As we've said for several years running, when we're asked to suggest a literal handful of Oregon Pinots to buy every vintage, Evesham Wood's Cuvee J is one of them. It's a top wine of every vintage. To be more explicit, and since there are five fingers on the average hand, let's try this: the 2015 Cuvee J is in our top 5 of Oregon's 2015 vintage so far, and we've tasted A LOT.
If you like multidimensional, sensual, ethereal, age-worthy Willamette Valley Pinot noir, this wine is for you. It's one for the ages. The aromas are as enticing as it gets -- a near mythical match of buoyant and dense, everything I look for and crave in Pinot noir. Wonderfully fresh, buzzing with coiled energy, it's a restrained '15 that you can leave in your glass for a half hour, experiencing it blossom with each swirl and sniff. Like the best Js, it's the perfect partnership of bright and dark, cool and sweet. If you open it now, plan to enjoy it over a few days, stealing a glass each evening before letting it evolve for the next night. I imagine it aging for up to two decades.
Only 150 cases made, Cuvee J is the most elegant, age-worthy six barrels of the vintage from Evesham's organically farmed Le Puits Sec vineyard. Don't wait for the '15 to get another monster review from Burghound, whose praise for the 2014 (94 points, "in a word: brilliant") is the kind saved only for $500+ Grand Cru Burgundies.
An important note: while I'd never refer to a $45 wine as inexpensive, Cuvee J is underpriced compared to its peers. Try finding another Oregon winery with 30 vintages and 30 year-old vines (organic too), where their super-limited, top Pinot noir is under $50. Hint...you won't. - Marcus