OFFER EXTENDED: PROJECT M WINES: Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling

Thank you Berserker Community! You made our first Berserker Day a memorable experience!

WE are extending the offer as is until 3pm PST tomorrow (Friday the 28th). We will continue the offer, without the flat rate shipping incentive until 5 pm PST Sunday (the 30th) . The free shipping on 8 or more bottles will continue until then.

PROJECT M Wines was founded in 2016 to make wines free of the influence of CEOs, marketing departments, and eccentric winery owners. After nineteen vintages of making wine for others, we decided it was time to pursue the wines that haunted our dreams. Across three continents and many vineyards in many climates, we gained the perspective that all wines are shaped by the forces of people, place, and time. PROJECT M is an elaboration and exploration of those forces.

We take our responsibility as winemakers seriously and practice our craft with great reverence. Working with exceptional Willamette Valley Vineyards, farmed with great passion and skill, we create Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sparkling Rosé to pursue the virtues of precision and purity, elegance, and transparency.


Note: We can ship nationwide, except for Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Utah. If you’re in South Dakota or Connecticut, please email us at wine@projectmwines.


More about Jerry D. Murray’s winemaking here.







SHIPPING OFFERS:

  • Enjoy $10 flat rate ground shipping everywhere on 4-pack purchases.
  • Free ground shipping on purchases of 8 bottles or more shipped to the same address.

OFFER #1: SchlĂĽssel Riesling Vertical Pack
The Riesling grape makes the best white wines on the planet. I would say so, standing on Dominique Lafon’s kitchen table in nothing but my Redback boots. We find it best to state our position right away.

Though there are many reasons for Riesling’s superiority, this vertical highlights the virtues of transparency and precision. Our Schlüssel Riesling is sourced from two organically farmed vineyards of radically different geology and geography. The 2017, 2018, and 2019 vintages illustrate the sort of vintage variation lacking in most New World regions (Oregon excepted). Each made in a dry style, they demonstrate the knife-edge precision that only Riesling is capable of.

You will be getting 2 bottles each of:

  • 2017 SchlĂĽssel Riesling
  • 2018 SchlĂĽssel Riesling
  • 2019 SchlĂĽssel Riesling

Vertical Pack retails $156, Berserker Day Price $110.
Check out the offer here



OFFER #2: 2017 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir Horizontal Pack
Our sourcing philosophy is based on diversity. We seek vineyards from parts of the Willamette Valley with differing geology and geography. This approach brings range to our blended Pinot Noir’s, Personify, and Kairos. It also allows us to converse with tasters, through our single-vineyard wines, about the distinct individualities of the Willamette Valley.

The 2017 vintage, a marvelously transparent season, serves as the perfect stage to explore the identities of the Chehalem Mountain (Chehalem Mountain AVA), Filament (Eola-Amity AVA), Momtazi (McMinnville AVA), and Bednarik (Willamette Valley AVA) Vineyards.

This pack is a tour of the Willamette Valley delivered to your door.

You will be getting:

  • 2017 Filament Vineyard Pinot Noir
  • 2017 Momtazi Vineyard Pinot Noir
  • 2017 Chehalem Mountain Pinot Noir
  • 2017 Bednarik Vineyard Pinot Noir

Horizontal Pack retails $220, Berserker Day Price $187.
Check out the offer here



OFFER #3: “In the Zone” Pack (Limited: Only 20 Six Packs Available)
The “Zone” refers to that magical point where a wine stops being merely young and begins to express experience and perspective. It doesn’t refer to the wine’s zenith, the pinnacle of its development. Instead, it marks the beginning of the serious journey towards its potential.

Because we believe the Berserker community understands and appreciates this stage in a wine’s trajectory, we are opening up the library and offering a limited number of six-packs of some of our 2016 Pinot Noirs now in the “zone.” Their youthful exuberance, now tempered by the unwinding of fruit, allows the emergence of more earth and spice. Acid /Tannin structures are refining and rounding, leading to more caressing textures.

