Le Cadeau Vineyard produces their wine solely from 17 acres of estate vines in the Chehalem Mountains AVA within Oregon’s Willamette Valley AVA. The focus is Pinot Noir. Proprietor Tom Mortimer calls himself “a clone junkie” and the vineyard comprises 14 Pinot Noir clones. The wines tend to be blends of multiple clones rather single-clone productions.

The Vineyard and Terroir

The vineyard lies in the southeastern portion of the Chehalem Mountains AVA, an area known as Parrett Mountain. Le Cadeau is actually the southernmost vineyard in the AVA, even farther south than the town of Dundee (which is about 10 miles to the west).

The Chehalem Mountains AVA is large and diverse. There are currently proposals to create smaller, more homogenous AVAs within it. As it stands, the AVA includes several different soil types. The hillside Le Cadeau occupies itself has a mix of soils. They include Willakenzie, a marine sedimentary soil, and various types of volcanic basalt soils, including Jory. But, notably, it does not include the Laurelwood soil of windblown silt, which famously dominates certain parts of the AVA.

Willamette Valley soil types are seen as having a significant effect on the character of Pinot Noir grown in it. Of course there are many other variables, related to vineyards and winemaking, that affect the wine too. But, stereotypically, Jory soils are seen as leading to ripe, spicy, red cherry flavors, Willakenzie creating wines that, due higher acidity and tannins, need time to evolve, and Laurelwood fine-bodied wines with bright red fruit accented by earth and savory spice.

The Le Cadeau Vineyard is distinctly rocky. The well they drilled onsite went through 700 feet of solid basalt. The top soils are heavily studded with basalt cobbles too, making the site well-drained.

Le Cadeau planted its first vines in 1999. More blocks were added in 2002, 2006, and 2008. The blocks, which include approximately 22,000 Pinot Noir vines, are all in one contiguous area. However, it’s a sloping vineyard which runs from 610 to 740 feet, so there are variations in terroir from block to block based on soil, altitude, and microclimates.

Le Cadeau Vineyard Viticulture

The Le Cadeau Vineyard is certified LIVE Sustainable. They use some organic and biodynamic principles, but aren’t certified for either. The vines are all trellised and clipped in place to optimize shoot positioning. This can improve both airflow and ripening. Rootstocks were chosen based on test plantings and with a focus on finding the best match with clone, soil and microclimate for each vine.

Visiting Le Cadeau Vineyard

There is no tasting room at the vineyard. Instead, there’s a nice tasting facility  on Highway 99 in Dundee. It’s open daily.

Le Cadeau Vineyard Wines

2011 Le Cadeau Vineyard Blanc de Noir Sparkling Wine 92 12.0% 750ml $50

This, the first Le Cadeau sparkling wine, is made entirely from estate Pinot Noir. 2011 was a cool year which got off to a late start. Then the vines put out a big crop with big clusters, further inhibiting ripening. That was perfect for sparkling and the grapes were picked at 19-20 brix. The wine spent more than 54 months sur lie in bottle before disgorgement and was bottled without dosage.

The light gold-colored wine is alive with a plethora of tiny bubbles. The nose is very pretty, showing dried apple, pear, lemon grass, and ginger, also toast and cinnamon. The bone-dry palate features a creamy mousse punctuated by high acidity. The flavors offer fresher fruit, and more red fruit, than the nose. Look for underripe raspberry, lemon, toast, and spice. 171 cases.

2014 Le Cadeau Vineyard Trajet Reserve Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains 94 13.9% 750ml $80

Trajet Reserve is the newest project at Le Cadeau. 2014 was the first vintage. The wine is distinguished by a high-percentage of whole-clusters in the fermentation. The nose and flavors are delightfully floral, rose petals and drying flowers accented by spice. The medium-bodied palate is framed by very fine, soft tannins with light grip that persists throughout the length of the wine. 94 cases.

2017 Le Cadeau Vineyard Red Label Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains 91 14.1% 750ml $39

Red Label is a barrel-selection intended to represent the breadth of the clones and terroirs of the vineyard. The wines see less time in oak and are earlier drinkers. 

The 2017 is ruby-colored with the fuchsia highlights of youth. The outgoing nose is replete with dried flowers, earthy musk, red cherry, pomegranate, sarsaparilla, delicate baking spice, and elegant, toasted wood. Flavors are much the same, but a little less intense. Body is medium-minus and the tannins very fine, soft, and chalky. The wine’s youth and structure will benefit from pairing with food if consumed in the near term. 160 cases.

2016 Le Cadeau Vineyard Diversité Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains 93 14.2% 750ml $50

Diversité comes from multiple blocks in the northern part of the vineyard and comprises nine clones, among them Pommard, Dijon, 667, 777, 113, 114, 115 and Mariafeld, a Swiss clone known for flavors of licorice and spice.

The nose is rich with dark flowers, dark spice, dark red fruit, blood orange, and licorice. The palate has medium to medium-plus body with very fine-grained texture. The core of dark red fruit is offset by dark minerality. The finish is a little warming and offers some grip too. Hold it a little while. Best 2020-2028. 168 cases.

2016 Le Cadeau Vineyard Rocheux Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains 95 14.1% 750ml $50

The Pommard, Dijon 777, and Wadenswill clone grapes in this wine come from a particularly rocky part of the vineyard. The result is a beautiful wine with exotic qualities which reminded me a bit of my favorite Barolo Chinato.

The nose is extremely complex—a pot pourri of wild flowers, dried orange zest, cedar shavings, forest spices, Christmas spice, and ripe red cherries. Rocheux is very juicy in the mouth with medium-plus body and soft, round tannins. The flavors are intense and resemble the aromas, but with more fruit focus, especially red cherry and black raspberry. The finish is extremely long. 168 cases.

2015 Le Cadeau Vineyard Merci Reserve Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains 94 14.2% 750ml $80

The Merci Pinot Noir explores three particular California heirloom clones of Pinot Noir: Mt. Eden, Calera, and Swan. The latter grows small clusters with uneven berry sizes and creates powerful aromatics of violets and tart red fruit. Calera is associated with minerality and vivid acidity. Mt. Eden, derived from vines brought to California by Paul Masson in the 19th century, is bold with dark color and a masculine bearing. Those three balance each other well in a blend.

Merci is a powerfully aromatic wine with notes of paraffin, ripe red cherry, brown spices, and wood, as well as bright highlights such as dried citrus, crunchy raspberry, and violet. Flavors are similar to the nose in intensity and character, but shows more wood influence. The palate has medium-plus body, plenty of acidity to balance the powerful fruit, and a generous finish. 143 cases.

2016 Le Cadeau Vineyard Trajet Reserve Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains 96 13.9% 750ml $80

The 2016 Trajet Reserve takes this cuvée’s whole-cluster direction even further than the 2014. This one is 100% whole-cluster. The beautiful, highly aromatic nose swirls with flowers, spice, exotic pot pourri, and both red and purple fruit. The very long, concentrated palate is gently mouthwatering, but most of the structure comes from wonderfully soft, viscous tannins. A gorgeous wine. 97 cases.

Aubichon Wine

Aubichon is a different label under the same ownership as Le Cadeau. Whereas Le Cadeau is 100% estate, Aubichon is not. This Chardonnay is based on purchased fruit from two vineyards in the Willamette Valley AVA, near Eola-Amity Hills. There is an estate Chardonnay in the works at Le Cadeau, but that wine, from the 2017 vintage, is still in barrel. Both labels’ Chardonnay are made with an eye toward ageability.

2016 Aubichon Cellars Chardonnay 93+ 14.2% 750ml $35

The clones here are Old Wente 72, Mt. Eden 28, and Dijon 76. The wine aged 17 months in mostly neutral French oak barrels. There’s very good intensity to both the aromas and flavors, which include oatmeal, custard, lemon, ripe yellow apple, delicate baking spice, pineapple, and pear. The medium-bodied palate is very juicy and extremely long. 136 cases.

Copyright Fred Swan 2019. Images courtesy of Le Cadeau. All rights reserved.