Privé Vineyard
Two and a half acres of old-vine Pommard clone, planted in 1980 — among the oldest in the Chehalem Mountains. Two blocks, le nord and le sud, a hundred feet apart in elevation and quite different in the glass. Private appointments only, about ninety minutes.
They publish almost nothing. No address on their own website, no hours, no tasting fee. Call 503.554.0464 or email info@privevineyard.com and they will sort you out.
Two and a half acres is nothing. It is a garden. But the vines went in in 1980, which makes them among the oldest in the Chehalem Mountains, and the whole proposition here is what that age and that ground do to Pinot Noir.
The wine
The estate is split into two blocks a hundred feet apart in elevation — le nord at around 600 feet and le sud at 500. Same clone, same farming, different wine. Tasting them against each other is the clearest soil lesson in this guide. The reserve is Joie de Vivre.
You picked a 2022 Reserve Syrah. A reserve Syrah does exist, but it is the Les Collines Vineyard Reserve Syrah — and Les Collines is in the Walla Walla Valley, not here. No 2022 could be confirmed, and their site blocks all automated reading.
If the point was the soil, the bottle is le nord, le sud or Joie de Vivre. Tell me which and I will swap it in.
Who it is for
People who care about soil, and about elegance that comes from the ground rather than the cellar. The two-block comparison is the reason to come and it is genuinely instructive.
Who would find it wrong: anyone who hates the science of it. If the difference between one sediment and another, and what it does to a wine, holds no interest, you will be in a small room for ninety minutes wishing you were somewhere with a view.
What to expect
Private, by appointment, around ninety minutes, including a walk in the vineyard. Homey rather than grand. Tina and Mark Hammond founded it; Piper Underbrink has made the wine and tended the vines since 2020.
They also farm West Wind Vineyard on Ribbon Ridge, acquired in 2021, and buy fruit from growers they describe as sharing their approach.
A homey ambiance, down to earth, with quality wines and great soil.
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