The pack includes:
The thirty-eight-year-old, own-rooted Bednarik Vineyard, whose rustic tannin profile is rounding while its herbaceous streak transforms into mushroom and forest floor. Resting on a firm core of acidity, the Filament Vineyard is beginning to show the range and complexity one would expect from a vineyard harvested as a field blend of Pommard and Dijon clone Pinot Noir. The Kairos “Bodhi” texture remains viscerally moving while the increasing complexity and nuance bring a more cerebrally enjoyable element.

You will be getting 2 bottles each of:

  • 2016 Bednarik Vineyard Pinot Noir
  • 2016 Filament Vineyard Pinot Noir
  • 2016 Kairos “Bodhi” Pinot Noir

6-bottle Pack retails $356, Berserker Day Price $299.
Check out the offer here



OFFER #4: 2018 Vintage Review
We love the enigmatic 2018 vintage. The hot summer had us preparing for a vintage that might lack acidity with high potential alcohols. A couple of weeks before the picking window, cooler temperatures and a high haze from distant wildfires conspired to flatten the curve of ripening.

In tanks and barrels, fermentation revealed wines much more indicative of a cooler vintage than we would have expected from the conditions. However, after just a few months in bottle, the wines began to show considerable density and concentration, indicative of a warmer vintage. The Schlüssel Riesling’s generous volume is kept buoyant by tension and precision. The Chardonnay is a core of mouth-watering acidity wrapped in a soft, cloud-like richness. The Pinot Noirs are opulent yet elegant.

The wines manage the extremes magnificently, resulting in a balance that nearly all wine drinkers easily like despite their stylistic preference.

You will be getting:

  • 2018 Anicca Chardonnay
  • 2018 SchlĂĽssel Riesling
  • 2018 Personify Pinot Noir
  • 2018 Chehalem Mountain Pinot Noir

4-bottle Pack retails $167, Berserker Day Price $142.
Check out the offer here




Pro-tip: If you join our Mbassador Wine Club, ALL OFFERS above get STACKED with membership perks!
How does an additional 15% off for all purchases, or 20% off for 1 case and above sound?

1 Like

I cannot recommend the Rieslings highly enough. Buy them!

1 Like

Yes. These are one of my must haves tomorrow.

2 Likes

Charlie knows a few things.

1 Like

Tasted these (& posted notes in my barbaric style) for Newbie Palooza. Blake Brown did much better notes in the same thread. Definitely recommend these wines!

1 Like

Thanks for letting us share here your notes here, too @JDavisRoby!


If you want the TL;DR, these wines are well structured, elegant and exactly what I think of when I think of well made Oregon Pinot Noir. I believe fans of WB favorites like Goodfellow and Patricia Green will really enjoy these wines.

(Blake already provided the tech notes, so I won’t get into those)

All wines were tasted multiple times over at least two days (except the Rieslings, because well I just couldn’t keep hands off them) with Grassl (Cru for Pinot Noir and Liberte for Riesling) as the glass of choice. Given the task at hand I did enlist help from multiple people whose palates I trust (a fellow wino, a CS, a WSET II and the most trusted of all, my wife) to taste thru the various wines. While my notes are the forefront, I felt their experience aligned with mine.

2017 SchlĂĽssel Riesling

  • Tasted mid-day over a lunch of fresh green salad topped with salmon
  • Light straw color
  • Welcoming, fresh nose with some tartness
  • Limited minerality on the nose
  • Tree fruits such as peach and apricot up front
  • Medium minus body - light texture
  • Long, mouth-coating finish with hints of grapefruit with possibly some orange peel
  • Somewhat sweet but certainly well balanced and refreshing
  • Wonderful wine to enjoy on the patio during an unseasonably warm November day

