Bethel Heights New Releases and Library Wines on SALE!

"It's a hard grape to grow. As you know. Right? It's, uh, it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It's, you know, it's not a survivor like cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and thrive even when it's neglected. No, pinot needs constant care and attention. You know? And, in fact, it can only grow in these really specific, little tucked-away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression."

Miles - Sideways

I remember my first trip to Oregon in the summer of 1994 for the IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration) this is one of the best wine parties that I have ever attended. The festival is limited to 500 attendees as it is hosted by McMinnville College and that is all they can accommodate in their lecture facilities. I remember not only were the quality of the wines at the highest level but the people in attendance were some of the most passionate Pinot Noir lovers that I had ever come across. And although winemaking began in the 19th century in this state it is only recently that its potential has been recognized by the rest of the world.

It was in 1979 when serious wine producers started to look at the potential of this area as Eyrie Vineyards' 1975 South Block Pinot Noir placed in the top 10 of Burgundy-style wines at the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiades, and was rated the top Pinot Noir. This send the news around the wine world and shortly after Robert Drouhin, head of Burgundy's legendary Maison Joseph Drouhin, was visiting America's west coast promoting the Drouhin Burgundies. The California wine industry was just starting to receive its first recognition back then, but there was little if anything going on in Oregon. Robert's first visit to the Northwest and its earliest vineyards left him with the impression that it quite possibly would be Oregon, not California, that would ultimately prove to be the best place to grow the great grape of Burgundy - Pinot noir.

Inspired by his trip to Oregon and the results of 1979 tasting that was held in Paris, where, for the first time, the best new Oregon Pinot noirs were tasted in competition with the finest Burgundies. Robert decided to hold his own blind tasting in 1980 at the Drouhin cellars in France, with several of the best Oregon Pinot noirs going up against the finest Drouhin Grand Crus. It was a Drouhin Grand Cru that took first place this time, but an Oregon wine (the now legendary 1975 Eyrie Vineyards South Block) placed 2nd by a very narrow margin with the French experts. News of this tasting brought the first widespread international attention to Oregon Pinot noir.

After a few years time Robert's daughter Véronique just graduated with an advanced degree in enology from the University of Dijon, and wanted to expand her experience by working in Oregon. Véronique interned with Adelsheim Vineyards, Bethel Heights, and Eyrie for the 1986 vintage. Later on, Robert mentioned to David Adelsheim that it might be interesting to buy a piece of land in Oregon, to see what it might produce. What started as a passing thought began its transformation into reality when Adelsheim phoned the Drouhins in Beaune not long thereafter to tell them of a property that was for sale that they might be interested in. The rest is history and with one of Burgundies foremost wine producing families moving to Oregon the writing was on the wall that this wine producing region would soon get its much deserved recognition as one of the world's premier Pinot Noir growing regions.

Today, the state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders which are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the 1960s.

Currently there are over 1000 wineries in Oregon and a bustling tourism industry has developed around wine tasting. Much of the tourism focuses on the wineries and tasting rooms in and around the Yamhill Valley southwest of Portland.

The highly anticipated 2022 vintage wines are starting to arrive and we have a great selection of one of our favorite producers wines that have just arrived.  Bethel Heights located in the Eola Amity district of the upper Willamette Valley is a winery that we have been following for years and you know we like a wine when we have it in several sizes and we have a good selection of Magnums in stock also and some older vintages of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

New Releases from Bethel Heights Winery

2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY ESTATE EOLA AMITY
Price: $33.75                       Your Price: $29.70
(93 Points) The 2022 Chardonnay Estate opens with scents of seashells, citrus blossoms and beeswax, and its flinty undertones are well integrated. The light-bodied palate is very energetic! Its flavors are deeper and more honeyed than the nose leads you to believe, and its taut acidity contributes to a shimmery feel on the finish. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The fruit was whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented in neutral 500L oak puncheons, traditional 228 L barrels, and one 3000L foudre (a big oval shaped oak tank). The new wine was aged on the lees with complete malolactic fermentation, and bottled after eleven months in barrelThe fruit was whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented in neutral 500L oak puncheons, traditional 228 L barrels, and one 3000L foudre (a big oval shaped oak tank). The new wine was aged on the lees with complete malolactic fermentation, and bottled after eleven months in barrel.

