The 2015 Torii Mor Willamette Valley Pinot Noir has rich aromas of wild flowers and roses, mixed in with complex red and dark berries, including cherries. The flavors are fresh, rich and sweet. The entry is forward, sweet and spicy, the fresh acidity enhances the rich and complex fruity center of sweet darker berries and cherries, the mid palate carries on that velvet-fruity goodness to a long, enjoyable aftertaste of pure Oregon Pinot Noir. The mouthfeel is rich and elegant. The finish is very long, sweet, with the complexity of fruit, juicy tannins and a hint of spices. This wine doesn’t need decanting and can be enjoyed now.
Vineyard and Winemaker’s Notes
Torii Mor is a testament to premium, handcrafted Pinot noir. Using grapes from the lush Dundee Hills, winemaker Jacques Tardy crafts wines of elegance and balance in the Old World style.
The grapes that comprise Torii Mor’s Willamette Valley Pinot Noir come from 10 vineyards: Alloro, Bella Vida, Holstein, La Colina, La Dolce Vita, Olson, Varga, VX (Willamette farms), White Rose, Winkler.
Harvested from September 13 to 29, the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir grapes were hand sorted, fermented without whole clusters for 13 to 19 days, with 3 punchdowns a day, aged for 9 months in mostly French oak with some Hungarian oak; 20.13% new, 13.78% 1 year old, 4.59% 2 year old and the balance neutral. The barrels were racked in March following Malo-Lactic fermentation and again in August when the blend was put together, then stored in tanks until bottling.
Winery: Torii Mor Winery
Owners: Donald Olson, MD and Margie Olson
Founded: 1993
Location: Dundee, OR
Torii Mor Winery started with a vision: the pursuit of elegant, Old World style Pinot Noir.
Dr. Donald Olson moved to Oregon to pursue this vision and purchased an older vineyard in the Willamette Valley, planted in 1972, and renamed it Olson Estate Vineyard. High in the Dundee Hills, the ten acres of old vines produce high-quality Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay year after year. Dr. Olson was drawn to the close ties Pinot Noir has to the earth and its ability to express terroir. The name Torii Mor derives from the Torii gate in the property’s Japanese garden and the ancient Scandinavian word for earth. Together the name is a nod to Pinot’s expression of terroir and connection to the earth.
After the first vintage in 1993 with just 1,000 cases, Torii Mor now produces 10,000 cases annually under the direction of Burgundian winemaker Jacques Tardy. Jacques produces those wines of elegance and balance that Dr. Olson began pursuing years ago and Torii Mor continues to pursue elegance in wine making, respect for the earth, and balanced wines that can be enjoyed for years to
come.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2015 Torii Mor Willamette Valley Pinot Noir - $30 = 16.66%
This is so tempting with such mouthful tasting notes. In general, a PN from Willamette Valley Oregon has rarely disappointed me. So tempted to pull the trigger, but would love some tasting notes/rattage from as they say, horse’s mouth. Any Rats or neighhh?!?!
87 Points
This is a pretty sunset rose color and offers gentle, somewhat muted flavors of rhubarb and bramble berry. Meyer lemon and orange peel highlights accent the midpalate, which opens up with a flash of cherry pie flavor. 2/1/18 PG
Wow, is this the first time Torii Mor has reappeared since W.W days? If I remember correctly, I really liked their wines. Hope to hear some Rat input, but I might pull the trigger sooner.
I know it states drinking now, but how long can I cellar it?
@Boatman72
The winery suggests 6-8 years, below. I am supposed to be on a SIWBM which has already been broken 2x in a week, haha. But if you were to buy, I might like to chipgreen in for 3 or 4. Preferably 3.
@chipgreen, @mrn1, @pjmartin Sorry for not getting back earlier. I did buy a case earlier in the morning and would like to end up with at least 6 btls. I pulled 3 btls for @chipgreen, so 3 more btls are available!!