2018 SchlĂĽssel Riesling

  • Tasted mid-day over a lunch of fresh green salad topped with salmon
  • Light straw color - although darker than 2017
  • Light petrol on the notes, but still limited, if any minerality, a touch of flint
  • Lemon and grapefruit up front on the palate
  • Medium body and medium (more viscous) texture
  • Longer finish than 2017 seemed to hide some underlying citrus notes that may emerge with age
  • Well balanced, but I thought may benefit from a little more time in the bottle

2018 Personify Pinot Noir

  • The day of Pobega wine popped within hours of delivery
  • Rich red, bordering on magenta
  • Immediate notes of forest floor on the nose, my favorite note in Pinot Noir
  • Few floral notes on the nose
  • The immediate nose was tangier than I expected but not in sour way. A lip smacking good way
  • Hints of blueberry up front
  • Black Cherry, not candy like, on the mid-palate
  • Finishing with just a hint of fruity bitterness
  • Medium body that finished longer than I expected
  • Low tannin, but the acid level still provided some of that grip on your teeth you might mistake for high tannin
  • A wonderful, well structured blend that had my wondering just how good must the single vineyard sources be

2017 Bednarik Vineyard Pinot Noir

  • Full, dark red color with just a hint of browning on the edges
  • Lovely, welcoming mossy forest floor notes on the nose that really pulled me in
  • Very round, soft, velvety mouth feel - reminds me of a rose petal after a light rain (thank my wife for this one)
  • Clove, allspice, tobacco and softer earth notes from early to mid to finish
  • Medium acidity
  • Low tannin
  • Medium body
  • Very well structured that seemed to last forever
  • To quote the great American rock band, Cake, this wine had a short skirt and a loooong jacket and that’s my kinda girl

2017 Chehalem Mountain Pinot Noir

  • At initial pop this had a very faint nose, as it sat in the glass over 90 or so minutes the nose began to flourish into a very nice fruit forward classic Pinot Noir cherry nose. This nose stayed thru up to three days later
  • I pretty quickly thought this wine was the highest alcohol of the group and wouldn’t be surprised if the alcohol was a little higher than 14.4 on the bottle
  • Dark red nearly magenta color
  • Lots of dark red fruit on this wine. Dark, black cherries was the main fruit for me. While not intended to be a detriment, there were some cherry cough syrup notes on this bottle for me
  • Some notes of roasted beets or root vegetables as the wine finished
  • Acid was medium while the tannins seemed low
  • Medium body with a long finish
  • Overall a well balanced wine that stood out as the most powerful of the package that would stand up against a hearty winter meal

2017 Momtazi Vineyard Pinot Noir

  • This was tasted side-by-side with the 2017 Chehalem and the difference in alcohol seemed immediate. Quick review showed this to be the lowest alcohol of the Pinot Noirs in the box
  • Dark red with some faint browning on the edges
  • Loads of forest floor, mushrooms, dry leaves on the nose
  • Fruit notes of sour cherry, dried red fruits, cranberries
  • As the wine sat in the glass I began to pick up notes of sweeter cavendish pipe tobacco - possibly the black cherry tobacco my grandpa used to smoke
  • Medium+ body and acid
  • Medium minus tannins
  • I found this be one of the more complex wines of the pack
  • Very elegant and would be a lovely wine to follow over an evening of sitting on the porch while a soft spring rain falls

2018 Chehalem Mountain Pinot Noir

  • Dark purple color
  • Very fruit forward nose - the most fruit forward nose of all the wines
  • Dark fruit notes such as dark cherry, blackberry
  • Black tea and light spices on the finish
  • Medium+ tannins and acidity
  • Medium body
  • I found this wine to be the least balanced wine of the pack as it is now, but I expect additional tannins to resolve over time and this to develop in the bottle into a really nice wine

I mentioned it only a few of the notes, but all the wines changed throughout the afternoon or evening in the glass which I love in a wine. Their stuffing held up for at least another day (and in some cases three, if they weren’t empty first) showing an ability to go longer. None faded on day two.

