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Nicolas-Jay Pinot Noir L'ensemble 2018 750ml

size
750ml
country
United States
region
Oregon
appellation
Willamette Valley
DC
95
VM
94
WE
94
WS
94
JS
94
Additional vintages
DC
95
Rated 95 by Decanter
L'Ensemble is the selection of the best barrels from across the favoured vineyards where Nicolas-Jay sources grapes, including the estate Bishop Creek. These are not pre-selected, but chosen anew each year. The 2018 selection shows off the ripe, black fruit of the vintage with an appealing savoury, meaty character and a dense, tannic structure on the palate. Yet the sensitive winemaking has preserved freshness and elegance despite the warm, dry growing season to leave a lasting impression. This wine will age magnificently well. Drinking Window 2021 - 2031. ... More details
Image of bottle
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Nicolas-Jay Pinot Noir L'ensemble 2018 750ml

SKU 901839
Case Only Purchase
Long-term Pre-Arrival
$492.72
/case
$82.12
/750ml bottle
Quantity
min order 6 bottles
* This is a Long-term Pre-arrival item and is available for online ordering only. This item will ship on a future date after a 4-8 months transfer time. For additional details about Pre-arrival Items please visit our FAQ page.
Professional Ratings
DC
95
VM
94
WE
94
WS
94
JS
94
DC
95
Rated 95 by Decanter
L'Ensemble is the selection of the best barrels from across the favoured vineyards where Nicolas-Jay sources grapes, including the estate Bishop Creek. These are not pre-selected, but chosen anew each year. The 2018 selection shows off the ripe, black fruit of the vintage with an appealing savoury, meaty character and a dense, tannic structure on the palate. Yet the sensitive winemaking has preserved freshness and elegance despite the warm, dry growing season to leave a lasting impression. This wine will age magnificently well. Drinking Window 2021 - 2031.
VM
94
Rated 94 by Vinous Media
Vivid ruby. Assertive aromas of blackberry, licorice, cola and exotic spices take on a sexy floral nuance as the wine opens up. Juicy and energetic on the palate, offering concentrated red and dark berry liqueur flavors along with suggestions of cola and star anise. Finishes with slowly building tannins and impressive persistence, leaving a smoky mineral note behind. 33% new French oak.
WE
94
Rated 94 by Wine Enthusiast
This is a reserve-level, select-barrel blend from some of the eight sites the winery works with. Already complex and threaded with a mix of blue and black fruits, savory herbs, citrus and sharply defined barrel toast, it's a wine that may take some years to unpack. Native yeast was used, and one-third was aged in new French oak. Drink through 2033. (Cellar Selection)
WS
94
Rated 94 by Wine Spectator
Handsomely built and polished, with a vibrant core of lively acidity and tannins wrapped in vibrant cherry, savory forest floor and spice tones that build tension toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2030.
JS
94
Rated 94 by James Suckling
Spiced plums, cherries, rose hips, cedar and baking spices on the nose. Dried lemon zest, too. It’s medium-bodied with tightly knit tannins. Tight, textured and energetic. Excellent structure, freshness and drive. Unfiltered. Drink or hold.
Winery
After years of working with 8 of the top vineyard sites in the Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity, McMinnville and Yamhill-Carlton AVA’s, the L'Ensemble Pinot Noir was created with the idea of expressing the best parcels within these sites. L'Ensemble is a cuvée of the most expressive barrels from each vineyard, blended for extraordinary depth, complexity, ageability, and finesse. This wine receives an additional 6 months in barrel (33% new French oak) to escalate structure and lengthen its aging potential. This blend comprises either Bio-dynamic, organic or LIVE certified vineyards only. Native yeast fermentation, bottled unfined and unfiltered. A note from Nicolas-Jay on the 2018 vintage: After a cool March, a wet April made for a slightly later than average bud break. Warm and dry weather thereafter made for normal bloom and veraison timing. While summer was warm, we had no heat spikes of past years, and the grapes matured without fear of sunburn or dehydration. All vineyards were picked from the 14th of September to the 30th. For the first time, we saw almost perfect chemistry in the fruit - gorgeous ripe flavors, with ideal sugar and acid balance. The resulting wines are dense, aromatically complex wines with linear precision and age worthy tannins.
Product Details
size
750ml
country
United States
region
Oregon
appellation
Willamette Valley
Additional vintages
Overview
L'Ensemble is the selection of the best barrels from across the favoured vineyards where Nicolas-Jay sources grapes, including the estate Bishop Creek. These are not pre-selected, but chosen anew each year. The 2018 selection shows off the ripe, black fruit of the vintage with an appealing savoury, meaty character and a dense, tannic structure on the palate. Yet the sensitive winemaking has preserved freshness and elegance despite the warm, dry growing season to leave a lasting impression. This wine will age magnificently well. Drinking Window 2021 - 2031.
green grapes

