Block" bottling comes from the very heart of the estate. A mid-slope, south facing bowl, with the most pure oceanic basalt soils on the vineyard. The "Estate" level bottling is also predominantly from this block, so the Basalt really is a micro-selection of the very best rows and barrels out of this block. Just 140 cases made. This wine shows off the complexity and depth this site brings to Pinot Noir. Mostly 777 Dijon clone with some 667 and Pommard, too. Dark fruit, forest berries, leaf litter, signature volcanic minerality underpinning everything. The structure is firm, but beautifully enveloped in the refined fruit and woodsy spices. A repeating dark rose petal note and black raspberry linger. Such a layered and complete wine, a wonderfully transparent wine to display the special qualities of this vineyard.
MB
Michael Benoit
Michael Benoit
Savory, with a volcanic minerality, the Basalt block Pinot Noir is a delicious expression of Willamette Valley Pinot. The nose is richly perfumed with notes of violets and crushed red raspberry, while on the palate it offers more red raspberry as well as Bing cherry, framed out nicely with ripe tannins and a good pop of acidity. This is a serious, powerful Pinot that will continue to develop in your cellar for several years to come.
Notes
The Basalt Block bottling emerges from the heart of the Brittan property in a south facing bowl. The wine is named for the marine-basalt rock that underpins the soils of the estate. This marine or oceanic basalt was formed under the ocean as rapidly cooling lava formed these crystalline rocks capturing oceanic minerals as they hardened. The perfectly sloping block is planted mostly to 777 and Pommard clones. The Basalt Block bottling is a very deliberate selection of the best fruit that comes off this central parcel of vines, the rest is bottled under the “Estate” Pinot Noir label.
Details
| Type | Red Wine |
|---|---|
| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
| Origin | Oregon, United States |
| Bottle Size | 750 mL |
| Alcohol Content | 13.1% |
| SKU | 1697701 |