Chapter 24 'The Union' Pinot Noir 2023

Profile & Story

Chapter 24 Vineyards was founded in 2012 by Mark Tarlov, previously the founder of Evening Land Vineyards, in partnership with Burgundian vigneron Louis-Michel Liger-Belair of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair in Vosne-Romanee. The name nods to Homer's Odyssey, whose twenty-fourth chapter was appended long after the poet's death by Greeks unwilling to let the tale end where its author had stopped. The project began by vinifying fruit bought from dozens of Willamette Valley growers; blind-tasting those lots, the team found they sorted into two camps, the structured and red-fruited wines from volcanic soils and the darker, suppler wines from sedimentary soils left by ancient floods, which became the 'Fire' and 'Flood' bottlings. Working alongside Chilean terroir consultant Pedro Parra and winemaker Felipe Ramirez, the estate has since acquired vineyard land across the valley, including the historic Witness Tree site in the Eola-Amity Hills. Winemaking follows Liger-Belair's infusion approach of de-stemmed whole berries, indigenous ferments and gentle aerobic pump-overs in place of punch-downs or mechanical extraction, aiming at what he and Tarlov call a 'quiet' style: medium-light in body, modest in alcohol, and textural rather than showy.