Beacon Hill wines are decidedly Oregonian, combining European structure and restraint with New World brightness and intensity of fruit. Our first release, available now, is the 2007 Pinot Noir Rosé, a delicate, serious rosé that can move between the patio and the dining table with ease. In the last part of the year we released our lovely, continental-style 2007 Chardonnay, fermented in French oak and stainless steel barrels. Subsequently we released our first Pinot Noir, the 2007 Feraz, named after our proprietors, Felicia and Razvan.
All of our wines are grown, produced, and bottled here on our estate. They are entirely fermented with native yeast strains, and, with the exception of the rosé, they are neither fined nor filtered. These factors allow the wines to express their terroir to the fullest extent.
Here are the tasting notes for the Beacon Hill 2007 production:
Beacon Hill Chardonnay :: Leo's Block Chardonnay
Beacon Hill Pinot Noir :: Leo's Block Pinot Noir :: "Feraz" Pinot Noir
Chehalem Pinot Noir - SOLD OUT
2007 Oregon - Beacon Hill Chardonnay
Delicious, bright, accessible fruit. Almost a touch of spritz on the palate, with pear and lime blossom flavors. Beautiful now.
The precocious, seductive little sister to our Leo’s Block Chard is a charmer from the get-go. Zingier and more straightforward than the Leo’s Block, it bursts onto the palate like a light, all bustling, lithe flavors of Bosc pears and lime blossoms. No heavy-handed butterscotch here: it’s all about the fruit in this wine. The finish is super-clean, with mouth-cleansing acidity that had us all craving some fresh seafood- not too hard when our site is a mere thirty-five miles or so from the sea! Coming from younger vines (averaging around nine years’ age), this wine is built to be consumed young, while at its freshest, brightest expression.
2007 Oregon - Leo’s Block Chardonnay
Shy, grassy, green apple nose, notes of caramel. Minerality, great persistence, nice supple tannins. Gorgeous length - needs aging.
Leo’s Block Chardonnay comes from twenty-plus-year-old vines in the heart of our property. Chardonnay, overwhelmed as it too often is by intrusive oak and residual sugar, is perhaps the finest Burgundian grape in terms of expression of terroir. As this is our focus, we are very happy with this delicate, elegant wine. The nose is shy at first, but then blossoms, opening into sun-on-grass, bright green apple, caramel, and earth. On the palate it shows a sexy minerality playing against snappy pear flavors, with supple tannins, lively acidity, and fabulous persistence. This gives every indication that it will be an ageworthy Chardonnay, delicious now, but amazing in five years, and maybe even more.
Warm, vibrant salmon; not as pale as Provencale rose, but not as
dark as cerasuolo. On the nose: galia melon, Meyer lemon, and fresh strawberry. A touch of sexy
funk and a pleasant, briny minerality. With a bright wash like the "sun on summer grass". In the mouth: sweet wild and black cherries on an underpinning of bright
passionfruit and easter lilies. Finishes dry, with lively acidity and
a long, red-fruit finish.
This is a serious rose, varietally-correct and expressive of
its excellent terroir. The mouthfeel is clean, yet with a touch of
weight, allowing it to stand up to somewehat richer foods. This would
be brilliant with barbecued trout, the sexy, sotto bosco underpinning
for the rich, riverine flavor of the fish, the bright fruit flavors
against the smoky element from the fire. This is also wonderful, I
know from experience, with Ma Po tofu and shiitake/ tempeh stir-fry in
spicy oyster sauce. Refreshing enough to be enjoyed on the back
porch, but serious enough to come inside for dinner as well.
2007 Oregon - Chehalem Mountain Pinot Noir - SOLD OUT
Lightish, nice color, black cherry/ blackberry, poco brick spice. Rose petals, short finish, nice, clean, elegant.
This is our only wine made from purchased fruit, with a dash of our own berries to add a little stuffing. Simple and bright in the best way, with spicy black cherry flavors enlivened by a compelling note of rose petals, the finish is clean and elegant. A beautiful Pinot for more casual moments. Not an ager, this wine is delicious right now.
2007 Oregon - Beacon Hill Pinot Noir
Darker color, black cherry. Primary, gushing, cidery Pinot fruit, forest berries, cola, black cherry, blueberry, nice length to appley finish. Nice tannic structure, needs time, but will integrate. Almost a dry Lambrusco quality.
Our Estate Pinot is a few notches above our Blakeslee in terms of complexity and elegance. The nose is a multilayered cascade of classically Pinot aromas: you’ll get black cherry, cola, blueberry, and a wild scent that reminds one of wild forest berries found over a cold stream. There’s noticeable length to the Burgundian finish, with spicy acidity and silky tannins. Very nice now, this wine is nonetheless still quite young, and will really begin to shine in four years or so.
2007 Oregon - Leo’s Block Pinot Noir
Very nice, elegant, bright wild cherry fruit, more length, pedigree, rich forest smells, sotto bosco…
The most French-styled of our Pinots, the Leo’s Block, coming from the oldest vines on our estate, is nonetheless quintessentially Oregonian in provenance. A gorgeous, elegant nose of rosepetals, blood, and fresh blackberries leads into a mouthfeel that is pure velvet, while remaining deft and lithe. Bright wild cherry flavors predominate here, wound around intriguing, sexy, sotto bosco flavors of shadowy forest floor. Mouthwatering minerality and acidity arise in the long, long finish.
2007 Oregon - “Feraz” Pinot Noir
You’ll be pleased to hear that our first Pinot release, an estate blend named after our proprietors, Felicia and Razvan, has already knit together into something altogether different and more elegant than it was. At first tasting the wine was a bit awkward, all elbows and shoulders, like a mouthy teenager. However, just a few months’ time in the bottle has seen this wild child mature into something far more ladylike, if we may; a dancer’s balance of muscularity and the cerebral.
Still a big, intense Oregon Pinot, the heady kirsch and blackberry nose has become intertwined with a rosy earthiness. On the palate it is pure silk, erotic red berries coiled around darker, naughtier flavors. Almost an Oregonian expression of the wonderful wines of Melville, in California’s Santa Ynez valley, this wine is becoming a real knockout, and should continue to improve. We’re quite proud of our first “experiment” in Pinot Noir!
