2017 NIPPLE HILL 94pt Pinot Noir 750 ml
2017 Nipple Hill Pinot Noir
Crafted in an old-world style with one-ton French oak barrels serving as the fermentation vessels. The wine develops slowly and evenly with significantly lower heat and a longer, gentler fermentation. This style of winemaking adds complexity of layered essence in the profiles ending with beautifully integrated flavors and tannins.
The 2017 wines started fermentation and finished barrel ageing beautifully clean, going from barrel to bottle unfiltered; the results are beguiling in the glass. Bright and lovely with notes of sweet cherries, vanilla and cinnamon on the nose. The approach is beautifully layered and expressive…an amazing food wine. The wine is equally bright with fruit and silky tannins Nipple Hill is a wine that continues to develop exceptional depth and character with age…truly a wine rewarding patience.
Kelly Kidneigh, Winemaker
Wine Enthusiast Spring Buying Guide 2026 | 94 Points & Editor's Choice
“Raspberry and cherry wood aromas are bright and fresh, complemented nicely by puffs of lavender and a trace of aged balsamic. Elevated acidity gives Nipple Hill a juicy mouthfeel, with integrated tannins joining in to back the wine’s smoked blackberry and cacao nib flavors” - Michael Alberty
International Wine Report 2026 | 94 Points
"The 2017 Dukes Family Vineyard Nipple Hill Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, displays a translucent garnet core that transitions to a shimmering brick-toned rim. Tension and elegance define this unfiltered bottling, which leads with an evolved bouquet of sun-ripened mountain raspberries, mountain huckleberry, dried marjoram, and damp earth layered beneath notes of toasted cacao and violet petals. On the palate, the wine possesses a succulent energy where vibrant acidity cuts through a core of red currant, supported by firm, tea-like tannins that suggest significant longevity through 2041 or longer with proper cellaring" - Jeremy Young