No problem if others want to pass on the last 3! My goal: party a little now, hold more to keep up the partying down the road.
The last vintage I showed in my Cellartracker was way back in 2006. Looks like I didn’t review this vintage, but the other 62 reviews went all the way to 2018. From what I saw, looks like the wine got higher ratings as it aged. FWIW.
Nose: fresh strawberries, craisins, fresh green herbs
Palate: Fresh acidity. Slightly underripe cherry juice. This has just a touch of bitter green which is actually a nice palate cleanser
Finish: A bit of toasty caramel (not much), and the acidity from the palate sticks around for a bit. there are just a hint of tingly tannins (low amount, but slightly sharp).
.
.
.
Next day:
Nose a little less fresh and a bit more stewed but consistent otherwise
Palate is still defined by the fresh acidity. The greener cherry note has faded leaving bright cherry juice which is full on acidity and a bit light on the cherry flavor. The herbs on the nose are present in the background.
The finish is consistent with yesterday.
.
.
.
Overall:
The freshness and general tone of this wine makes it a great food wine. In the spectrum of Pinot noir this is neither funky/barnyard nor cherry cola that Pinot often is these days. More cran-cherry garrique. You wouldn’t mistake it for anything other than Pinot noir though.
I’d put this as a very nice every day+ wine which you can share with anyone. Your wine snob friends won’t look down their noses at it but nor will they be amazed.
@cmaldoon Holy $#!^… just realized this is $13.50/bottle delivered. this is fantastic QPR and I am in for a case despite not having room. It was ok at $25, I’d have been happy and wanting to buy at $20… at $13.5 it is simply a no-brainer for me.
Good morning Casemates! We’re excited to be offering you our flagship Pinot noir at such an amazing deal. We call this wine our “crowd-pleaser”, since it is easy to drink upon release, pairs well with a variety of dishes, yet has nice complexity and will age beautifully over the years. We’ll be checking in throughout the day to answer any questions you may have.
This wine will cellar nicely, peaking at about 6-8 years. At the winery, we love our aged Pinots and often have the opportunity to sample older vintages of our wines. Earlier in the year we had a tasting and the 2004 was the hit of the show! So, cellaring will always be well worth your while. With that said, this particular wine is also made to be enjoyed young.
@rjquillin We are big fans of the Stelvin closure at Torii Mor. Our winemaker is from 8 generations of winemakers in Burgundy and if he had his way, we would bottle all our wines under a stelvin closure. Not only does this keep the wine fresh, but there is no chance of TCA affecting the flavors and aromas of the wine. So every bottle in a case of wine should taste the same. However, we only use these closures on our widely distributed Pinot noirs. The higher end wines, we do still bottle under cork. In regards to aging a wine under Stelvin closure…technology has come a long way over recent years. Stelvin now offers different “liners” that can allow various amounts of air into the wine to assist in the aging process. We have tasted several vintages of our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and have noticed the wines are aging nicely under this type of closure. With that being said, we have cellared some trials of our single vineyard Pinot noirs under cork vs Stelvin, but still too early to open and evaluate any differences. I hope this answers your question.
@Toriimor
It mostly does, and I’m not biased against them.
I’ve got some 2007 Buena Vista Syrah Carneros they bottled under Stelvin that is aging amazingly slowly. Twist the cap and is seems only a few years old, not even close to 12 from vintage.
Do you pick the liner based on it’s OTR?
If so, might you know what you chose.
Just curious mind you.
@rjquillin For this particular wine, we go with the Saranex liner, which has a higher OTR than a SaraTin liner. At Torii Mor, we are all fans of aged wines around here, so we prefer to let at least some air get to the wine to aid in development over time. However, our supplier has now come out with new options which we may experiment with in future vintages.
@rjquillin@Toriimor this is very interesting, didnt realise technology was evolving in this area. Im not biased against tbe cap if you can get similar aging results. Thanks for the extra info!!
