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Yamhill Valley Vineyards 2023 Yamhill Valley Estate Pinot Noir
A Love Affair That Spans Generations
If you’re a longtime Oregon wine fan, Yamhill Valley Vineyard has always been there. The first winery in the McMinnville AVA, the Burger family has owned the land for 37 years. And they’ve been renowned since 1985, when YVV won top honors at the Oregon-Burgundy Challenge that pitted top global Pinot Noirs against each other in New York.
But now, the second-generation is stepping up. Jenny Burger, daughter of founder Denis Burger, is the general manager. And after a decade of mentorship under founding winemaker Stephen Cary, Ariel Eberle took over as head winemaker in 2016.
And wouldn’t you know it, but this renowned winery is getting a fresh look from national critics and winning awards all over. Wine Press NW even named Yamhill Valley as their 2019 Winery of the Year.
Sure, in 2026 the YVV Pinot Noir still remains a signature wine for Oregon, but be sure to check out the whites when you head out to their beautiful tasting room as they will knock your socks off: Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Reisling.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Yamhill Valley Vineyards, McMinnville, Oregon
2023 Yamhill Valley Estate Pinot Noir
Tasting Notes
This Pinot Noir Estate pulls from almost all the Pinot Noir blocks in the estate vineyard, making it a true representation of Yamhill Valley Vineyards’ terroir.
Boysenberry, raspberry compote, cinnamon, white pepper.
Established in 1983, Yamhill Valley Vineyards is the second oldest vineyard in the McMinnville AVA. We produce 100% estate grown wines from our 150-acre estate located in the Willamette Valley. Thanks to the geologic history and geographic location, our site is known for intense, enduring wines, grown with distinction. Our Pinot Noir Estate pulls from almost all the Pinot Noir blocks in our vineyard, making it a true representation of our Yamhill Valley Vineyards terroir.
The 2023 vintage produced beautiful, high-quality fruit with good structure, color, and flavor development. A cold, wet spring set us up with a late budbreak around April 29th. Subsequent warmth and sunshine sped things up, and we saw flowering around June 13th. It rained once in June, and we experienced an ideal summer with many days in the 80s. Heat spikes in mid-August caused some of the berries going through veraison to shrivel, however many of these berries fell off and did not affect the final quality of the wines. Harvest started on September 15th, and we had a nice window for picking until a late September rain of 2.5 inches delayed picking and reduced some drought stress. We resumed and finished picking by October 7th.
Grapes were hand-picked and promptly delivered to the crush pad for sorting and de-stemming. Some fruit, up to 30% of a given vessel, was left as whole clusters. Primary fermentation took a little over two weeks and the grapes were punched down, sampled, and evaluated daily. At the end of primary fermentation, each vessel was tasted for re- solved tannins before removing the free run juice and pressing off. Each press fraction was kept separate, settled overnight, and then put to barrel. In barrel, the wine under- went full malo-lactic fermentation and aged for 9 months before blending. Like an artist uses colors of paint on a palate, we craft the wine with different expressions of our site to show the complexity of our estate, winemaking, and barrel program in one bottling.
Winemaker: Ariel Eberle
Alcohol: 13.5%
RS: 0.2 g/l
pH: 3.45
TA: 5.7 g/l
Accolades
91 pts | James Suckling
“Fresh and balanced and full of red berries, citrus zest and dried flowers with mineral nuances. Medium-bodied, smooth and focused and nicely framed with firm but polished tannins. Vivid, elegant finish.”
91 pts | Wine Enthusiast
“This is a spicy little number that brings pepper and nutmeg to an aroma set that includes raspberry jam and a trace of citrus. Silk tannins and moderate acidity escort flavors of blackberry and allspice across the finish line. I’d love to try this wine with bahn mi and a side of sweet potato fries.” – Michael Alberty
A Cellar 503 selection in February 2026, Made With Love McMinnville | Pinot Noir
