We’ve been tasting wines made with Knudsen Vineyards grapes for over 15 years. The first time we tried wine from Knudsen fruit was in 2007 when we visited Argyle winery in Oregon. Knudsen was one of the significant growers supplying the winery.
We reviewed Roco Knudsen Vineyards Chardonnay 2015 , Roco 2015 Knudsen Vineyards Pinot Noir, and Argyle Knudsen Vineyards Brut 2012 later on.
Knudsen Vineyards Story
Founded in 1971, Knudsen has been one of the most prominent players in the wine industry of the Willamette Valley of Oregon ever since. While they made some wine initially, for most of their history, they grown grapes for many winemakers in the valley.
With the second generation of the Knudsen family taking over in 2009, they made plans to start producing wine under their own label with the help of winemakers Rollin Soles of Roco Winery and Nate Klostermann of Argyle Winery.
In 2014, Knudsen released the 2012 Knudsen Vineyards Pinot Noir, followed by the 2013 Knudsen Vineyards Chardonnay in 2015, and never looked back.
Knudsen Vineyards Tasting Flight
We met the Knudsen team several times at trade shows, but it was the first time we visited their tasting room. Lester, our host, was a wealth of knowledge on all geeky stuff about their vineyard and winemaking, including soil types, grape clones, and other technical details behind the scene of every successful bottle of wine.
We tasted wines from a basic level, if that can be said about wine from Dundee Hills AVA (appellation) to Founders Reserve, a wine club exclusive wines.
We started with the 2022 Family Series Rosé from a 100% Pinot Noir estate vineyard in Dundee Hills. It’s a dry-style wine driven by under-ripe strawberry, red apple, and fresh-cut grass aromas and flavors, best served alongside Feta Cheese Watermelon Salad or any dish where you can use Cranberry sauce, making it a perfect pairing for Thanksgiving.
Next, we compared Chardonnay from 2021 and 2017 vintages. Both were aged for 11 months, 20-23% new French oak barrels and came from the same lot in the vineyard, offering a perfect opportunity to taste the age difference. The winner of two was the 2017 vintage because of its perfumed tropical flowers, cotton candy aromas, and creamy and zesty key lime flavors.
The first Pinot Noir was the 2021 Family Series Dundee Hills, which we had side-by-side with the 2019 Murto Pinot Noir. While Murto was an older and seemingly bolder wine with almost jammy black currant and cherry notes, we felt Family Series Pinot’s aronia and cherry liqueur flavors and firmer structure had the upper hand and excellent ageing potential.
The following pair were the 2021 Talking Blocks Serier “Snapshot” and top-tier wine club exclusive 2019 Founders Series CCK Pinot Noir.
Both wines offer wine lovers a chance to discover how minor geeky differences, like grapes from different parts of the same vineyard and a few winemaking adjustments, make a difference in a resulting wine.
While we could definitely sense the connection between the two wines because both were leaning towards raspberry in aromas and flavors, at the same time, while Snapshot was more sophisticated and elegant than previous Pinots, CCK was more concentrated and had more pronounced iron and black rose notes often associated with the Dundee Hills area.
And although Founders Series Pinot Noir is slightly older, we would love to taste it in a few more years again. We expect greatness.
Aftertaste
As we tasted Knudsen wine, we realized that we should’ve come here earlier because, at the trade shows, we seldom have an opportunity to taste the entire lineup and time to pause and appreciate each wine for its uniqueness. Still, it’s better later than never. Still, it’s better sooner! 🙂
If you are thinking of tasting Oregon Pinot Noir or never had it and need help knowing where to start, check our article 12 Oregon Pinot Noir to Drink Now.
What is your impression of Knudsen Vineyard wines if you tasted them? Any other favorites from Willamette Valley of Oregon?