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Regularly described as being the grape varietal responsible for producing the world's most romantic wines, Pinot Noir has long been associated with elegance and a broad range of flavors The name means 'black pine' in French, and this is due to the fact that the fruit of this particular varietal is especially dark in color, and hangs in a conical shape, like that of a pine cone. Despite being grown today in almost every wine producing country, Pinot Noir is a notoriously difficult grape variety to cultivate. This is because it is especially susceptible to various forms of mold and mildew, and thrives best in steady, cooler climates. However, the quality of the fruit has ensured that wineries and vintners have persevered with the varietal, and new technologies and methods have overcome many of the problems it presents. Alongside this, the wide popularity and enthusiasm for this grape has ensured it will remain a firm favorite amongst wine drinkers for many years to come.
barrel

Region: Oregon

Oregon today has a thriving and unique wine industry, quite unlike that found in other areas of the United States. With a particularly strong organic, vegan and biodynamic wine industry currently gaining world wide attention, Oregon is home to many trailblazers and alternative wineries keen to experiment with the vines which thrive so well in the valleys and mountainsides which characterise their region. Oregon is best known for their Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir varietal grapes, which produce elegant wines packed full of bright and interesting fruit flavours, although a wide range of classic grape varietals grow across the state. With over three hundred wineries currently operating in Oregon, and many more set to open, this is a New World wine region to watch out for now and in the near future.
fields

Country: United States

Whilst there are several strains of native grape varietals in the United States, it was the introduction of the European species which prompted the country to begin producing wines on a large scale. Over the past few centuries, experimentation and cross-breeding has produced great successes in regards to the quality and suitability of the fruit grown in states such as California, Oregon, Washington and New York, and the past few decades have seen New World wines from the United States reach much higher standards. Arguably the finest United States wines have always come out of California, where the climate and terrroir is most suitable for fine wine production. The masterful blending of classic grape varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, amongst others including Syrah and Chardonnay, have had world beating results in recent years, prompting many to suggest that there has never been a better time for buying and drinking United States wines.
bottle and glass

Appellation: Willamette Valley

When it comes to high quality United States wine regions, the state of Oregon certainly has its fair share. One of the key wine producing regions of Oregon is Willamette Valley, a beautiful region specializing in the production of carefully constructed and extremely flavorful Pinot Noir wines, which have gained popularity around the world as a result of their deliciously fruity nature and excellent range of characteristics. However, Willamette Valley's wine industry doesn't begin and end with this grape varietal, as wineries within the region are renowned for their love of innovation and experimentation, and are consistently experimenting with a range of fine grapes. As such, a wide array of wines come out of Willamette Valley each year, to an increasingly impressed international wine community.
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More Details
Winery Nicolas-Jay
green grapes

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Regularly described as being the grape varietal responsible for producing the world's most romantic wines, Pinot Noir has long been associated with elegance and a broad range of flavors The name means 'black pine' in French, and this is due to the fact that the fruit of this particular varietal is especially dark in color, and hangs in a conical shape, like that of a pine cone. Despite being grown today in almost every wine producing country, Pinot Noir is a notoriously difficult grape variety to cultivate. This is because it is especially susceptible to various forms of mold and mildew, and thrives best in steady, cooler climates. However, the quality of the fruit has ensured that wineries and vintners have persevered with the varietal, and new technologies and methods have overcome many of the problems it presents. Alongside this, the wide popularity and enthusiasm for this grape has ensured it will remain a firm favorite amongst wine drinkers for many years to come.
barrel

Region: Oregon

Oregon today has a thriving and unique wine industry, quite unlike that found in other areas of the United States. With a particularly strong organic, vegan and biodynamic wine industry currently gaining world wide attention, Oregon is home to many trailblazers and alternative wineries keen to experiment with the vines which thrive so well in the valleys and mountainsides which characterise their region. Oregon is best known for their Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir varietal grapes, which produce elegant wines packed full of bright and interesting fruit flavours, although a wide range of classic grape varietals grow across the state. With over three hundred wineries currently operating in Oregon, and many more set to open, this is a New World wine region to watch out for now and in the near future.
fields

Country: United States

Whilst there are several strains of native grape varietals in the United States, it was the introduction of the European species which prompted the country to begin producing wines on a large scale. Over the past few centuries, experimentation and cross-breeding has produced great successes in regards to the quality and suitability of the fruit grown in states such as California, Oregon, Washington and New York, and the past few decades have seen New World wines from the United States reach much higher standards. Arguably the finest United States wines have always come out of California, where the climate and terrroir is most suitable for fine wine production. The masterful blending of classic grape varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, amongst others including Syrah and Chardonnay, have had world beating results in recent years, prompting many to suggest that there has never been a better time for buying and drinking United States wines.
bottle and glass

Appellation: Willamette Valley

When it comes to high quality United States wine regions, the state of Oregon certainly has its fair share. One of the key wine producing regions of Oregon is Willamette Valley, a beautiful region specializing in the production of carefully constructed and extremely flavorful Pinot Noir wines, which have gained popularity around the world as a result of their deliciously fruity nature and excellent range of characteristics. However, Willamette Valley's wine industry doesn't begin and end with this grape varietal, as wineries within the region are renowned for their love of innovation and experimentation, and are consistently experimenting with a range of fine grapes. As such, a wide array of wines come out of Willamette Valley each year, to an increasingly impressed international wine community.