Hey everyone, ask and you shall receive! Lab Rat notes here! I’m a huge fan of PN so getting a chance to Rat one was a treat. Before we get into the notes my personal preferences in PN are definitely on the earthy/dark fruits side vs the bright light strawberry/raspberry flavors. Now on to the notes!
You can see in the pics this wine has a stelvin cap and so instead of a pop and pour its a twist and pour. On first examination this wine is a medium ruby red in the glass. First whiff gave a scent of cherries and a bit of oak. On the palate was picking up more dark cherries and a bit of oak. This wine is very balanced. It doesn’t clobber you with fruit or alcohol and isn’t too tart with the right amount of acidity. The mouthfeel was light but smooth with just a bit of tannins. The aftertaste on this wine is special. The length is impressive with dark cherries turning to spicy dark fruits turning to plums. The plums last for a good minute I would say.
My wife is also a PN fan so here’s her notes: Smells of cherries with taste of sweet cherries and plum with perfect tartness. She really liked it, lighter pinot, good price anywhere below $20. Good to drink by itself with no food needed and a great wine for an afternoon with the girlfriends. (she told me to buy a case and she rarely does that!)
After a glass or so each with dinner we twisted back on the cap and let it sit to see what developed. Three hours later I came back and found that the scent had changed a bit and was now distinctly floral with cherries still present but didn’t really pick up the oak at all. The flavor profile was roughly the same with less oak and more tartness. The wine was still drinking well. We left a glass in the bottle to try the next morning.
Next morning the fruit was really subdued and while still there a bit wasn’t nearly as forward. This wine appears to tire fairly quickly during oxidation, but what do you expect for a drink now stelvin capped bottle?
Summary, this is a good to great everyday drinker that you can pair with many lighter foods and have it work. My experience with stelvin capped bottles is that they stay pretty much the same in my cellar for a few years without aging or changing. I wouldn’t lay this down for a long time but drinking with dinner or by itself over the next few years should work well. I know our case won’t even last a year given my wife’s opinion and her tendency to be the one who gets to pick the dinner bottle from the celler! Thanks Casemates!!
@torrimor@stingingj@cmaldoon
Any thoughts on pairing this with BBQ (brisket/turkey/sausage)? Sounds on the lighter side of pinot and might get washed out by the smokiness of the meat? Looking for a good balance of approachable and easy to drink but also pairs well with BBQ.
@deadlyapp This wine came across as very fresh when paired with pizza in my case. I think it will stand up very well against the fattiness of a brisket or sweetness of BBQ sauce but I think it might fall flat against a very vinegary BBQ sauce.
@deadlyapp I had it with a wood grilled prime NY strip and I thought the steak overpowered it a bit. I would think that smoked turkey, pork, or fish would work well with it, but depending on your brisket it might not hold up. I usually serve something a bit heavier (i.e. syrah or cab sav) with my smoked brisket, but that’s just my 2 cents…
Well, if someone from Northern Virginia needs someone to eventually take up to 3 of these in sale (at case price) or trade, I will. But I can’t pull the trigger. I’d love to try this, but I’m waaay over budget. (For which I blame casemates of course.)
Tasting Notes
The 2015 Torii Mor Willamette Valley Pinot Noir has rich aromas of wild flowers and roses, mixed in with complex red and dark berries, including cherries. The flavors are fresh, rich and sweet. The entry is forward, sweet and spicy, the fresh acidity enhances the rich and complex fruity center of sweet darker berries and cherries, the mid palate carries on that velvet-fruity goodness to a long, enjoyable aftertaste of pure Oregon Pinot Noir. The mouthfeel is rich and elegant. The finish is very long, sweet, with the complexity of fruit, juicy tannins and a hint of spices. This wine doesn’t need decanting and can be enjoyed now.
Vineyard and Winemaker’s Notes
Torii Mor is a testament to premium, handcrafted Pinot noir. Using grapes from the lush Dundee Hills, winemaker Jacques Tardy crafts wines of elegance and balance in the Old World style.
