Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar,    July 2010

2008 Bethel Heights Vineyard Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
($28) Bright ruby. Pungent, sexy scents of dried red fruits, star anise, allspice and rose. Lively and precise on entry, then gains flesh and breadth in the mid-palate, offering sweet raspberry and cherry compote flavors and showing no rough edges. The finish is juicy, seductively sweet and very long. A very impressive "basic" bottling that bodes well for the later-release single-site and reserve bottlings from this vintage.
90

2007 Bethel Heights Vineyard Pinot Noir Flat Block Eola-Amity Hills ($50) Full red. Fresh red fruits and potpourri on the nose, with hints of exotic spices and herbs. Silky and sweet, with finely etched red fruit and floral pastille flavors and no rough edges. Shows the graceful, balanced character of the best 07s, and finishes with very good clarity and lingering spiciness. This will age on its balance.
90

2007 Bethel Heights Vineyard Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard Eola-Amity Hills ($50) Bright red. Sexy, complex scents of fresh red berries, incense and musky herbs. Supple, open-knit red fruit flavors are nicely spherical and precise, with a late note of white pepper adding vibrancy. This juicy wine is drinking very well now but its balance bodes well for cellaring.
90

2007 Bethel Heights Vineyard Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve Eola Amity Hills ($60) Saturated ruby-red. Pungent, deeply pitched aromas of blackberry, cherry-cola, star anise and mocha, with a subtle floral quality that gains strength with air. Juicy, penetrating cherry and dark berry preserve flavors are framed by supple tannins that gain strength on the back half. At once rich and lively, with impressive finishing breadth, precision and spicy persistence. Shows very good depth for the vintage, as well as the briskness of the year, and should reward several years of bottle aging.
92

THE WINE SPECTATOR INSIDER, October 2009

2007 Pinot Noir Flat Block
92
Light and silky, a gorgeous, delicate style that lets its red berry and plum fruit dance sinuously over the polished, racy frame. Drink now through 2015.

THE WINE ADVOCATE, October 30, 2009

2007 Pinot Noir Flat Block
91
Has a splendid, sexy aromatic array of sandalwood, incense, earth and floral notes, and assorted red fruits. Layered on the palate, it has outstanding grip, savory fruit, and a lengthy, pure finish. It will drink well from 2011 to 2019.

2007 Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard
91
Alluring nose of smoke, spice box, rose petals, cherry, and raspberry. Elegant on the palate, it exhibits a silky texture, excellent density, savory fruit, and a long, fruit-filled finish.

2007 Pinot Noir Southeast Block
91+
Aromatic complexity including earth notes, cinnamon, cranberry, and raspberry. Firm on the palate, it will benefit from another 2-3 years in bottle to fully blossom.

2007 Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve
92
My favorite of the collection, it is the most deeply colored as well as the most fragrant. Asian spices, incense, black cherry, and black raspberry aromas lead to a layered wine with tons of succulent fruit, 2-3 years of aging potential, and a long, pure finish. It will offer pleasure through 2022.

THE WINE ADVOCATE, October 30, 2008

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve
93
Medium ruby-colored with an alluring perfume of wood smoke, damp earth, black cherry, and black raspberry. This is followed by a wine with excellent focus, density, and intense, savory dark fruits. It is well balanced, nicely structured, and has a long, fruit-filled close. Give it 2-3 years of additional bottle age and drink it from 2010 to 2018.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Flat Block
93
Nose of red fruit compote, complex, round, sweet fruit, a silky texture, good richness, and a finish with no hard edges. Drink this hedonistic over the next six years.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir West Block
92
Medium/dark ruby-colored, it reveals the best concentration of the Bethel Heights portfolio as well as superb depth and complex flavors. This lengthy effort should be at its best from 2011 to 2020.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard
90
Nose reveals cedar, mineral, cherry, and raspberry. Quite structured for the vintage, on the palate this medium- to full-bodied wine is firm and nicely balanced by ample black cherry and black raspberry fruit. It will evolve for 2-3 years and drink well from 2010 to 2018.

