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Trathen Hall Wines 2018 Pinot Noir
The power of two.
Two winemakers. Two islands. Two hemispheres.
Blair Trathen grew up on South Island in New Zealand. Arabella Hall grew on the much smaller island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. How the planet conspired to bring them together is one of the mysteries of the cosmos, but we’re thrilled they did.
After a chance encounter in “her” place in New England, they moved to “his” place in New Zealand and completed post-graduate studies in viticulture and enology. From there, it was time to hit the road. Together, they worked harvests in the wine regions of Central Otago (NZ), Nelson (NZ) Pemberton (Australia), Long Island (NY), Paarl (South Africa), and the Willamette Valley.
After nearly a decade as wandering itinerant winemakers, they settled in the Willamette Valley — “abandoning” both of their families, as Blair likes to joke — and in 2009, they bought one acre of Pinot Noir grapes and Trathen Hall was born.
As of 2019, Trathen Hall – and its less-than-1000-case production – is their sole focus (well, along with their daughter Ava.) And we are so lucky that it is!
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Trathen Hall Wines, Gaston, Oregon
2018 Pinot Noir
At Trathen Hall Wines, Arabella and Blair source fruit from organically and biodynamically farmed vineyards throughout the Willamette Valley. Rather than “chefs in the kitchen” or “scientists in the lab,” they see themselves as caretakers of the grapes and seek to intervene in the winemaking process as little as possible.
If they’re not intervening as winemakers, what are they doing? It’s all about selection in the fields. This beautiful Pinot Noir is a blend of two vineyards – the Arlyn Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains and the La Chenaie Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills. The fruit is 100% Pommard clone aged in neutral French oak barrels.
This wine is a great example of how two sides of the Willamette Valley can produce fruit that complement each other and bring out the best of each. You have classic traits of red raspberry and blueberry from the Eola-Amity Hills fruit along with an underlying meatiness and spice coming from the Chehalem Mountains fruit. There are good tannins here along with a nice acidity which give the wine a lovely structure and a long finish.
A Cellar 503 selection in January 2022, Oregon Classics Willamette Valley | Pinot Noir
