Brooks Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023

Profile & Story

Brooks is a Willamette Valley winery founded in 1998 by Jimi Brooks; today the estate is owned by his son Pascal Brooks, with winery operations run by Jimi's sister Janie Brooks Heuck and winemaking led by longtime friend Chris Williams. Brooks farms organically and biodynamically, and is the only winery in the world that is both a certified B Corporation and Demeter Biodynamic certified, setting aside more than ten percent of its land for insectaries, hedgerows, cover crops, beehives, and other habitat. This Willamette Valley Pinot Noir blends fruit from eleven vineyards — Muska-Bement, Crannell, Muska, Yamhill, York Hill, Eola Springs, Sunset Ridge, Hyland, Sunny Mountain, Temperance Hill, and Fayetta — hand-sorted and 100% destemmed, then aged 10 months in French oak. The 2023 season brought late budbreak followed by warm, dry conditions and a brief August heat spike; harvest began in late August and resumed after September rains relieved drought stress, producing a wine the winery describes as showing "beautiful concentration, exceptional freshness," with balanced acidity and moderate sugars. 3,800 cases were produced, bottled June 20, 2024, at 13.5% ABV.