While, it doesn’t impact what’s in the bottle I found everything about this project to be well thought out and showed an attention to detail. The labels are beautiful on the front, very descriptive on the back while their website and social media show a keen eye for photography, writing and presentation.

In conclusion, these are very well made and well thought out wines that I wouldn’t hesitate to cellar and would be proud to give as gifts (it is the holidays!) and/or set on my dinner table.

1 Like

Loved these from NewbiePalooza - another buy vote!

1 Like

Grateful for @Blake Brown for letting us share his notes here, too! We’ve listed out the NewbiePalooza wines he wrote about that can be found in our BD13 offers today below.


PROJECT M WINERY

The people behind PROJECT M are Meg and Jerry Murray who have spent over 30 years in the wine industry and created a vision for the style and kind of wines they desire to make which include a sparkling rose, Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley.

Their mission statement says a lot about who they are and where they are coming from: “Our greatest ambition is to have our wines there when you are living yours.”

I received 11 wines in all, 2 of which were Rieslings and the remainder Pinot Noir.

Prior to perusing their website and reading any reviews that may be there, I tasted through each one. My wine notes typically reflect characteristics starting with color, aromatics, taste profile, mouthfeel, finish and overall impressions along with some minimal technical data for some of the wines which in this case, I will glean from which their website after writing up notes.

Of course, the impressions I get are predicated on the space I’m in when tasting wines, so I can say I approached these wines with interest, curiosity and respect and my palate prepared.

Additionally, Jerry Murray responded to my email request to provide more detail with enough information for me to realize they have put a lot of time, thought, energy and experience into crafting their wines and are committed to doing it righteously, allowing for “terroir” and in their words, telling a story that has 3 chapters, one for each, people, place and time”.

Now for the wines. I allowed the bottles to rest for 5 days after the shipment was received and placed them in my temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar; I did two tastings of each wine over 4 days; for each one, I used varietally correct Sophienwald stems for both the Riesling and the Pinot Noir; the Rieslings were initially chilled at refrigerator temp= ~38 degrees, and the Pinots were slightly chilled= ~ 55 degrees;

2017 PROJECT M SCHLUSSEL RIESLING WILLAMETTE VALLEY- 12.2 % abv, 4.1 RS; the fruit is sourced from 2 organic vineyards; pale yellow color; it had an inviting nose of mild mineral and a hint of flint along with white peach; all continued on and were joined on the palate by mild notes of lemon, tangerine and orange zest; it had a medium body, light weight texture and a hallmark of elegance; although there is some reported RS, this is not a sweet wine; it is nicely balanced and very refreshing.

2018 PROJECT M SCHLUSSEL RIESLING WILLAMETTE VALLEY- 12.5% abv; following its pale yellow color came aromas of mineral infused white grapefruit and tangerine that were joined by lemon, lime and the continuation of the nice streak of minerals; its oily texture added to the sensory experience as did its elegance and especially its already achieved state of balance; excellent wine.

2017 PROJECT M BEDNARIK VINEYARD PINOT NOIR WILLAMETTE VALLEY- 13.8% abv; sourced from their own vineyard grafted over to Pommard and Wadenswil clones; I loved this one from the nose through the tail; it had a darker red color, distinct aromas of vanilla and red cherry as in announcing a mouthful of cherries is forthcoming which was confirmed once tasted; it was augmented with allspice accented blueberry while being delivered in a medium body with a soft texture; the streak of allspice and bigger fruit profile distinguished this from the ones above; as with those wines, the finish was a culmination of everything coming together.

2018 PROJECT M PERSONIFY PINOT NOIR WILLAMETTE VALLEY- 13.9% abv; this is a blend of 4 vineyards from the Chehalem Mountain Vineyard/ AVA; the order I selected seem to be crescendoing upward as this wine took it to another level with more of everything and it held on for a welcomed long finish; it had a dark purple color and the nose contained a bounty of fresh and ripe fruit which on the palate translated into vanilla laced strawberry and blueberry; it was medium bodied, had a velvety texture and as stated, it held on for a grand finale; my fav of the first 4 Pinots, all of which are good and worthy of finding my glass.

