We caught the Flâneur tour for sure at The Wine Authority last night. Who can resist a parade of premium Willamette Pinot passing though town? As a special treat, Flâneur founder Marty Doerschlag was behind the bar, answering questions and opening bottles of these beautiful wines.
Established in 2013, Flâneur Wines makes organically farmed Willamette Valley wines from their 44 acres of vineyards. They’re known for their breathtaking tasting room in Carlton, Oregon (a restored 100-year-old grain elevator)–as well as their small-production, terroir-driven Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
I tasted Flâneur not in their 110-foot, multi-level tower in the “Pinot Paradise” of Yamhill County, but instead from a swiveling stool at the corner of a cozy neighborhood bar. But these are wines that can cast a spell, no matter the scenery.
First up was the Flâneur Brut, a classic Champagne-style blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. Aromas of green apple, lemon, and almond biscotti precede a riper, tropical mouthful of white peach and pineapple. Its touch of sweetness is perfectly balanced by penetrating acidity and fine, persistent bubbles.
A single-vineyard Chardonnay followed, the 2019 from La Belle Promenade. Nutty almond-praline and toast aromas tease richness–but what follows is a high-acid, medium-body wine with complex citrus, tropical, and stone-fruit flavors. It finishes long and slightly saline with green pineapple and tangerine zest.
Thus primed for Pinot, we moved on to the 2023 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Energetic and joyful, it brings appealing raspberry and strawberry brightness with light cola spice.
In contrast, the 2019 Flanerie Vineyard Pinot Noir is heavier and toastier. It tastes riper too, with a framboise-liqueur note underlining the dominant raspberry flavor. To its baseline of red fruits, it adds blackberry and bramble scented with cola, clove, and a hint of grilled meat.
Flâneur Wines is well-known for their single-vineyard expressions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But my favorite of the evening (by a hair) was in fact a blend from two vineyards: Wine #4, the 2019 “Cuvée Constantin” Pinot Noir.
At six years, this Cuvée Constantin is showing some age while still retaining a basketful of fresh fruit flavors. (After the two zingy whites, all three Pinots taste rather moderate in their acidity. But it’s not unwelcome, and seems to allow the flavors to last longer in the mouth.)
On the nose, crushed ripe raspberries, blackberries, and pomegranate are tinged with vanilla, leather, and smoke. Damp soil and tea leaf lead a soft and serious mid-palate, before receding to a haunting finish of green tea and Asian plum. Roughly two-thirds of the fruit comes from La Belle Promenade Vineyard with the remainder sourced from Flanerie. This exceptional wine is fermented 21% whole cluster and aged in 100% French oak, 17% new.
Wines tasted (prices are retail):
Flâneur Wines Brut (NV) – Willamette Valley, Oregon – $65
Flâneur Wines La Belle Promenade Chardonnay (2019) – Willamette Valley, Oregon – $62
Flâneur Wines Pinot Noir (2023) – Willamette Valley, Oregon – $34
Flâneur Wines “Cuvée Constantin” Pinot Noir (2019) – Willamette Valley, Oregon – $59
Flâneur Wines Flanerie Vineyard Pinot Noir (2019) – Ribbon Ridge AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon – $62
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review (except for the tasting included with my membership at The Wine Authority). Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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