We visited the tasting room for this graceful Pinot Noir in tiny Carlton, Oregon in August 2016.

The Chehalem Mountains AVA where the grapes for this wine are grown is located entirely within the larger Willamette Valley AVA, just south of Portland.

Carlton is a charming village and is highly recommended if you’re looking for a long weekend escape with seriously excellent dining and drinking choices – all located on a two block stretch of the main drag.

We took a bottle of this home and enjoyed it with west coast salmon, wild rice and heirloom tomatoes with basil.

On the eyes, it’s a translucent garnet.  The nose shows tart pomegranate, strawberry, red cherry and moss with vanilla bean, and the palate is dry with mouth-watering acidity, strained tannins and flavours of more green strawberry with cherry, fern, light anise and fennel.

WSET Very Good – deliciously elegant – enough to make me want to return to get more and visit Carlton for a third time…