2023 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage

After the widespread frost of spring 2022, the 2023 vintage saw a normal spring. Early spring in the Willamette Valley was wet and cool, which delayed bud break by more than ten days. At Lange Estate in the Dundee Hills the start was restrained by cool spring weather, and vineyard growth began in earnest the second week of May, when temperatures in the upper 80s, reaching the low to mid 90s, supercharged shoot growth and pre-flowering conditions. The result was one of the shortest periods ever from bud break to bloom across most Oregon growing regions. At Stoller Family Estate almost everything in every variety bloomed within two weeks. Stable weather in July and August allowed extended spray intervals in organic vineyards. At Erath there was no precipitation from bloom all the way through to harvest, and July temperatures were consistently warm without being overly hot, with no heat waves. A heat wave arrived August 13 to 16. Alex Sokol Blosser of Sokol Blosser called it the hottest, driest August on record, saying it never really got into triple digits but was relentlessly in the 90s and did not cool down much at night. Production fell year over year, largely because of extreme heat in early to mid August, when sunburn impacts were seen by many. Rain in the beginning of September brought relief, slowing sugar accumulation so flavors could catch up. Growing degree days were well above historical averages, and Sokol Blosser called 2023 his third warmest vintage ever, behind 2015 and 2014. Lange Estate recorded 2,700 degree days against 2,500 the previous year, when harvest came a month later. Harvest in the Willamette Valley began right after the first week of September, about a week earlier than in 2022. Lange Estate started on September 8. Walnut Ridge Vineyard in the Lower Long Tom AVA began on September 17 as sugar levels seemingly surged overnight, with a second pick window at the end of the first week in October for remaining fruit including Riesling. Violet Vines, sourcing across the Willamette Valley, received grapes from August 27 through October 16. The harvest was very condensed across the valley, and Stoller went to 24-hour shifts for a while. Several inches of rain were forecast for the third week of September, and some growers accelerated picking. Lange Estate picked 55 percent of its fruit from the 19th through the 24th and finished on the 24th, while other growers waited out the rain, leaving a lot of fruit in the valley after the 24th. Clusters at Stoller ran about 20 to 40 percent above average depending on location, with above-average berries per cluster, while Sokol Blosser's crop yields were near average.

• Wet, cool early spring delayed bud break by more than 10 days; upper-80s temperatures from the second week of May accelerated growth
• One of the shortest bud break to bloom periods on record, with almost every variety at Stoller blooming inside two weeks
• No precipitation from bloom through harvest at Erath, and no heat waves through July
• Heat wave August 13 to 16, with relentless 90s and little cooling at night at Sokol Blosser, and sunburn at many sites
• Early September rain slowed sugar accumulation and let flavors catch up
• Harvest began right after the first week of September; rain forecast for the third week of September forced quick picking decisions
• Growing degree days well above historical averages; Lange Estate recorded 2,700 against 2,500 in 2022
• Clusters about 20 to 40 percent above average at Stoller, and near-average crop yields at Sokol Blosser

Jesse Lange, with more than 35 years in the Willamette Valley, called the 2023 wines across Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir among the most precocious he has come across, with vibrancy and energy that explode out of the glass, compared the Pinot Noir color to 2021, almost neon at the edge with violet and fuchsia depth and density, and put the tannin density alongside 2015, 2012 and 2004. Chemistry varied by pick timing and elevation. At Stoller it was a vintage of higher Brix and lower acid, with flavors that took a while to arrive. At King Estate the riper, lower-elevation sites and many North Valley grapes came in early as very ripe Pinots, while after the rain the higher, cooler sites gave more austere wines, a bit brighter and higher in acid.

• Lange called the 2023 wines among the most precocious of his 35-plus years in the valley
• Pinot Noir color compared to 2021, with tannin density recalling 2015, 2012 and 2004
• At Stoller, higher Brix and lower acid, with flavors slow to arrive
• At King Estate, earlier, riper lower-elevation fruit and more austere, brighter, higher-acid fruit from higher sites after the rain

Decanter's Clive Pursehouse rated the vintage 5 out of 5, calling the Willamette Valley's 2023 Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs beautiful, with the elegance and delicacy for which cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are known, from a growing season that started cool and slow and ended rapidly. He noted a precocious nature to the wines, cautioned that you might see a few examples where alcohol has not been kept under control but that generally there is an elegance to match the generosity of the vintage, and found the Chardonnays showing slightly better than the Pinot Noirs. Northwest Wine Report described a cool start, subsequent warm temperatures, a very dry summer and often a compressed harvest, and judged that quality looks high.

• Decanter's Pursehouse rated the vintage 5 out of 5 and called the wines beautiful, with elegance and delicacy
• Chardonnays showing slightly better than the Pinot Noirs, and a few examples with alcohol not kept under control
• Northwest Wine Report judged quality high after a cool start, a very dry summer and a compressed harvest