The grapes that comprise Torii Mor’s Willamette Valley Pinot Noir come from 10 vineyards: Alloro, Bella Vida, Holstein, La Colina, La Dolce Vita, Olson, Varga, VX (Willamette farms), White Rose, Winkler.
Harvested from September 13 to 29, the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir grapes were hand sorted, fermented without whole clusters for 13 to 19 days, with 3 punchdowns a day, aged for 9 months in mostly French oak with some Hungarian oak; 20.13% new, 13.78% 1 year old, 4.59% 2 year old and the balance neutral. The barrels were racked in March following Malo-Lactic fermentation and again in August when the blend was put together, then stored in tanks until bottling.
Specifications
Price Comparison
$394/case (including shipping) at Torii Mor Winery
About The Winery
Winery: Torii Mor Winery
Owners: Donald Olson, MD and Margie Olson
Founded: 1993
Location: Dundee, OR
Torii Mor Winery started with a vision: the pursuit of elegant, Old World style Pinot Noir.
Dr. Donald Olson moved to Oregon to pursue this vision and purchased an older vineyard in the Willamette Valley, planted in 1972, and renamed it Olson Estate Vineyard. High in the Dundee Hills, the ten acres of old vines produce high-quality Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay year after year. Dr. Olson was drawn to the close ties Pinot Noir has to the earth and its ability to express terroir. The name Torii Mor derives from the Torii gate in the property’s Japanese garden and the ancient Scandinavian word for earth. Together the name is a nod to Pinot’s expression of terroir and connection to the earth.
After the first vintage in 1993 with just 1,000 cases, Torii Mor now produces 10,000 cases annually under the direction of Burgundian winemaker Jacques Tardy. Jacques produces those wines of elegance and balance that Dr. Olson began pursuing years ago and Torii Mor continues to pursue elegance in wine making, respect for the earth, and balanced wines that can be enjoyed for years to
come.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, April 1st - Thursday, April 4th
Torii Mor Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
4 bottles for $59.99 $15/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $149.99 $12.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2015 Torii Mor Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2015 Torii Mor Willamette Valley Pinot Noir - $30 = 16.66%
Please let there be rats.
@karenhynes
Yes, and aggressive pricing vs. CT values.
Looking forward to, to producer comments on the twist off and aging potential.
This is so tempting with such mouthful tasting notes. In general, a PN from Willamette Valley Oregon has rarely disappointed me. So tempted to pull the trigger, but would love some tasting notes/rattage from as they say, horse’s mouth. Any Rats or neighhh?!?!
And from Wine Enthusiast:
87 Points
This is a pretty sunset rose color and offers gentle, somewhat muted flavors of rhubarb and bramble berry. Meyer lemon and orange peel highlights accent the midpalate, which opens up with a flash of cherry pie flavor. 2/1/18 PG
https://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/torii-mor-2015-pinot-noir-willamette-valley/
fwiw
Wow, is this the first time Torii Mor has reappeared since W.W days? If I remember correctly, I really liked their wines. Hope to hear some Rat input, but I might pull the trigger sooner.
I know it states drinking now, but how long can I cellar it?
@Boatman72
The winery suggests 6-8 years, below. I am supposed to be on a SIWBM which has already been broken 2x in a week, haha. But if you were to buy, I might like to chipgreen in for 3 or 4. Preferably 3.
@chipgreen, @mrn1, @pjmartin Sorry for not getting back earlier. I did buy a case earlier in the morning and would like to end up with at least 6 btls. I pulled 3 btls for @chipgreen, so 3 more btls are available!!
No problem if others want to pass on the last 3! My goal: party a little now, hold more to keep up the partying down the road.
The last vintage I showed in my Cellartracker was way back in 2006. Looks like I didn’t review this vintage, but the other 62 reviews went all the way to 2018. From what I saw, looks like the wine got higher ratings as it aged. FWIW.
