Roots Wine Company, Chehalem Mountains (Willamette Valley, Oregon) Pinot Noir 2014

Roots was founded by the Berg family in 1999 and specializes in Pinot Noir, producing their first vintage in 2002.  Chris Berg, the current winemaker, was born in Racine, Wisconsin — hence the name of this Pinot Noir, their reserve bottling, which is culled from the best barrels.  (Conveniently, racine is the French word for roots.)  Racine is a dramatic leap up from Roots’ regular bottling from Leroy Vineyard, delivering wonderful complexity enrobed in suave tannins.  The problem, of course, is that this bottling of 22 cases represents 25 percent of Roots’ production from the vineyard and has stripped the regular bottling, which, in comparison, is hollow.