Ken Wright, Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard, Willamette Valley

From 5L. Beautiful ruby red color. Burgundian funk/vinyl on the nose with spice, licorice and red fruit. The paste is all funk at the outset but gives way to new world fruit. There is a decent amount of acidity left, but that’s on the decline. The palate is not long but the finish persists nicely. The wine has a lot of character, but I wouldn’t let it go too much longer.

2008 vintage

ABV: 13.5%. Very expressive nose with a core of red fruits (think cherries, raspberries, plums, etc.) surrounded by roses, rhubarb, and Christmas spices. Smooth and silky texture on the palate with well-integrated acidity lifting the fruits, keeping everything intact and lively. Pleasant and lengthy finish. This wine is drinking great now and I'm not sure if more cellaring will improve it any further. Decant it for 20-30 minutes prior to serving.

2009 vintage

Great color, no hint of oxidation. Nose has spicy notes on top of fruit (berry). Starts off with berry flavors but the earthy spicy notes quickly follow and linger into the finish. Lovely nicely structured and complex wine.

2008 vintage

Plastic cork. Wine is 16 years old right now. I am always amazed how the American pinot noirs evolve differently than the Burgundy ones. They become sweeter and keep less their acidity. On the first nose this feels like a tawny port. The palate is very pruney, sweet, mid-point between red fruits and tertiaries. A tiny bit of acidity making this still drinkable. Good wine but definitely past its peak.

2009 vintage

ABV: 13.5%. Beautiful wine! The nose exhibits Christmas spices, potpourri, and dark red fruits (think black cherries, raspberries, and plums). On the palate, it’s a lovely harmony of earth, herbs, and fruits with soft tannins and well-integrated acidity that lifts the fruits, leading towards a very pleasant and lengthy finish. I wish I can do a horizontal tasting with all of Ken Wright’s single-vineyards. At approximately 24-years-old, this wine is drinking great, but it can easily cellar until the 30-year …

2001 vintage

Rich & dark, well balanced. Reminds of good Nuits Saint George. Drinking well but recommend 1 hour decant or 6-8 more years in proper cellar.

2008 vintage

Skunked. Way over the hill. Oxidized, funky, dead

2009 vintage

This was very good in December 2023. Thought it might have been too old, but it was great.

2010 vintage

Burgundian nose. Elegant and refined, but perhaps a bit short on the finish. Tannins have been shed resulting in a refined balanced Pinot with black cherry nuance. Splendid match with salmon tonight, a classic Pacific Northwest pairing

2008 vintage

Second Sunday Group: 2008 Ken Wright Pinots (Fontina’s Italian Kitchen (MiY)) : Double blind. Bouillon; madeirized. My #8, Domino’s #4 Group #8, 78 pts

2008 vintage

Un vin atypique ou dépassé ? Nez de prunes broyées et d'épices à ketchup maison. Un vin aux fruits bien mûrs...avec des notes d'épices...pointe saline. Souple et fondu. Finale moyenne.

2009 vintage

I can’t say it was definitely flawed, and I don’t think it was corked, but the flavor profile was odd and not good. I like old wines, but if these flavors were due to age, I think it’s faded and not great anymore.

2008 vintage

Tasty. Age has nicely added to the integration of dark fruit and tannins. Will give my other bottles another five years.

2008 vintage

Magnum opened ~1hr before consuming. Foam/rubber cork. Crystals visible on cork. Slight bricking. On first opening, notes of berry on the nose which later evolved into cedar, tobacco and pepper. Red fruit on body with no tannins noticeable. Drink now. Nice wine, but not a “wow” wine.

2010 vintage

Out of a Jereboam, an outstanding Pinot that may have been benefitted being in a 3 L bottle. The wine of the night!

2008 vintage

2009 Ken Wright Horizontal - Nathan's 1st Birthday : My favorite of the 2009 Ken Wright Pinots (shocker). More depth, it's the complete package in terms of not lacking anything compared to the other site specific expressions

2009 vintage

2009 Ken Wright Horizontal - Nathan's 1st Birthday : More olive notes, darker blue fruit

2009 vintage

At a party we did six different vineyards of the 09 vintage. All in excellent shape and drinking well. Many people’s favorite of the six. Deeper complexity of fruit and earth.

2009 vintage

At a party we did six different vineyards of the 09 vintage. All in excellent shape and drinking well. This had a little more dense fruit and layers of complexity

2009 vintage

Assez fermé au nez. En bouche, confiture de framboise intense avec des notes boisées. Chaleureux. Assez typique. Un peu court en rétro. J’en fait. Un séjour en carafe lui fait le plus grand bien.

2009 vintage

Still has something to give in early '19, though its best years are certainly behind it. Secondary characteristics dominate, but you can still get at the fruit. Nice acid and finish in there, too.

2009 vintage

Wonderful. Bold and full of life. Long and powerful finish.

2010 vintage

Developing secondary characteristics. Fruit forward but awkward biter tannic finish was distracting. Front palette dark fruit and mid caramel and hints of herbs. Wish the tannins were more integrated. Nice weight/mouth feel.

2008 vintage

A Ten Year Tasting: Wines of 2008 (Primarily Oregon Pinot Noir & Ringers) - Graciously hosted by Grinner: Flight One of Five - Wine 5: Appealing, if modern, fruit forward perfume. Juicy, rounded, and balanced. Not my preferred style of Oregon Pinot Noir, although not lacking for charm. Just lovely.

