TN: 2014 Belle Pente Pinot Noir Murto Vineyard

  • 2014 Belle Pente Pinot Noir Murto Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (6/30/2018)
    Decanted 90 min - I would have preferred a much longer one as this was a bit of a last second choice. Having had the 14 Reserve in late May, this was by far more brooding and reserved but equally as impressive. The nose took some pretty aggressive swirling to get the party rolling, but eventually some spice and summer berries came out, as did a gentle perfume note. Lots of promising raw material on the palate, the fruit is clearly in the dark fruit spectrum with a finish of zippy acidity. In fact the more I drank this the more I thought how this would show blind against some higher level village or even a quality PC would not be out of the question; I was thinking CdN for sure, perhaps it was akin to a good Chambolle with its charming overall persona. I would hold if you only have a few of these, as great days are clearly ahead for this chap. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Love the Murto PN. Thanks for the note. Have a favorite recent Belle Pente vintage?

Pat, there is sooo much quality OR Pinot out there I’m a little embarrassed to say this was the first BP I have purchased since the 08 Reserve. This bottle was a reminder to remedy that going forward. I had the 02 about 5 years ago and it was sublime, blew an 06 Beaux Freres off the table, I think it was the Upper Terrace too.

We had a 2012 Murto last night. It was wonderful. Always one of my favorite Oregon pinot’s. It’s just entering its drinking window and developed more depth with air. It is silly good.

Thanks for bumping this as I tend to forget about producers such as BP (among others) as there are so many new and exciting things coming out of OR these days, its easy to forget about folks and producers who have been exciting all along.

I’m the same way. Bought 07 and 08, 10, 11 and 12 then took a few years off buying wines. Brian has some great packages on the website so I’ve been able to back buy 14-16. If you follow Josh Raynolds at Vinous he scored the 16 Reserve and Murto 95 and the 16 BP Vineyard 93. Special case purchase as well as a library case special at https://bellepente.com/current-releases

A recent 10 Reserve was very good but still a bit young and shy.

I think the 2016 Murto and Estate Reserve may be the best BP yet. We will have to wait at least another ten years to make a judgement. I prefer the Reserve for its purity, but those who prefer the earth/mushroom profile will go for the Murto.

Nice! Went to BP the other weekend for a tasting with Brian. Very well done, with social distancing and the tasting set up on the crush pad. I highly recommend a visit for anyone in the area. Tasted and purchased some 2017 Murto, and Brian talked at length about how great the 2016 and 2017 vintages will be. As beautiful as the 2017 Murto is, I think I slightly preferred the 2017 Belle Pente Vineyard PN, with its slightly grippy-er tannins, and more pronounced black/blue fruit.

Do yourself a favor next time you’re purchasing and get some of their Pinot Gris, Chardonnay (BP Vineyard) as well! The Pinot Gris is very Alsatian in style, lucious and rich, and the Chardonnay is excellently balanced. Apparently for the Chard they harvest about half early, and about half two weeks later-ish, giving it a nice balance of acidity and bright fruit flavors.

Glad to see more buzz about BP on the board!

Brian’s wines always float my boat. I bought 3 bottles of this at the winery/picnic table. Still have one left. They were so good that they were drunk up fast.

I’ve also taken a buying hiatus ('12 - '16) and feel a bit guilty. Just unloaded 8 x 2010 BP Reserves from “deep storage” to “rack storage”. Made a critical mistake and didn’t stock up similarly on the '10 Murto. Many OR Pinots come in to their own at 6 - 10 years…2010 and 2011 both strike me as vintages not to rush.

RT

This is from 5 years ago (and, man, those were simpler times) so not entirely germane to this thread but still seems a bit useful for maybe some who weren’t around or interested back then.

Great thread Jim. I found it when I was looking to tag my comments to a recent thread on Murto. They sure were simpler times.

RT- I had the 10 Reserve along with a 10 Ayoub and and Arterberry Winderlea this month. I felt the BP was still holding back a bit but the Ayoub and AM where in a prime spot. Brian has a nice library case for sale on the website. It helped with my back buying.