If you haven’t heard of Thomas Winery before, I wouldn’t say i’m surprised. Afterall, this is a one-man show on a tiny 4-acre dry farmed vineyard in the Willamette Valley. Thomas has no website, no tasting room, no marketing, and essentially no means of communicating with interested customers outside of a PO Box and, if you dig deeply enough, an email address that he randomly tends to. Some have found a phone number, but like his email, it’s not often answered.
I was first introduced to Thomas by a passing mention on the Wine Beserkers Forum. His wine, a single Pinot Noir (375 cases / yr) produced in the Dundee Hills, is always highly regarded by those who have gotten their hands on a bottle, but I wondered if the praise may actually be an echo chamber effect brought on by the mystery of this relatively unknown project. Afterall, if it was *that* good, surely the wine would be more accessible. Right?
Curiosity got the best of me and with a little research, I found John’s email address and sent him a nice message. To my surprise, he replied within a day and put me on his allocation list. At the end of October, a small postcard with a few quirky comments and quotes, along with his ordering menu, arrived at my mailbox. The ordering process is a bit funny since he only accepts personal checks – no credit cards, no cash – but he does include a return envelope and postage for you so that’s pretty cool. Pricing was quite affordable for a “*mythic”* wine – $490 for a half case, inclusive of tax / shipping.
So here we are, my first night with a Thomas Pinot Noir. On the nose, it smells like a great wine: bright cherry, strawberries, sweet apple pie, and a faint petrichor aroma. I wouldn’t say the bouquet was particularly complex, but it sure smelled good.
On the palate, the wine had a medium / light body, relatively light acid (surprising to me), and a fairly short finish, but the flavors were so lovely and in total harmony: dank, bright cherries, river stone, a hint of black tea, and Hawaiian Punch. I didn’t pick up any stemminess and no fizziness, which is a complaint i’ve seen in past vintages. Like the nose, the flavor profile wasn’t particularly complex for me, but hot damn did it taste good. This is a pop and pour wine, not one you need to contemplate.
So does the wine live up to the hype?
This wine is not “Burgundian”, it’s not like California pinots, and it isn’t the finest pinot of the Willamette; something I’d reserve for Antica Terra. To me, this wine is probably the best “all-arounder” I’ve ever had. It’s so accessible, so tasty, not particularly complex, and a real crowd pleaser, especially for those that don’t drink wine often. It’s on the pricier end of the general market, coming out to about $70 a bottle if you adjust for California sales tax (where i’m located) and shipping.
Compared to premium pinots from OR and CA, this is well-priced and is, for me at least, tastier than many of the pinots i’ve had lately, including Lingua Franca, Calera, Dierberg, Kosta Browne, Alma Rosa, The Hilt, Brewer Clifton, and some Paul Latos. Of course, all of these wines have their pluses and minuses, but the Thomas stands out as one I’d grab without having to think twice about what I’m feeling for the night or what my guests’ tastes are.
Final verdict: I love it! Perhaps a bit overhyped on Wine Berserkers and some other websites, but it’s really a fantastic wine and even more so knowing it’s made by a single, passionate man. Do yourself a favor and get yourself on his allocation list, you won’t regret it.
Love these wines! Yes, you can get some bad bottles because of his non intervention style, but when they are on, they are ON!
sealonbrad
Great review – thanks!
twoflat
Great review! I love his wines. Thanks for your time in writing this up but unless you are openly trying to promote his Winery and have less of an allocation next year please keep this on the DL for the rest of us 😉
allmysportsteamssuck
I was told by some folks in Willamette that they prefer Thomas not become “mainstream” so demand isn’t driven too high and prices skyrocket. It’s already $200 on the secondary market.
5 Comments
If you haven’t heard of Thomas Winery before, I wouldn’t say i’m surprised. Afterall, this is a one-man show on a tiny 4-acre dry farmed vineyard in the Willamette Valley. Thomas has no website, no tasting room, no marketing, and essentially no means of communicating with interested customers outside of a PO Box and, if you dig deeply enough, an email address that he randomly tends to. Some have found a phone number, but like his email, it’s not often answered.
I was first introduced to Thomas by a passing mention on the Wine Beserkers Forum. His wine, a single Pinot Noir (375 cases / yr) produced in the Dundee Hills, is always highly regarded by those who have gotten their hands on a bottle, but I wondered if the praise may actually be an echo chamber effect brought on by the mystery of this relatively unknown project. Afterall, if it was *that* good, surely the wine would be more accessible. Right?
Curiosity got the best of me and with a little research, I found John’s email address and sent him a nice message. To my surprise, he replied within a day and put me on his allocation list. At the end of October, a small postcard with a few quirky comments and quotes, along with his ordering menu, arrived at my mailbox. The ordering process is a bit funny since he only accepts personal checks – no credit cards, no cash – but he does include a return envelope and postage for you so that’s pretty cool. Pricing was quite affordable for a “*mythic”* wine – $490 for a half case, inclusive of tax / shipping.
So here we are, my first night with a Thomas Pinot Noir. On the nose, it smells like a great wine: bright cherry, strawberries, sweet apple pie, and a faint petrichor aroma. I wouldn’t say the bouquet was particularly complex, but it sure smelled good.
On the palate, the wine had a medium / light body, relatively light acid (surprising to me), and a fairly short finish, but the flavors were so lovely and in total harmony: dank, bright cherries, river stone, a hint of black tea, and Hawaiian Punch. I didn’t pick up any stemminess and no fizziness, which is a complaint i’ve seen in past vintages. Like the nose, the flavor profile wasn’t particularly complex for me, but hot damn did it taste good. This is a pop and pour wine, not one you need to contemplate.
So does the wine live up to the hype?
This wine is not “Burgundian”, it’s not like California pinots, and it isn’t the finest pinot of the Willamette; something I’d reserve for Antica Terra. To me, this wine is probably the best “all-arounder” I’ve ever had. It’s so accessible, so tasty, not particularly complex, and a real crowd pleaser, especially for those that don’t drink wine often. It’s on the pricier end of the general market, coming out to about $70 a bottle if you adjust for California sales tax (where i’m located) and shipping.
Compared to premium pinots from OR and CA, this is well-priced and is, for me at least, tastier than many of the pinots i’ve had lately, including Lingua Franca, Calera, Dierberg, Kosta Browne, Alma Rosa, The Hilt, Brewer Clifton, and some Paul Latos. Of course, all of these wines have their pluses and minuses, but the Thomas stands out as one I’d grab without having to think twice about what I’m feeling for the night or what my guests’ tastes are.
Final verdict: I love it! Perhaps a bit overhyped on Wine Berserkers and some other websites, but it’s really a fantastic wine and even more so knowing it’s made by a single, passionate man. Do yourself a favor and get yourself on his allocation list, you won’t regret it.
**Email:** [thomaswinery@gmail.com](mailto:thomaswinery@gmail.com)
**Address (if you want to write him a letter):**
Thomas Winery
P.O. Box 48
Carlton, Oregon 97111
Love these wines! Yes, you can get some bad bottles because of his non intervention style, but when they are on, they are ON!
Great review – thanks!
Great review! I love his wines. Thanks for your time in writing this up but unless you are openly trying to promote his Winery and have less of an allocation next year please keep this on the DL for the rest of us 😉
I was told by some folks in Willamette that they prefer Thomas not become “mainstream” so demand isn’t driven too high and prices skyrocket. It’s already $200 on the secondary market.
Do with that what you will. 🤷♂️