MCF Rare Wine
Belle Pente: My Willamette Gateway
There’s a select group of wineries in my life that hold the title of ‘ah-ha’ producers - i.e. the winery who made me realize what made a given category or grape or region truly special.
Bartolo for Piedmont.
Hubert Lignier for Burgundy.
Lapierre for Beaujolais.
etc., etc.
(I know mentioning producers like that sounds name-drop-y today, but very few people knew about these wines back then, so they were way more accessible...)
My ah-ha moment for the Willamette Valley, though, came via the handiwork of Belle Pente.
At the time, Oregon wines were still sort of up and coming, at least on the east coast and definitely versus Napa/Sonoma. Belle Pente was, again versus the rest of the Willamette stuff we knew at the time, a much smaller, more boutique operation, and one that clearly embraced a spirit we now take for granted - quality over quantity, meticulous organic farming, low-intervention winemaking, etc.
Here we are, some two decades later, and none of that has changed. Their wines are as beautifully honest and as honestly beautiful as they've ever been, and I’m as excited as ever to offer them to you.
What I'm even more excited about this time, though, is to let you all know that Brian O'Donnell, proprietor/winemaker at Belle Pente will be here, at the shop, this coming Friday from 5-7pm, pouring a complete lineup of their current offerings for all of you to enjoy.
For those of you who can’t make it, fear not, we have them all available for sale below.
What I’ve always loved about Belle Pente’s wines is the way they combine the rich, dark, earthiness so signature to the Willamette, with a fabulous sense of transparency, lifted aromatics and tremendous energy.
It was those characteristics that drew me in back in the early aughts, and it’s still those characteristics that I love in them today - and, as hard as it is for me to believe, they seem to get even more finely tuned with each passing vintage.
We tasted this current crop the other week, and, sorry to be trite, but I was instantly transported back to my first dark, earthy, juicy, aromatically explosive sip back in the day.
I’m really looking forward for this tasting, and to get these wines into everyone’s hands…and I’m even more excited that I finally get to meet the family whose wines so shaped my early days in this biz.
I love it when things come full circle…
BELLE PENTE
Chardonnay Willamette Valley 2020 - an ultra-classic expression of Chardonnay, from Willakenzie-over-sandstone soil, with extended lees aging in neutral oak. It's clean, fragrant, textured and lively.
Pinot Noir Estate Reserve 2018 - speaking of formative, of all the wines in this lineup, the Estate Reserve is the one that comes to mind when I think of how Belle Pente made such an impression on me all those years back. The richest, darkest and most luxuriously textured of the reds, it's made of the finest grapes from the estate vineyards, aged in 50% new and 50% used wood. This is their longest-lived red, one that's best with at least 5-10 years under its belt.
Pinot Noir Belle Pente Vineyard Yamhill-Carlton 2019 - the Belle Pente vineyard always produces a livelier, spicier, more aromatically bright expression of Pinot Noir, and that's exactly what we have here. It still has that lovely dark/mineral fruit, but it's much higher-toned and nimble.
Pinot Noir Murto Vineyard Dundee Hills 2019 - this is the final vintage of the Murto, from the O'Donnell's only non-estate vineyard. This is also the wine that's probably been my most favorite over the years. Take that dark-yet-lifted profile of the Belle Pente, but give it a firmer backbone and a more intensely-mineral core, and that's this knockout 2019 Murto. Sad to see it go, but it's going out with a bang.
Pinot Noir Riona's Block Yamhill-Carlton 2019 - finally, we have the first vintage of the fabulous Riona's Block Pinot Noir, a special selection of six barrels sourced from a portion of the estate vineyard that was planted in 1999, the same year that Jill and Brian's daughter Riona was born. Per their own verbiage - "This block is distinctive due to a vein of volcanic ash embedded in the sandstone formation beneath the vineyard, and since the block is now mature (like it's namesake!), we plan to make a small block-designated offering every year. For the debut rendition, the wine features 40% whole cluster fermentation, providing aromatic complexity and smooth, mouth filling tannins." As sad as I am to see the Murto go, I'm as happy to see this beautifully structured, focused, spicy/savory and sublimely aromatic wine sliding into its spot!
You may order by calling 212.255.8870.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870
Looking for a wine you loved from a past newsletter or a favorite you can't find anywhere? Email Raphael at raphael@mcf-rarewine.com, and we'll do our best to find it for you!
