2018 was another warm vintage in the Willamette Valley and produced a bigger crop—around 2,200 cases of the Maresh Vineyard Pinot Noir were made. "I crafted something with quite a bit of elegance out of a warm year," Jim Maresh says with pride. "It’s what I should have done in 2014." The 2018 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard has a medium ruby color and is bursting with layers of raspberry, cranberry, pipe tobacco, dried sage and lavender. The medium-bodied palate is silky and supple with concentrated (though still youthfully coiled) flavors and a long, powerful finish. After a couple of hours in the glass, it begins to reveal a deeper, more nuanced perfume, suggesting the 2018 will be best enjoyed after sufficient time in the cellar.

Bright magenta. Ripe red and blue fruit, licorice, potpourri and exotic spice aromas pick up succulent herb and cola nuances with air. Sappy and broad on the palate, offering juicy boysenberry, cherry compote and spicecake flavors that firm up slowly on the back half. The spicy note repeats on a long, seamless finish framed by supple, late-arriving tannins.