Willamette Valley 2023 & 2024: Two Very Different Roads to Great Pinot Noir

Wine critic JebDunnuck.com has published an in-depth look at the Willamette Valley's 2023 and 2024 vintages, and the growing-season story behind each one explains a lot about the wines now reaching shelves. After a run of tough years for Oregon, frost that delayed 2022, the 2021 heat dome, and smoke from 2020's wildfires, both 2023 and 2024 were, in different ways, kinder seasons, and there's already talk in the valley of 2023 through 2025 forming a memorable run of vintages.

2023 came together quickly. Budbreak arrived early and bloom went smoothly, with average temperatures holding around 85°F through the season. Two short heat spikes, a four-day run above 90°F in May and a hotter stretch near 100°F in mid-August, pushed growers to manage canopy exposure and sort fruit carefully, but caused little lasting damage. Because ripeness came on fast, harvest turned into a compressed sprint rather than a wait for rain, and yields landed on the moderate side. The wines reflect that sun-driven season: generous and expressive, with darker fruit than the more restrained 2022s, while still holding onto the structure Willamette Pinot Noir is known for.

2024 told a different story entirely. Rather than racing the clock, growers got one of the most even, unhurried seasons in recent memory, warm but not extreme, with a cool stretch in September that pushed picking well into October and let fruit reach full ripeness on its own schedule instead of under weather pressure. That patience shows up in the glass: tasters are drawing comparisons to 1999, the valley's benchmark vintage, less for power than for balance, precision, and a clear sense of place, making 2024 a strong candidate for one of Oregon's more transparent, site-driven vintages in years.

Read the full report, including producer-by-producer notes, at JebDunnuck.com.

We carry wines from several producers named in this report: Stoller Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (2024), Domaine Drouhin Dundee Hills Pinot Noir (2024), Elk Cove Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (2024), Willamette Valley Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir (2023), Archery Summit Dundee Hills Pinot Noir (2023), Cristom Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir (2023), Penner-Ash Zena Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir (2021), Benton-Lane Pinot Noir (2023), Erath Pinot Noir (2022), Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir Reserve (2022), Ponzi Laurelwood District Pinot Noir (2022), Lingua Franca ANVI Chardonnay (2022), ROCO Gravel Road Chardonnay (2022), Résonance Découverte Vineyard Pinot Noir (2018), and Gran Moraine Brut Rosé (NV).