GOURMET, November 2008

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve
"A deliciously engaging Pinot Noir from Oregon. It comes from the Willamette Valley s Eola—Amity Hills, a region recently defined as an official American viticultural area (AVA). There's much to distinguish these wines from others produced in the valley, but the key to their appeal is the cool maritime air that reaches these hills, even in the summer. That, plus the qualities of Oregon's 06 vintage, explains this wine's particularly fresh charm and long, subtle flavor. The result has been described as having the depth of the Oregon 99's with the openness of the 03's."  Gerald Asher

THE WINE SPECTATOR, December 15, 2008

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve
91
Light, silky and open-textured with vivid currant and blackberry flavors, shaded with spice and black olive notes, lingering nicely on the generous finish. Drink now through 2014.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Flat Block
93 points
Lithe and open-textured, this is a wine of some delicacy, offering a lovely mouthful of cherry and spice, with hints of mint and rosemary wafting through the long, mocha-accented finish. Drink now through 2016.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Southeast Block
92
A lovely, round, focused and generous style that never gets weighty. Shows gorgeous blackberry and raspberry notes, with delicately floral, creamy overtones, letting the flavors sail effortlessly against almost nonexistent tannins. Drink now through 2014.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir West Block
92
Bright, with real presence to the cherry and raspberry fruit, shaded with hints of coffee and spice on a light, lean and racy frame, persisting impressively without weight. Drink now through 2014.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard
91
Smooth and polished, this is a vivid wine, with racy acidity and distinctive mineral-accented raspberry and strawberry flavors, hinting at watermelon as the finish lingers effortlessly. Best from 2009 through 2016.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Jessie James Vineyard
91
Lively, focused and generous with its floral, greengage plum-scented raspberry flavors, showing it all on a lovely open texture, with appealing transparency on the finish. Drink now through 2014.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard
91
Lithe, silky and refined, with some heft to the black cherry and grapefruit-scented blackberry flavors, lingering on the lively, expressive finish against fine tannins. Best from 2009 through 2014. fruits at the top, minerals and serious earthiness at the core — bravo."

MY PICK FOR BEST OVERALL PINOT NOIR OF THE YEAR, November 2008
Cynthia Sexton, Vestry Wines, New York City

2007 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Cuvée

"This wine is a stunning example of what you can do when you have worked on and owned an estate property for 30+ years and have a passion for making the best possible wine that you can without having attach a huge price tag to go along with it.

The Eola—Amity Cuvée has aromas of smoky earth, cranberry, clove and very light hints of oak. On the palate right away you will notice the underlying thread of smoky earth and lightly toasted oak that does not dominate but sits in the background as it should. There is also plenty of Bing Cherry, clove and light white pepper, even rose petal floral accents on the palate. Throughout this wine there is subtlety and elegance and a certain refined style that is more often found in Burgundy than in domestic Pinot Noirs. This wine can also age for another 5 years or so."

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, May 30, 2008

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Gris
Best of tasting
"Our very best of tasting, a Pinot Gris from Bethel Heights Vineyard in Oregon, showed what this can be at its best: a wine of substance that truly tastes like nothing else. Fresh and vibrant, with great melon fruit, but with a sturdy backbone. Fresh tropical fruits at the top, minerals and serious earthiness at the core—bravo."

WINE & SPIRITS MAGAZINE, April 2008

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Estate Grown
92 points
A wine that glows blue, offering aromas of wild berries and plums. Its flavors are dark and generous, a black cherry tartness that starts out lithe and silky and gathers intensity through a long, complex finish. A fresh and stylish wine for salmon.

STEPHEN TANZER'S INTERNATIONAL WINE CELLAR, April 2008

2005 Bethel Heights Estate Chardonnay
90 points
Light gold color. Leesy pear, melon and peach aromas are complicated by smoky oak spices and anise. Rich and supple, offedring powerful orchard fruit flavors and suave spiciness. This complex wine gains weight on the finish but maintains energy and focus.

