Russ and Mary Raney founded Evesham Wood in 1986 with the goal of producing wine in Oregon in a method and style as close as possible to that of Burgundy. Organic almost since the outset, Le Puit Sec vineyard wine quickly became a favorite among Oregon winemakers to bring along when they really wanted to impress their friends. In 2007, Erin Nuccio moved to Oregon to make wine, and in a stroke of spectacular timing and persistence, he approached Russ Raney just as the iconic winemaker was considering retirement. They struck up a friendship, and once Erin proved worthy, Russ sold him the winery in 2010. The transition proved seamless, and Evesham Wood wines remain among the best in the Valley. This precocious 2022 edition of the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is the proof in the pudding, with intense aromas of black fruits, lilac, barrel spice and toasted cedar, and a sharply defined palate of underbrush, cranberry, cherry, tarragon and cinnamon with a scoop of loose packed earth. The tannins are short and the acidity is woven through like silk thread in this fairly full bodied wine. A classic wine for duck in its youth, the pairing menu will only grow as it develops over the course of five to seven years.