NEW OFFER
I’m running out of inventory so need to change this up a bit. The first part of the offer remains!
The new pack is called “Shelter In Place” Pack. Only $342 which includes free shipping (no further discount)
4 x '16 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
4 x '16 Johan Vineyard Pinot Noir
4 x '16 La Chenaie Vineyard Pinot Noir
John Gilman’s notes on each wine:
2016 Willamette Valley
As I mentioned after my visit to Michael Sterling’s Franny Beck Vineyards back in the summer of 2017, his Willamette Valley bottling is not his entry level wine, but is a blend of his three single vineyard wines, merged to make a different interpretation of the vintage. The 2016 version is outstanding, offering up a pure and complex nose of red plums, black cherries, spice tones redolent of clove and nutmeg, a lovely base of soil, a bit of smoked meats, incipient notes of cola and a very discreet base of new oak. On the palate the wine is very transparent, focused and full-bodied, with a fine core, stellar soil signature, ripe tannins and a long, youthful and tangy finish. This is a superb bottle of pinot noir in the making, but it is a puppy and needs four to six years in the cellar to start to blossom. It is going to be lovely in the fullness of time.
Drink 2025-2050. 91+
2016 Johan Vineyard
The 2016 Johan Vineyards pinot from Franny Beck is one of the ripest wines I have yet seen from this cool vineyard, as it comes in at 13.7 percent octane, but the summer of 2016 was a scorcher in Oregon. The wine is absolutely stunning on the nose, soaring from the glass in a very complex blend of red and black plums, cherries, cocoa powder, a gorgeous base of soil, a touch of sweet stems, gamebird, cloves, woodsmoke and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full, with great transparency, a lovely core of sappy fruit, ripe, seamless tannins and a long, tangy and complex finish. This is a great bottle in the making.
Drink 2025-2055. 94
La Chenaie Vineyard
The 2016 la Chênaie Vineyard bottling from Michael Sterling is a touch riper than the Armstrong, coming in at 13.6 percent octane, but sharing the same precision and purity on the nose and palate. The bouquet is a bit more black fruity than the above, wafting from the glass in a mix of black cherries, pomegranate, woodsmoke, gamebird, raw cocoa, a touch of fresh thyme, dark soil tones and a whisper of new oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, complex and very nicely balanced, with a fine core of fruit, lovely soil signature and a long, moderately tannic and vibrant finish. This is still marked a bit by its whole clusters on the youthful backend and will need some bottle age, for those who do not like the youthful flavor of stems, but structurally, it is accessible already and if whole clusters do not bother you, it is already quite tasty. That said, its best days are still ahead of it and I would choose to bury it in the cellar for five to seven years (even though I like whole clusters), as it is going to age beautifully.
Drink 2025-2055. 92+
NO CODE NEEDED, discounts will apply at checkout. California people, send me an email michael@frannybeck.com . This cannot be combined with other offers (except Wine Club members.)
If you run into issues with the free shipping, just go ahead and complete the order and I’ll adjust the free shipping on the back end.
Current Wine Club members will receive this discount ON TOP of their regular discounts (that’s up to 35%, just sayin’)
