Bethel Heights Scores HUGE in Decanter Magazine Review!!
Perfect 100 Point Chardonnay
Only 3 Oregon Chardonnays have ever received a perfect score!!
ONLY 3 BOTTLES AVAILABLE!
100 Perfection. This is my first experience tasting this captivating Chardonnay from the Bethel Heights estate, which is sourced from some of the oldest vines on the property, a former walnut orchard. This wine is 100% own-rooted Wente clone Chardonnay, planted in 1977. The winemaking includes a year in 50% new French oak, with the full lees and only one stirring. Named for the old high-trellised ‘California sprawl’ used in the vineyard for these vines, The High Wire hits all the high notes in the 2023 bottling. Winemaker Ben Casteel has delivered a 2023 masterpiece for what is quickly becoming America’s greatest Chardonnay appellation, the Eola-Amity Hills. While these California heritage vines struggled to fully ripen in the early, cooler days of the Willamette Valley, this modern iteration is a classic—subtle and delicate aromas of citrus curd, acacia honey and crushed chalk offer tremendous elegance. The palate offers a swooning complexity, with depth reminiscent of lemon oil, beeswax, and rich, resonant white florals. This is a stroke of brilliance disguised as a Chardonnay, teeming over with complexity and nuance, as good as anything made anywhere in the world. Nothing is out of place; the finish lingers, seemingly forever, with a smooth feeling of crushed chalk and a richness of baked Meyer lemon.
Rated 100/100 Decanter Magazine
Ben Casteel is actually better known for his upper echelon, 100% Organic Pinot Noir.
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The 2022 Pinot Noir Estate is bursting with strawberry, raspberry and orange peel aromas, and with time it reveals touches of cinnamon, bitters and wildflowers. The light-bodied palate is finely astringent and refreshing with complex, bitters-laced flavors and a long, spicy finish.
Rated 93/100 Wine Advocate
Rated 92/100 Wine Spectator - #47 Wine of the Year 2024
Rated 92/100 Jeb Dunnuck
2022 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Lewman Vineyard...$75.99/750ml
The Lewman Vineyard was planted by the winery’s late neighbor Dennis Lewman in 1992 and is much denser than the estate vineyards, with five times as many plants per acre. The aromatics of the magenta-colored 2022 Pinot Noir Lewman Vineyard are beautiful as well as savory, with notes of porcini, almost reductive black raspberries, and mossy earth. Medium-bodied, it expands on the palate with ripe tannins and ripe fruit all the way through the long finish. It’s very appealing across the board, with a touch more plushness and a broad-shouldered feel. Drink 2025-2045.
Rated 97/100 Jeb Dunnuck
Rated 96/100 Wine Advocate
2022 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve...$78.99/750ml
Taking on a magenta hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir Casteel cuts through all three properties and takes on fantastic high-toned notes on the nose, along with hints of fresh blue fruit shining through, with notes of cherry eau de vie lavender, wet stones, and gravelly earth, and a long finish.
Rated 97/100 Jeb Dunnuck
Rated 96/100 Wine Advocate
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