2016 Maison L’Envoye The Attache Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

The 2016 Maison L’Envoyé Attaché is a stunning example of what Willamette Pinot Noir can be. A barrel-selection of the finest lots in the cellar from what Wine Spectator calls the best vintage in Oregon’s history, we secured an exclusive allocation on the fantastic 93-point 2016—at just $28 per bottle, 30% off the winery’s price.

Maison L’Envoyé is the brainchild of Mark Tarlov, the founder of Evening Land Vineyards, who enlisted Louis-Michel Liger-Belair of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, to work with an assortment of the finest vineyards in the Willamette Valley. Liger-Belair is famed for owning La Romanée Monopole, from which he makes one of the greatest wines of Burgundy, with new releases starting at $4,000 per bottle. His has been described by Antonio Galloni as “one of Burgundy’s great vigneron families.”

It’s apparent that this is Oregon through a Burgundian lens, with the density and minerality of a good Côte de Beaune Premier Cru—just what you’d expect given the team behind the wine.With a bright ruby color and nose that’s complex and pure, aromas of Bing cherries, black tea, and forest floor waft out of the glass and entice a sip, where flavors of black raspberries, pie cherries, and Chinese five-spice carry through to a long, zesty finish with a hint of vanilla.

In Oregon, Liger-Belair fuses his French expertise with ripe New World grapes to create sensational wine. In the case of the Attaché, a selection of L’Envoyé’s best barrels, that means using indigenous yeast, uncrushed whole berries, and a gentle infusion-based technique to ensure complexity and exquisitely pure fruit while retaining a silky texture. A little bit of new oak brings out a Vosne-Romanée-style spice note before bottling after a full twelve months in barrel.

Oregon is a hot region for a reason—the best Pinots from the Willamette Valley are excellent and finally getting their due among the best in the world. Maison L’Envoyé’s Attaché is a wine that shows off its Willamette roots with an added Burgundian touch, and at 30% off the winery’s price. Well worth stocking up!

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 13.00%
• 15 mins
• Now – 2028
• 100% Pinot Noir
• Serving temperature – 62°
• Cork