Hamilton Russell Oregon, Eola – Amity Hills (Willamette Valley, Oregon) Pinot Noir 2018

 Wine aficionados can easily name lots of northern hemisphere producers who have started enterprises below the equator, but how many can you think of who moved from south to north?  We can all be glad that Anthony and Olive Hamilton Russell elected to do exactly that, as their two Oregon Pinots from 2018 are fantastic.  This bottling based from the Zena Crown vineyard in the Eola – Amity Hills shows riper aromatics and broader, more generous fruit on the palate.  I need to be careful with my descriptors here, however, as this shows a lot more muscle and depth of flavor than the Bramble Hill bottling but is still sleek and stylish by comparison to most high-end Pinots from the Willamette Valley and its various sub-appellations.  Returning to comparison to the Bramble Hill 2018, this shows less assertive acidity but still more than enough to keep plenty of treble in the mix, and more tannin, though the tannin is really right in relation to the richer fruit in this wine.  If I had a gun to my head and could only buy one of the two, I’d buy this one, but what I’ll actually do is buy both and drink this one a bit earlier.  Yikes, these are impressive.