2021 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY CASTEEL WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Price: $84.00                       Your Price: $73.92
(97 Points)  The 2021 Chardonnay Casteel is complex and alluring, offering dynamic aromas and flavors as it unfurls with oxygen over several days. The nose offers lemon peel and panna cotta, spicy, honeyed undertones and streaks of flint. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive with impressively concentrated, slightly exotic fruit driven by focused acidity, and just enough smoky reduction adds even more complexity to its generous fruit. Year after year, the Casteel is one of the best Chardonnays coming out of Oregon, and this 2021 is especially gorgeous!  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2018 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY CASTEEL WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Price: $84.00           Your Price: $73.92
The 2018 Casteel Chardonnay is entirely from the block that rests immediately adjacent to the winery, planted in 1994. While it isn’t the oldest block of Chardonnay on our property, it has produced the most consistent quality for the past several years.  Extended aging in both barrels and stainless steel combined with full malolactic fermentation provides a richness and creamy texture to balance out the high natural acidity of both our site and the 2018 vintage.  This bottling has tremendous tension and poise and will benefit from decanting for early consumption or 5-7 years of cellaring.

2016 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY CASTEEL WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Price: $78.00           Your Price: $68.64             Quantity in Stock: 6
(95 Points) Tasted from magnum, the 2016 Chardonnay Casteel opens with intense mineral notions on the nose, aromas of pulverized stone and petrichor over lemon meringue, Red Delicious apples, hazelnuts, honey toast and clotted cream. Medium-bodied with a light creamy texture, it has beautiful white flowers in the mouth with honey nut and apple pie nuances and a streak of crushed rock running with the very bright acidity, finishing very, very long and honeyed.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2015 Bethel Heights Chardonnay “Casteel” Willamette Valley
Price: $78.00           Sale $68.64              Quantity in Stock: 7
Our 2015 Casteel Chardonnay opens with aromas of preserved lemon, brioche, white pepper and ocean air. The palate is both graceful and energetic, displaying the tension of a wine that will age gracefully over the next 8 to 10 years.

2014 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY CASTEEL WILLAMETTE VALLEY MAGNUM
Price: $125.00                     Your Price: $110.00         Quantity in Stock: 6
(92 Points) “An outstanding value in a top-level Oregon Chardonnay, this beautifully rendered, barrel-fermented wine is a showcase of sharply defined flavors. The tree fruits are highlighted with details of spice and new wood, clearly delineated and well-matched.” Wine Enthusiast.

2015 Bethel Heights Chardonnay “Justice Vineyard” Eola Amily
Price: $67.50           Sale $59.40              Quantity in Stock: 7
The Chardonnay from Justice Vineyard over the years has developed a haunting sea breeze, saline quality both in the aroma and on the palate that distinguishes it from every other Chardonnay in our portfolio.   The wine’s freshness, purity, and unique fingerprint are framed by bright acidity and a crystalline structure, perhaps providing a window into the marine sedimentary soils where it’s planted, soils that were once layers of sand on the floor of the ocean millions of years ago

2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR ESTATE EOLA AMITY HILLS MAGNUM
Price: $97.50           Your Price: $85.80
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR ESTATE EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $40.50           Your Price: $35.64
This wine blends fruit from all the different sections of our estate vineyard. It truly encompasses the entire breadth of expression at Bethel Heights from the youthful exuberance of our youngest vines planted in 2002.  A good amount of black raspberry and dark cherry fruit pretty floral notes and some exotic spices here on the nose a bit of a sauvage like character.  A big and fruity wine with a firm hand of acidity silky smooth tannins and a nice balance of spice, earth and fruit.  Finish 45+  Excellent +

2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR AEOLIAN EOLA AMITY HILLS MAGNUM
Price: $112.00         Your Price: $98.56
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR AEOLIAN EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $60.00           Your Price: $52.80
Named for the wind that defines our Eola[1]Amity Hills AVA, the Æolian Pinot Noir is our vehicle to explore the dynamic evolving landscape that we farm. The sense of place and specificity that we value most highly in our wines takes many years to evolve. With our oldest vines we allow each block to speak for itself in a separate bottling. The second[1]generation vines at Bethel Heights, on the other hand, are just beginning to find their voice. In these years in between, the Æolian allows us the freedom to dream of what lies beyond the horizon.

2018 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR AEOLIAN EOLA AMITY HILLS MAGNUM
Price: $119.00         Your Price: $104.72            Quantity in Stock: 1
Black truffle along with an array of dark spices, black raspberry fruit and much more earth here on the nose. Nice structure here on the tongue brgith black raspberry and wild strawberry fruit with a good hand of that earthy character through the finish, nice spice and a bit of tannins here . Finish 45+ Excellent

2017 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR AEOLIAN EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $45.00           Sale $39.60              Quantity in Stock: 7
“I feel that the 2017 wines have the best natural balance we have seen out of a warm vintage since 2012. In spite of the heat the wines have terrific acidity, relatively low alcohol, and the different parts of our Estate show their personalities without being muddled by vintage.”  Ben Casteel

2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR CASTEEL EOLA-AMITY HILLS MAGNUM
Price: $195.00         Your Price: $171.60
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR CASTEEL EOLA-AMITY HILLS
Price: $90.00           Your Price: $79.20
Aromas of black cherry, pine resin, and black currants with hints of cooking chocolate and cinnamon lingering in the background. Flavors of black berries and dark chocolate play over a sinewy, taut structure of mineral laden acidity and fine-grained tannins. In a vintage that threatened to be over-wrought and soft, we were very pleased that the core of our Estate maintained the energy and focus we have come to expect, to support and carry the fruit long into the future.

