The 2021 Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard comes from a single block of 667 clone vines and is one of the most impressive Pinot expressions I’ve encountered from the 2021 vintage in the Willamette Valley so far. Medium ruby-purple, it has intense, singular and pure aromatics: cranberry, rhubarb and blueberry are accented by fine touches of conifer, aniseed, iron and pipe tobacco, and it continues to shift and change as it spends time in the glass. The medium-bodied palate is powerful, offering highly concentrated, detailed fruit and a support of abundant, powdery tannins. It has seamless, energetic acidity and haunting streaks of spice and earth that fan across the tremendously long finish. It’s difficult to put this wine down, although it will reward drinkers patient enough to tuck it away in the cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPDeep ruby with a purple tinge, the 2021 Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard needs a minute to open in the glass and would certainly need time to air out in a decanter if opening young, but it opens to reveal ripe and inviting, lush blackberry fruit, violets, and wet river rock. Medium to full-bodied, the palate takes on great focus, with a wonderful balance of density and weightlessness, and is driven forward by a fresh spine of acidity. With ripe tannins and a long finish, this is an exquisite wine from this exceptional site. It demands time, but it’s spectacular now. Drink 2024-2040.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDShows finesse and detail, with youthful and multilayered cherry and raspberry flavors highlighted by spiced tea, mineral and fresh tarragon flavors that finish with refined tannins. Drink now through 2032. 336 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSAromas of marionberries and earthy petrichor are a match made in Oregon. Chewy tannins in no way detract from the wine’s black-cherry and black-pepper flavors. They are joined by a distinctly tropical note hinting at guava. The acidity is bright and so is the future of this wine. Enjoy 2024–2034.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WEAdjacent their home vineyard, Justice has been part of the Casteels’ estate since 1999. This site has both volcanic and sedimentary soils, and lies at the mouth of the Van Duzer Corridor “spigot” where winds disperse over the Eola Hills. This is always a well-built wine, starting out with scents of soil and raspberry pith, the dark raspberry limned with clove- and mace-scented oak flavors. A broad-shouldered red for skirt steak.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 91 W&S