2017 PROJECT M MOMTAZI VINEYARD PINOT NOIR WILLAMETTE VALLEY- 13.5% abv; clone 115 from block C, McMinnville AVA; dark red color; the pleasant nose had burnt black cherry and the taste profile included nice, fresh and ripe red and black cherry with strawberry coming in late; it was soft, medium bodied and finished with a touch of tartness.

2017 PROJECT M CHEHALEM MOUNTAIN VINEYARD PINOT NOIR WILLAMETTE VALLEY- 14.4% abv; this vineyard in the Chehalem Mountain AVA was planted in 1968 by the legendary Dick Erath; Pommard clone; dark red color; the nose offered layers of depth and each one had nice red fruit character embellished with a hit of spice and a mild toasty accent not perceived in any of the other Pinots; this nicely balanced wine also transitioned from red cherry and red currant to strawberry and had a soft, smooth texture; it finished on an upbeat.

2018 PROJECT M CHEHALEM MOUNTAIN VINEYARD PINOT NOIR WILLAMETTE VALLEY- 13.8% abv; the color was a darker red purple; the aromas now have more talc and sandalwood to enhance the cranberry and red cherry fruit before a welcomed dollop of strawberry joins in; the super smooth mouthfeel added to the sensory pleasures; I noticed more similarity in these two SVDs than I did the others and loved them both.


Final impressions/ comments:

These wines changed and improved dramatically over time and were most expressive after 30-60 minutes in the glass and even 24-48 hours later.

Each cork I pulled for all bottles had three words repeated twice, Honesty, Beauty and Elegance. It’s clear, these folks bring some super fine energy behind their product and have put a lot of thought, time and energy into delivering it.

In a word, the wines were across the board ELEGANT. Each had their own personality and character and all were good and easily recognized as being well made. Some were already balanced and those that were not, only need just a little more time, especially as it relates to the fruit integration, and those that were not, are pleasant enough now to open and track them as they mature.

The common thread that runs through the wines besides elegance has to do with them having a nice fresh fruit profile, a soft, smooth feel, medium body and weight and nice acidity.

The back labels on all bottles included their mission statement communicating their genuine commitment to excellence.




If you are one who puts some credence into consuming anything that has been prepared with love and good energy, these wines merit additional consideration beyond how fabulous they are.

Cheers,
Blake

1 Like

Thanks Charlie for helping get the word out!

David,
Thanks. We’ll see you in a few weeks.

J. Davis,
Thanks for the support. We’ve been known to take barbaric approaches to many things ourselves. Never with Pinot Noir or Riesling though.

1 Like

Thank you Siun.

In case anyone wants to know more about why we’ve named our Riesling “Schlüssel”, we explain below.
[media]Dropbox - IMG_2813.MOV - Simplify your life]

In for a vertical, thanks!

1 Like

Kicking it off with Rielsing! Love it.

For anyone not familiar with the vineyards Jerry is using, holy sh*t! Each site is an impressive story unto itself. Does not hurt that Jerry has been making beautiful wines for, I don’t know, 20+ years! Filament and Chehalem Mountains are amazing sites!

1 Like

You’re making me feel old. Thanks for the shout!

Dude can make wine. 'nuff said. No brainers here.

1 Like

Thanks Doug. The truth is I work with vineyards that make me look good.

After I tasted through 11 of the wines {see post #8 above}, it was easy to conclude, this is a spectacular producer that merits consideration for their wines across the board.

Many of my friends and I purchased some from the initial offering and although I am cellaring mine, everyone else has raved about them after opening them. They are so approachable now and also have the structure to warrant long term cellaring= 7-10+ years minimum IMHO.

If you are looking for balanced wines that have elegance and charm and also some energy and layered depth, these are for you.

1 Like