2024 Brooks - Cahiers Pinot Noir Willamette Valley (750ml)

Brooks Winery was founded in 1998 by Jimi Brooks, who returned to Oregon after working harvests in Beaujolais and set out to farm and make wine with a light, holistic touch. He became an early advocate of biodynamic farming in the Willamette Valley, and the estate earned Demeter certification in 2012. Though Jimi passed away in 2004, his vision continues through his son Pascal, now the winery's owner, his sister Janie Brooks Heuck, who leads the business, and longtime winemaker Chris Williams, who has carried the style forward ever since.

Cahiers draws Pinot Noir from biodynamically farmed vineyards across the Willamette Valley, including fruit from the Eola-Amity Hills, where cool nights and volcanic soils shape the grapes' character. Following the winery's low-intervention approach, the wine ferments with minimal handling and ages in French oak for about eleven months before bottling, allowing the fruit and site to remain the focus rather than the winemaking itself.

In the glass, it offers dark berry aromas of marionberry and blackcurrant, layered with beeswax, warm chai spice, and a subtle saline minerality reminiscent of the sea. The palate is smooth and silky, with modest acidity and fine-grained tannins carrying through a long finish. It pairs well with roasted salmon, duck breast, and dishes built around wild mushrooms.