@Boatman72 What the heck. I’m a sucker for WV Pinot I’ll take the other 3.
@Boatman72 @pjmartin
Much thanks, added to the list!
Labrat Tasting:
Torii Mor 2015 Willamette Valley Pinot noir
Pop and pour:
Nose: fresh strawberries, craisins, fresh green herbs
Palate: Fresh acidity. Slightly underripe cherry juice. This has just a touch of bitter green which is actually a nice palate cleanser
Finish: A bit of toasty caramel (not much), and the acidity from the palate sticks around for a bit. there are just a hint of tingly tannins (low amount, but slightly sharp).
.
.
.
Next day:
Nose a little less fresh and a bit more stewed but consistent otherwise
Palate is still defined by the fresh acidity. The greener cherry note has faded leaving bright cherry juice which is full on acidity and a bit light on the cherry flavor. The herbs on the nose are present in the background.
The finish is consistent with yesterday.
.
.
.
Overall:
The freshness and general tone of this wine makes it a great food wine. In the spectrum of Pinot noir this is neither funky/barnyard nor cherry cola that Pinot often is these days. More cran-cherry garrique. You wouldn’t mistake it for anything other than Pinot noir though.
I’d put this as a very nice every day+ wine which you can share with anyone. Your wine snob friends won’t look down their noses at it but nor will they be amazed.
@cmaldoon Holy $#!^… just realized this is $13.50/bottle delivered. this is fantastic QPR and I am in for a case despite not having room. It was ok at $25, I’d have been happy and wanting to buy at $20… at $13.5 it is simply a no-brainer for me.
@cmaldoon Your order number is: adventurous-bardic-punishment
Good morning Casemates! We’re excited to be offering you our flagship Pinot noir at such an amazing deal. We call this wine our “crowd-pleaser”, since it is easy to drink upon release, pairs well with a variety of dishes, yet has nice complexity and will age beautifully over the years. We’ll be checking in throughout the day to answer any questions you may have.
This wine will cellar nicely, peaking at about 6-8 years. At the winery, we love our aged Pinots and often have the opportunity to sample older vintages of our wines. Earlier in the year we had a tasting and the 2004 was the hit of the show! So, cellaring will always be well worth your while. With that said, this particular wine is also made to be enjoyed young.
@Toriimor
Can you chat a bit more how you expect this to age when finished under a Stelvin?
OTR?
@rjquillin A little bit off subject (but still PN related). Please check out my last post on https://casemates.com/forum/topics/attune-pinot-noir. I have the wine but no way to contact you.
@rjquillin We are big fans of the Stelvin closure at Torii Mor. Our winemaker is from 8 generations of winemakers in Burgundy and if he had his way, we would bottle all our wines under a stelvin closure. Not only does this keep the wine fresh, but there is no chance of TCA affecting the flavors and aromas of the wine. So every bottle in a case of wine should taste the same. However, we only use these closures on our widely distributed Pinot noirs. The higher end wines, we do still bottle under cork. In regards to aging a wine under Stelvin closure…technology has come a long way over recent years. Stelvin now offers different “liners” that can allow various amounts of air into the wine to assist in the aging process. We have tasted several vintages of our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and have noticed the wines are aging nicely under this type of closure. With that being said, we have cellared some trials of our single vineyard Pinot noirs under cork vs Stelvin, but still too early to open and evaluate any differences. I hope this answers your question.
@Toriimor
It mostly does, and I’m not biased against them.
I’ve got some 2007 Buena Vista Syrah Carneros they bottled under Stelvin that is aging amazingly slowly. Twist the cap and is seems only a few years old, not even close to 12 from vintage.
Do you pick the liner based on it’s OTR?
If so, might you know what you chose.
Just curious mind you.
@rjquillin For this particular wine, we go with the Saranex liner, which has a higher OTR than a SaraTin liner. At Torii Mor, we are all fans of aged wines around here, so we prefer to let at least some air get to the wine to aid in development over time. However, our supplier has now come out with new options which we may experiment with in future vintages.
