This episode is the a first of a handful of interviews from producers in Willamette Valley. We are kicking it off with our interview with Mike Bayliss from Ghost Hill Cellars.
Ghost Hill Cellars is located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. It’s “a fifth generation century farm and estate vineyard, sustainably tended by the Bayliss family and the ghost of a murdered gold miner.”
Wine Featured in this episode: These wines were provided to us for free
2014 Pinot Noir Blanc – priced around $25. This wine is a beautiful rose gold color made with no skin contact. It has a medium intense aromas of cherry licorice, sweet baking spices like star anise with cherry cola like aromas. This wine is dry with medium plus acidity and medium body with flavors of white flowers, lime pith, cherry, some minerality and a hint of dry hay. Thanks to the crisp, acidity we thought this would make a great food wine with poultry or pork based dishes.
2014 Bayliss-Bower Pinot Noir – priced around $42. Lots of cherry aromas in this wine but also aromas of dusty earth and sweet baking spices. It’s dry with medium plus acidity and light tannins with flavors of cherry cola, earth and dusty rose of the finish. Tony says he also got flavors of a chocolate colored candied orange peel (Betty not so much). This wine has an understated elegance to it and it’s definitely more of a Burgundy style Pinot Noir.
2014 Prospector’s Reserve Pinot Noir – priced around $55. This very small production (141 cases) is a blend of six barrels selected by the winemaker. It has medium intense aromas of dusty earth, rose and cherry cola. This wine is dry with medium acidity and tannins, with flavors of cherry cola, chalky minerality and a hint of orange. It’s elegant and again in that burgundy style but bolder and more complex than the previous Pinot Noir.
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