2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS JUSTICE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $84.00           Your Price: $73.92
Justice Vineyard sits adjacent to Bethel Heights Vineyard on the south, at a slightly lower elevation, where the underlying primeval sea-floor is tilted up and exposed to the surface below a very thin layer of volcanic topsoil. Grapes grown on these ancient marine sediments have a very different life experience from those grown in the volcanic soils at Bethel Heights, and the wines from Justice tell that tale quite dramatically.

2019 BETHEL HEIGHTS JUSTICE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $60.00           Your Price: $52.80            Quantity in Stock: 16
(96 points) The 2019 Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard comes from mostly Dijon clone vines planted in 1999. It has lovely scents of blood orange, blueberries, tea leaves and cinnamon. The palate offers finely detailed flavors and an abundance of silty tannins, finishing with fantastic length and layers. (EB) (12/2021)  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR LEWMAN VINEYARD WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Price: $81.00           Your Price: $71.28
This is our third vintage farming Lewman Vineyard and our second making a singular wine since we purchased the property. We had many excellent options at our disposal, and we elected to focus our attention on the southern blocks, which we felt had the best natural balance on the property. One of the many things that makes this property unique is the way savory and fruit come together: aromas of shiitake mushroom, soy, and cooking chocolate layer over black cherry, blueberry, and blood orange. There is a density and gravity to this vintage and this wine that will reward 3-5 years of patience and I think the real payoff will come in 10-15 years.

A bit about Bethel Heights Winery:

United by their interest in wine, in 1977 Ted Casteel, Pat Dudley, Terry Casteel, and Marilyn Webb abandoned the academic life and, together with Pat’s sister Barbara Dudley, bought 75 promising-looking acres northwest of Salem, with 14 acres of newly planted cuttings in the ground.   They moved to the vineyard in 1978 (except Barbara, who was in California working as a lawyer for farmworkers with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board) and started a new life.  In 1979 they cleared and planted 36 more acres.  In 1981 they harvested their first crop and started home winemaking in Terry’s basement.  In 1984 Bethel Heights produced their first commercial vintage of 3000 cases: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Gewurztraminer, all Estate Grown.

For the first thirty years Ted was responsible for managing the vineyards and Terry made the wine.  Pat and Marilyn shared responsibilities for marketing and business management. Over thirty years they grew their wine production to 10,000 cases, and made common cause with our fellow pioneers to establish the Willamette Valley as the home of New World Pinot Noir.

Meanwhile, five cousins grew up knowing the tidy rows and wild hidden places of Bethel Heights as their backyard playground, science lab and adventure park. Now they have taken their places as co-owners, co-workers, and stewards of this place.

In 2005 Ben Casteel (son of Terry and Marilyn) took over from his father as Winemaker at Bethel Heights.  In 2007 Jon Casteel (second son of Terry and Marilyn) launched Casteel Custom Bottling, a mobile bottling company that serves wineries throughout Oregon, including Bethel Heights of course.  Mimi Casteel (daughter of Ted and Pat) worked with the family at Bethel Heights until 2017 when she started farming her own vineyard at Hope Well and launched her Hope Well Wine project. Jessie Casteel grew up among the vines at Bethel Heights, but now lives in Chicago. Jessie brings a creative outlier perspective to the direction of the family business and serves as our ambassador in Chicago and points east.

So where did the name Bethel Heights came from?  They found the answer in a small booklet written in 1941 by John E. Smith called Bethel, Polk County, Oregon. According to Smith, “One of the earliest settlers in this vicinity was Rev. Glen O. Burnett who came to Oregon in 1846 and built his house half a mile or so north of the present location of Bethel School.  To the heights eastward, he gave the name ‘Bethel Hills’, Bethel being the name of the church in Missouri that he had recently served as pastor.”

The property now known as Bethel Heights Vineyard was originally platted in 1909 and recorded under the name Bethel Heights Walnut Groves.  A number of the original walnut trees and their children still flourish around the edges of the vineyard.

Since 1984, both the Estate Pinot Noir and Estate Chardonnay have been the most transparent statement of Bethel Heights terroir that they produce, the sum of all its parts.  Old vine storytelling delivered with tension and energy – these wines are the foundation of this producer and a statement to the terroir of their vineyards.