2006 Bethel Heights Estate Chardonnay
90 points
Pale yellow. Energetic pear and pit fruit aromas are underscored by citrus zest and dusty minerals. Juicy and round, with a silky texture and ripe orange and nectarine flavors. Finishes with a refreshing bite of pear skin, a light touch and sneaky length.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir West Block
91 points
Explosively perfumed nose offers an exotic array of red and dark berries, flowers and spices. Sweet raspberry and blueberry flavors coat the palate, with zesty minerality providing lift. A fleshy wine with good finishing cut, leaving behind a strong spicy quality, along with a note of blueberry.

2006 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Jessie James Vineyard
90(+?) points
Brilliant red. Intensely floral bouquet offers raspberry, anise, rose and magnolia. Tangy red fruits in the mouth, with building spice and floral pastille qualities adding intrigue. Wild stuff, taking on a deeper, darker fruit tone on the long, chewy finish. fruits at the top, minerals and serious earthiness at the core—bravo."

VINTRUST'S SOMM SELECTIONS, Spring 2008

2004 Bethel Heights Vineyard Chardonnay Estate Grown
94


15 Aroma: pear, green apple, lime
13 Flavor: ripe pear, lime, lemon, vanilla spice
14 Structure: lovely round texture, very bright acid
14 Length: long finish of pear skin, mineral
38 Balance: rich and refreshing

The [Chardonnay] wines using the Dijon clones in Oregon have complexity and vibrancy. They offer lush, rich, ripe fruit and spicy aromatics similar to California, but the mineral, earth and bright acidity gives these wines a uniqueness and sense of place that is so attractive in these days of mass produced, overblown, sweet and manipulated Chardonnay.

eRobertParker.com # 173, October 2007, Jay Miller

2005 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve
92 points
My favorite of the Bethel Heights Pinots is the 2005 Pinot Noir Estate Casteel Reserve  (named after the founder of the winery). It is a blend of the estate s old vines and is the most perfumed and complex aromatically. It has a broad band of fruit, brilliant raspberry, blueberry, and black cherry flavors, and superb integration of oak, tannin, and acidity leading to a 40+ second finish. It will reward 4-6 years of cellaring and drink well through 2027.

2005 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard
90 points
The 2005 Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard  is similarly styled. Its fragrant raspberry and cherry-scented nose is more expressive and in the mouth the fruit is more concentrated with greater depth. It exhibits the same zesty style with lively acidity and enough tannin to support several years of cellaring.

2005 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Southeast Block Reserve
91 points
The 2005 Pinot Noir Estate Southeast Block  is from a portion of the vineyard planted in 1979 to the Pommard clone. It offers dark fruits and mouth-filling flavors albeit in the racy, high acid, structured style of the vintage. It will benefit from 4—6 years of cellaring.

2005 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir West Block Reserve
91 points
The 2005 Pinot Noir Estate West Block  comes from the oldest vines on the property (planted in 1977). Again, it strongly reflects the nature of the vintage, but is more mouth-filling, deeper, and more concentrated than its siblings. It has prominent acidity and plenty of tannin but is more fruit—driven than most 2005 Pinots. It needs 5—7 years to evolve and should drink nicely through 2027.

The Wine Spectator, September 30, 2007

2005 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Flat Block Reserve
91 points
Supple and graceful. Shows real presence, with creamy cherry and huckleberry flavors, finishing on a creamy note. Lingers artfully against refreshing acidity.

2005 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir West Block Reserve
91 points
Smooth, velvety and graceful, artfully layering the cherry, plum, toast and spice flavors, which all linger effortlessly on the finish.

2005 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Southeast Block Reserve
90 points
Smooth in texture, with vibrant acidity against wild strawberry and plum flavors. The fruit plays against the toast and fine tannins on the lengthy finish.