Johan “Three Barrel” Pinot Noir, Van Duzer Corridor (Willamette Valley, OR) 2021

by sid_loves_wine

6 Comments

  1. sid_loves_wine

    Incredible stuff- in a way I feel this is one of the somewhat underrated Oregon producers. Not just super consistent, elegant, and well-priced Pinot and Chard, but tons of more unusual grapes too, especially Austrian varietals (Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt, Grüner, plus others like Savagnin, Ribolla, etc.)

    This “Three Barrel” is their flagship PN, somewhere in the $75 range and worth every penny. Ultra perfumed with super-pure bing cherry, airy and fresh, with bright earthy pine needles and some faint candied fruit in the background, like watermelon jolly rancher. 12% ABV- featherlight texturally, but with incredible length and depth of flavor. Excellent acidity too, extremely electric and refreshing, but never tart or out-of-balance. My wife (who made the decision to join their wine club, one of only two we’ve joined) said it was like a breath of crisp, cool morning air.

    This was also really different from their “Mariafeld” Pinot from the same year (a rare Swiss clone)- that was also an excellent wine, but less aromatic and bright. Still showed great purity of fruit, just felt more “dark and brooding”, a little more liqueur-like, while the Three Barrel is more crystalline and precise.

    If you’re a fan of producers like Kelley Fox, Arterberry Maresh, maybe Goodfellow, you’ll definitely love this too.

  2. *adds to the ever growing Willamette list* and nice picture to boot

  3. curtis5713

    Nice notes. Enjoyed a couple of their entry level PNs last time I was in Oregon and really enjoyed. Will keep an eye out to grab this one if I get a chance.

  4. kinbote2049

    Johan is an awesome winery. really cool people and super fun, unique wines for the region. had a great pinot noir pét-nat there summer 2023

  5. phonylady

    Nice! This producer is pretty popular here in Norway because it was at one point owned by a Norwegian (Dag Johan Sundby), heard some stuff about him selling it though so not sure if that’s the case any longer. Enjoyed all their stuff, even the orange wine.

Write A Comment