Averaen Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Andrew

Pale ruby, not particularly bright; not particularly scented; taste is pleasant and clean but lacks brightness; med-high acid; medium length of finish. Decent.

Ed Lehrman

Pretty solid Pinot esp for the price.

Daniel P. Drake

Tonight on this the start of the weekend I had a taste for Willamette Valley Pinot and so I went to my store of choice in Chicagoland. I picked up a couple and not the usual choices. I wanted to try some under $20 Pinot. So the one I have opened is the inaugural 2015 Averean Pinot Noir. This is a new brand from the makers of Banshee and it shows with the California influence. The nose is very aromatic with notes of strawberry, cranberry, cherry, red raspberry, cola, vanilla, an earthy component and a touch of smoky oak. On the palate the nose is confirmed with cherry, cranberry, ripe strawberry, red raspberry, vanilla, spice, and rich soil. Definitely not your typical Oregon Pinot Noir. More California influence than Oregon. Medium bodied and well balanced with medium + acidity, medium tannins. This is not what I look for in a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir but is a very pleasant wine and drinkable all night long. Please have an enjoyable weekend and as always stay safe. Nostrovia!

Delectable Wine

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Glistening ruby-red. Ripe red and dark berries, cherry-cola and a hint of allspice on the perfumed nose. Pliant cherry and black raspberry flavors show good energy and pick up a hint of smokiness on the back half. Plush and seamless in texture, with lingering floral and spice notes on the long, subtly tannic finish. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, August 2020)

James Forsyth

Waltham is a town in the suburbs of Boston, near where Cara's mother lives. Its high street has both Dollar Shops and little boutiques. Its eateries include both inexpensive Cuban diners and hip new restaurants. Red Bird is one such place with its chic decor and unfussy new American dishes. The menu could have been guessed at well ahead of time: beet salad, Brussels, hangar steak. The chicken entree included a spiced apple bread pudding. Tasty but would have been more so served later in the meal with some Creme Anglais. Quantities were enormous. Decent Massachusetts restaurants often have a common shortcoming: their wine list. Made worse by the illegality of corkage. The options were limited to around ten reds. A Chianti I've never heard of. A Bulgheri wine I've never heard of. A couple of Californian wines I've never heard of. And then there was a Damilano Barolo for $150. No thank you. With some under the table research on Delectable and Vinous I chose this Oregon Pinot Noir from Averaen. Ripe red cherries but with nice freshness. Sustains well and gained complexity with air. (On an aside, I asked for the bottle to be cooled a little and it made the world of difference.) "Bottled by Banshee" on the label boded well as I'm a fan of what this Sonoma producer is doing, especially for the price.

Delectable Wine

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The 2019 Averaen Pinot Noir is smooth and open-knit, showing good clarity and seamless texture to the appealingly sweet red fruit flavors. Subtle tannins make a quick appearance before fading into the lingering, juicy fruit. $20.00 (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2022)

Paul Barnaby

Fruit flavors, very smooth

Chris Buffum

Good WV Pinot

Sarah Norman

This was good but has a 14.something abv. It took my surprise since it was a bit high for a Pinot

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Vibrant, sharply focused scents of ripe red berries and candied flowers are complicated by suggestions of cinnamon and allspice. Sweet on the palate while floral notes come back strong on the clinging, spice-laced finish, with harmonious, slow-building tannins. (JR)