Wine Reviews

Ripe and distinctive in character, with a remarkably open texture that lets the currant, blackberry, carpaccio and mineral flavors roll out effortlessly. Impressive for its grace and harmony. Drink now through 2015.

Harvey Steiman -  Wine Spectator

2005 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir: 92 points
Supple and open in texture, this offers a gentle mouthful of ripe plum and cherry flavors, picking up a mineral note as the finish engagingly lingers. Drink now through 2015.

2004 Penner-Ash Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir:93 points
Silky in texture, ripe and rich in flavor, but it holds itself together in a beautiful, lithe form that lets the cherry, currant, game and dusky spice flavors roll on and on. Drink now through 2114. – H.S.

Harvey Steiman -  Wine Spectator

2004 Penner-Ash Goldschmidt Vineyard Pinot Noir: 92 points
Smooth and round, with lovely ripe cherry and spice aromas and flavors that play themselves out generously despite a hint of earthy, slight Aspirin-like note on the long finish. Best from 2008 through 2014. – H.S.

Lithe and generous, with flavors centering on cherry and spice with a touch of earth, picking up a slightly gamy edge as the finish sails on. Best from 2007 through 2112. – H.S.

Harvey Steiman -  Wine Spectator

2004 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir: 91 points
Red with bright rim. Powerful aromas of exotic oak spice and medicinal cherry are accented by bitter chocolate and dried rose. A big, lush, mouth filling pinot with round texture and dense, sweet cassis and smoky kirsch flavors that build and expand without losing their precision. Really stains the palate on the back, finishing on floral and dark berry notes.

2003 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir :93 points
Packs an amazing amount of dense flavor into a lithe, elegant package, layering cherry, boysenberry and exotic spice character, which extends into a long, long finish. Has all it needs to develop beautifully. Drink now through 2015. – H.S.

Harvey Steiman -  Wine Spectator

2003 Penner-Ash Shea Valley Pinot Noir: 93 points
Polished, generous elegant and deftly balanced to sneak layers and layers of flavor as the texture remains supple and refined. Cherry and raspberry notes at the core are shaded with hints of currant and sweet spice. Drink now through 2015. – H.S.

Polished, generous and silky, radiating blueberry, plum and vanilla spice flavors, all lingering on the refined finished. Delicious now, but the distinct flavors should melt with age. Drink now through 2015. – H.S.

Harvey Steiman -  Wine Spectator

A seductive, sexy wine. Plush layers of candied berries and cherries galore are found in this hedonistic effort’s medium to full-bodied, satin-textured personality. Concentrated, sumptuous, and boasting a long, fruit-filled finish, it is a candidate for drinking over the next 10 years.

Pierre-Antoine Rovani - The Wine Advocate

Broad and spicy, a generous mouthful of spicy, peppery cherry currant flavors that pack into the finish. What it lacks in finesse it delivers in sheer power.

Harvey Steiman - Wine Spectator

This 1999 Pinot Noir has magnificent nose of cookie dough and cherry syrup. Medium to full-bodied and broad, it is rich, intense, wonderfully concentrated, and highly expressive. Loads of sweet red and black fruits coat the taster's palate and linger for 30-40 seconds. It is a seamless, harmonious wine with gorgeous balance and purity. Anticipated maturity 2004-2012.

The Wine Advocate

March/April 2001 - 1998 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir: 92 points
Saturated ruby-red. Superripe aromas of currant, blackberry, cappuccino and dark chocolate; showed a liqueur-like note of black cherry with aeration. Rich, ripe and expansive; urgent, sappy raspberry and cherry flavors show penetrating sweetness and terrific depth. A very big wine with seamless texture, good freshness and a tactile, clinging quality. Finishes with lush, ripe tannins and excellent persistence. Made by Lynn Penner-Ash, the winemaker at Rex Hill: this is less perfumed and pristine today that the superb Rex Hill Seven Springs bottling, but larger-scaled and more velvety.

Steven Tanzer - The International Wine Cellar

November 2001 - 1999 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Rated one of top 5 wines from Oregon 1999 vintage - Premier Selection
Crystalline scarlet color. Nicely rich, round, and creamy varietal aromas with slight herby and fresh cherry notes. Silky texture carries clear cherry and raspberry fruitiness, with a distinctly darker undercurrent of deep forest-like herb and woodsy (not woody) sensations. Elegantly sharp acids and very laid-back tannic structure bring a freshness to the flavors and a brightness to the palate. Exceptionally long finish displays a remarkable raspberry fruitiness. A wonderfully elegant, fully fruity, wine with drink-it-now accessibility, or save-it-in-the-cellar ageability. This wine really shows the excellence of the vintage: succulent fruit, strong structure, ripe tannins and a lingering finish. In fact, this wine feels as "ready" today, as some other wines should be in a few years.

Oregon Wine Report

“Hot Wine of the Week”

 Spicy and ripe, offering a whiff of cinnamon and exotic spices that resolves into generous current and plum flavors on a firm, finely tannic frame, remaining balanced through the long finish.

Harvey Steiman - Wine Spectator

Aromatically, this medium to dark ruby-colored pinot noir reveals jammy cherries and plums. Blueberries, black cherries, blackberries and spices can be found in this powerful, yet suave wine. It has outstanding depth, concentration and ripeness as well as a long, smooth finish. Anticipated maturity: now through 2010.

Pierre-Antoine Rovani - The Wine Advocate

December 2001 - 1998 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir:92 points
"Hot Wine of the Week” Lynn Penner-Ash, winemaker and president of Rex Hill Vineyard, made this wine, the first from their family winery, with her husband. The fruit comes from three Willamette Valley vineyards: Jacob-Hart (the winery's owners' personal vineyard), Maresh and Carabella. The style is richer, more concentrated and more elevated than the Rex Hill Wines, which tend to be more delicate. This one is beautifully built to focus its blackberry, plum and violet aromas and flavors into a bright beam, which lingers effortlessly on the graceful finish. It has a mountain of flavor, along with finesse. It's approachable now but built to age; I'd give it a year or two to settle in.

Harvey Steiman - Wine Spectator

This 1998 Pinot Noir is the inaugural wine from Lynn Penner-Ash's (Rex Hill's winemaker) winery. It has a medium to dark ruby color, and delightful black raspberry, plum, and black cherry aromas. This sweet, voluptuously textured, medium to full-bodied wine is packed with gorgeously ripe red cherries and touches of strawberry jam. Well-structured, balanced, and focused, it is a concentrated, powerful, yet elegant wine. Projected maturity: 2003-2008

Pierre-Antoine Rovani - The Wine Advocate

This is the most fantastical Pinot that you may ever see; crafted with rare skill and aplomb by Rex Hill winemaker/president Lynn Penner-Ash. Enthrallingly scented perfumes of wild berries – the entire range, red, black, huckles and all – gush through in the nose, and gather with great concentration between soft, seamless layers; sinking, slipping and sliding across the palate with the greatest of ease, and an almost electrical grip. What an Oregon Pinot Noir lover lives, and even dies, for.

Randy Caparoso

1998 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir:90 points
Medium ruby; attractive, forward, rich, intense, spicy, ripe red cherry and raspberry fruit aroma with notes of vanilla and a hint of cassis; medium full body; textured, plumy, mouth-filling, ripe cherry fruit flavors with good depth and structure. Should continue to develop with several more years of bottle ageing. Very highly recommended.

California Grapevine