2008 vintage

The Lyon 10 Year Tasting: 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir (Lyon Den) : I MAY have the opposite effect with Carter vineyard, compared to the previous wine. An idiosyncratic love for wines from this vineyard. Loved the balance of deep black cherry, plum, and raspberry notes on a taut frame. This bottle was an exception to the rule: DON'T AGE KW's! 3-5 is good, 7 ok, but younger is FINE! 92 on day 2.

2008 vintage

Friends opened this for a 9/28/18 game night. It had a subtle, focused nose of raspberry, cherry, earth and toast aromas. The palate was rich, soft and elegant with flavors that followed the nose. 90+

2009 vintage

Pleasant, drinkable but nothing special. It was good with the salmon, not at its best without food.

2009 vintage

This is a fantastic wine. Seems to be picking up weight. Very fruity but nicely balanced by a vibrant acidity. A bit tart on the attack but smooths out into a nice long rich finish. Red berry fruit, maybe trending towards cranberry, forest floor, black pepper, tangy, really nice.

2008 vintage

Big. Still young and tannins shortened the finish. Needed a decant but wasn’t that excited enough to do it. Too rich for my taste, but still has good energy and primary notes.

2008 vintage

This is about the 10th bottle of older vintage KW that just didn't last. Too bad.

2008 vintage

Brought for a very nice dinner with the Leons. PnP. Dark ruby in color. Cherry blossoms on the nose. Dark cherries and black raspberries on the palate. Tannin is mostly gone and there is some acidity. Velvety texture . However some Oregon PN structure still remains. Likely to maintain this level for a few more years, but I'm not certain it will actually improve much with further aging. Certainly enjoyable now.

2008 vintage

Sérieux? Tout le monde lui donne 90+, même un qui donne 100? À 55$, moi je demande un Pinot Noir qui offre beaucoup plus qu'une belle bouteille avec une belle étiquette. En fait, c'est plutôt moins que je veux; moins de sucre, de bois et d'alcool surtout.

2009 vintage

Nice bing cherry fruit, supple tannins and a silky texture.

2008 vintage

Doesn't smell very good. Cranberries, pie cherries. Smells ripe. On the palate, dried cherries and cranberry, red tea. Structurally still holding well, however the acid is a bit strong. Blind I'd probably call this a 2009 which is weird because it's 13.2% on the label, but still tastes ripe and somewhat alcoholic, or perhaps the acid is making me think it's more alcoholic than it is. Overall, it's ok. Maybe I'm being too critical. This wine was quite good on …

2008 vintage

Earlier poor notes unfairly damned this wine for being thin or done when in fact it was merely asleep. But it's awake now: Good balance with a very complex finish. Filled out in the glass, and my/group fave in its flight.

2010 vintage

In a nice place, smooth and resolved. Nice cherry notes.

2008 vintage

Friends shared this with us when we stopped by on 9/8/17. It had a deep, expressive bouquet of black cherry, baking spice, toast, tea and cola aromas. The palate was rich, layered and dry with flavors of black cherry, baking spice, tea and cola.

2008 vintage

A big-bodied bruiser of a pinot. Dense, ripe black cherry with strong aromas of cinnamon, cola, black tea, and game. Big tannins. Not what I look for in a pinot, but it's a high-quality wine.

2008 vintage

Lasted better than most Ken Wrights this old, but most of the flavor is gone. Once again, too bad.

2008 vintage

Labeled as 13.5% abv. Artificial cork. Dark fruit, some savory notes. IMHO this was best on the third night open. I own a few single-vineyard designate Ken Wright wines and may open one soon. I have had the privilege of sharing a table with Ken at a Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend dinner in the past.

2009 vintage

From half-bottle. Mature wine moving towards past maturity. Losing fruit and body. Aromatically dominated by quite nice tertiary aromas. Soft acidity. The finish is dominated by drying acidity, weakening aromas and a highly present and unpleasant alcohol. Unbalanced and declining. Drink up.

2009 vintage

The wine has silky red fruit, including raspberry and plum, some green tea, and a medium finish. Good complexity. The wine is in a very nice place right now.

2008 vintage

This is tasting much better than our first bottle. Red fruit that has really come out by the second glass and being opened for 2 1/2 hours.

2009 vintage

Seems like it's past its best drinking window.

2008 vintage

Nice earth tones. Great structure.

2008 vintage

Unremarkable. Has not aged with grace, just seemed flat. Others who reviewed it earlier had it right.

2010 vintage

aromas of coffee and earth. On the palette, a bit tight, loosening over time to let out some of the black cherry and chocolate fruit. Medium finish. Not a classic and probably just over its peak.

2009 vintage

this at least the 10th bottle of Ken Wright I've opened that is dead. unfortunately this stuff is just not built to last. what a shame. wish i would've had this bottle a few years ago.

2009 vintage

CV USA cote ouest 2013 alors 55$. ES90 WA92. Williamette valley Oregon. Avec saucisses wagyu. Belle robe claire au disque un peu pourpré. Bouquet bien présent, fruits sauvages, framboise sauvage, écorce d'orange. Bouche un peu plus capiteuse (first shot en pinot americain) au fruit appuyé. Tannins crémeux, quasi sucré. Acidité légère. Racoleur. Cali-style? ***1/2

2009 vintage

Fruit still prominent, but the acid seems to be falling off. Medium to short finish with tannins soft to faint, perhaps time to drink this one up.

2009 vintage

Are you sure?

Ken Wright, Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard, Willamette Valley

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews