2016 Dusky Goose Pinot Noir

Dried cherry and strawberry with flowers and spice throughout. Medium-bodied with a pretty center-palate and a savory, juicy finish. Hints of wood. Drink now.

This is the current release, now with four-plus years of bottle age. Fans of winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash will recognize her style. It's firm and compact, with a spine of iron and an ageworthy balance among the cherry fruit, supporting acidity and peppery tannin components. 2016 is an excellent vintage in the Willamette Valley, and this wine can be cellared almost indefinitely, but enjoyed immediately. Paul Gregutt

John and Linda Carter, both successful in their respective careers — he in business and she in music — had the good sense to hired Lynn Penner-Ash to make their wine. She was the one who put the Rex Hill Vineyards’ Pinot Noir on the map in the late 1980s and 1990s before establishing Penner-Ash Wine Cellars. Her talents are clear with Dusky Goose Pinot Noir. She has fashioned a moderately intense style of Pinot Noir, while still capturing its herbal and savory nuances. So often robust Pinot Noir wines fall into what I call the “Pinot Syrah” category of jam-y power. Not this one. It retains balance and grace. (Michael Apstein)