2014 Lange Estate Winery Pinot Noir Freedom Hill “Liberty Bell”

The Sweet Sound of Freedom: Ringing Endorsements for Lange’s “Liberty Bell”

If your Pinot Noir palate is more New World than old, if you prefer full-throttle black-and-red-fruit concentration to the more angular minerality of the Côte de Beaune, Oregon’s Jesse Lange is in a class by himself. Oregon’s 2014 growing season gave birth to what many have now called “a vintage of a lifetime.” Lange took full advantage, crafting a lineup of Pinot Noirs that are Sea Smoke-like in concentration, yet braced by firm acids that are more typical of Vosne-Romanée than Willamette Valley.

On September 15th, as the last of the 2015 harvest (also excellent) hit the sorting table, Jesse treated us to a barrel-tasting and vineyard tour before leading us to the family tasting room. Over the course of three hours, we wandered 15-20 years back in time. By the time we said our goodbyes, we’d been given a crash course on Freedom Hill — the vineyard responsible for the deepest and darkest Pinot Noirs in the Lange cellar.

“Freedom Hill is south of our estate winery, in Polk County, in the foothills of the Coast Range just outside of Dallas,” Jesse told us. “Our Liberty Blocks range from 500 to 600 feet elevation. We planted them in ‘08 and ‘09. The upper section of the vineyard is high enough to allow cold air to drain to the valley floor, yet low enough to benefit from the heat that radiates from the valley. The soils are marine-sedimentary types, ‘Bellpine.’ And — this is key — like much of the Côte de Nuits, the vineyard faces directly southeast, with a lawn-chair view of Mt. Hood. In good vintages, our blocks ripen easily. In great vintages, we get it all — high sugars, vivid flavor profile, firm acidity, and complex tannic structure. 2014 wasn’t good — it was great.”

Our tasting began in 1990, Don Lange’s first vintage with Freedom Hill. Next was the 1997, then the still perfectly youthful 1998 and 1999. The 2004, 2006, and 2008 were warm-vintage powerhouses, deep, dark, and chewy, showing little sign of their time in bottle. The 2012, one of our favorite Oregon Pinot Noirs from that hot, dry summer, is still a baby, and really shouldn’t be touched for another 5-7 years. Finally, we came to Jesse’s two Freedom Hill Pinot Noirs from 2014. By our scorecards, the previous vintages paled in comparison.

If you were to choose one of the two 2014 Lange Estate Freedom Hill Pinot Noirs to lay down for a decade or two, it would be the “Heritage Block.” Purple-black, deep, dark, and brooding, dense and chewy texturally, it’s a herculean effort from Lange.

But for drinking over the next 15 years, Jesse’s “Liberty Bell” shines most brightly.

Drawn from just 5 acres of 15-year-old vines at the very top of the property, the clonal mix includes Wadenswil (for spice), 115 (mid-palate texture), and 777 (power). Brilliant violet. An explosively perfumed bouquet features aromas of ripe dark berry, incense, and clove, with black cherry cola, mocha, and smoke. Voluptuous on the attack, with great richness and vibrancy, filled with deeply concentrated black raspberry and a splash of kirsch, floral, and complex. Impeccably balanced with terrific clarity and length, finishing with dusty tannins that argue both elegantly and powerfully for a decade of cellar slumber. 14.1% alcohol. Finished pH, a flashy 3.6!

• ABV 13.80%
• Enjoy right away
• % Pinot Noir