@Toriimor thanks
@rjquillin @Toriimor this is very interesting, didnt realise technology was evolving in this area. Im not biased against tbe cap if you can get similar aging results. Thanks for the extra info!!
Hey everyone, ask and you shall receive! Lab Rat notes here! I’m a huge fan of PN so getting a chance to Rat one was a treat. Before we get into the notes my personal preferences in PN are definitely on the earthy/dark fruits side vs the bright light strawberry/raspberry flavors. Now on to the notes!
You can see in the pics this wine has a stelvin cap and so instead of a pop and pour its a twist and pour. On first examination this wine is a medium ruby red in the glass. First whiff gave a scent of cherries and a bit of oak. On the palate was picking up more dark cherries and a bit of oak. This wine is very balanced. It doesn’t clobber you with fruit or alcohol and isn’t too tart with the right amount of acidity. The mouthfeel was light but smooth with just a bit of tannins. The aftertaste on this wine is special. The length is impressive with dark cherries turning to spicy dark fruits turning to plums. The plums last for a good minute I would say.
My wife is also a PN fan so here’s her notes: Smells of cherries with taste of sweet cherries and plum with perfect tartness. She really liked it, lighter pinot, good price anywhere below $20. Good to drink by itself with no food needed and a great wine for an afternoon with the girlfriends. (she told me to buy a case and she rarely does that!)
After a glass or so each with dinner we twisted back on the cap and let it sit to see what developed. Three hours later I came back and found that the scent had changed a bit and was now distinctly floral with cherries still present but didn’t really pick up the oak at all. The flavor profile was roughly the same with less oak and more tartness. The wine was still drinking well. We left a glass in the bottle to try the next morning.
Next morning the fruit was really subdued and while still there a bit wasn’t nearly as forward. This wine appears to tire fairly quickly during oxidation, but what do you expect for a drink now stelvin capped bottle?
Summary, this is a good to great everyday drinker that you can pair with many lighter foods and have it work. My experience with stelvin capped bottles is that they stay pretty much the same in my cellar for a few years without aging or changing. I wouldn’t lay this down for a long time but drinking with dinner or by itself over the next few years should work well. I know our case won’t even last a year given my wife’s opinion and her tendency to be the one who gets to pick the dinner bottle from the celler! Thanks Casemates!!
/giphy mean-valuable-brick
This was one of the first woot wines we ever got. Loved it then, very happy to buy a case now.
@torrimor @stingingj @cmaldoon
Any thoughts on pairing this with BBQ (brisket/turkey/sausage)? Sounds on the lighter side of pinot and might get washed out by the smokiness of the meat? Looking for a good balance of approachable and easy to drink but also pairs well with BBQ.
@deadlyapp This wine came across as very fresh when paired with pizza in my case. I think it will stand up very well against the fattiness of a brisket or sweetness of BBQ sauce but I think it might fall flat against a very vinegary BBQ sauce.
@cmaldoon Thanks - perfect feedback I was looking for.
@deadlyapp I had it with a wood grilled prime NY strip and I thought the steak overpowered it a bit. I would think that smoked turkey, pork, or fish would work well with it, but depending on your brisket it might not hold up. I usually serve something a bit heavier (i.e. syrah or cab sav) with my smoked brisket, but that’s just my 2 cents…
@StingingJ Yeah, that’s my exact thought. Now I just have to hope we get a good QPR syrah/zin/cab over the next month or two!
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Well, if someone from Northern Virginia needs someone to eventually take up to 3 of these in sale (at case price) or trade, I will. But I can’t pull the trigger. I’d love to try this, but I’m waaay over budget. (For which I blame casemates of course.)
/giphy boorish-wretched-tub
Had my taste of this tonight and was very pleasantly surprised with how restrained and balanced it felt. A very good wine.