These are exciting times for Rudy Marchesi’s Montinore Estate. Last year marked its first crop off their young Laughlin Road Ranch vineyard in Willamette Valley’s Yamhill-Carlton AVA. The vineyard, planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, contains a patchwork of different soils, aspects, clones and rootstocks, ensuring Montinore stays ahead of Oregon’s changing and less predictable climate. “The old school vintages of the past have gone out the window,” according to head winemaker Stephen Webber, approaching his third decade at Montinore. While Webber can’t foresee what the future holds, he’s sure the Laughlin Road site will hold some answers. Enough about the future. Here and now, this biodynamic pioneer’s vineyards are firing on all cylinders. For those new to this grower, the original estate vineyard was planted in 1982 in what is now known as the Tualatin Hills. This relatively young AVA of the larger Willamette Valley is nestled in the east-facing foothill of Oregon’s Coastal Range. Many of the mature vines here are on their own roots and supply Montinore Estate’s single-vineyard bottlings. In 2001, Marchesi purchased the Tidalstar Vineyard on the western edge of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Marchesi had a gut feeling that this site, with its marine origin soils and rising altitude, would grow brilliant Pinot Noir. His instinct has proved spot-on, and not a year after Montinore’s purchase, Burgundy giant Louis Jadot moved in next door. In the cellar, simplicity is the mantra. The estate’s precise, biodynamic vineyard practices are reflected in the fruit quality, so Webber takes a hands-off approach to ensure the wines express their origin as best they can. He’s fastidious about picking dates, ensuring each parcel is harvested at optimal ripeness, and uses a host of vessels, including French and Hungarian oak of different sizes, concrete eggs, stainless steel and amphora. It’s an approach that pays off with interest.