New releases (2022) from Nicolas-Jay, now one of Oregon’s very best wineries

Jamie Goode tastes latest releases from Jay Boberg and Jean-Nicolas Meo of Nicolas-Jay, a winery who has, in a very short time, become one of the stars of the Oregon wine scene

I caught up with Jay Boberg, one half of Nicolas-Jay (read the full story about how the winery came to be here) in London to taste through the 2022 vintage release from this leading Oregon producer. Normally Jean-Nicolas Meo would have been in town, too, but he had a late vintage in Burgundy to finish and was currently in Oregon having a look at how 2024 is shaping up there.

Jay talked a little about 2024, which has just finished, with the last pick on 2 October. He’s very much hands on as an owner, and hasn’t missed a pick since the winery started with the 2014 vintage. During harvest Nicolas-Jay is helped by a bunch of volunteers, and they have a specific job during the pick. In California and Oregon picking crews almost always pick into large macrobins, with the result that some of the fruit at the bottom can get crushed, resulting in the release of juice and a bit of oxidation. [It’s also really hard to cool down grapes in these larger containers, but this is more of an issue in California than Oregon, with the latter usually experiencing cooler temperatures during harvest.] The reason for this insistence on larger bins is that it’s much quicker, and crews get paid by the ton, and the faster they pick the more money they make. Smaller crates are fiddly, so Jay’s solution is to use cherry crates, which are really shallow. This is where the volunteers come in. When they do a pick there is a ‘no dumping’ rule. The volunteers set buckets down, and then empty these buckets carefully into the cherry bins, bringing fresh buckets for the pickers to use. They can sort in the vineyard, because they are picking in the light, not as many California vineyards do picking at night with lights. They’ll typically start at 0630 and the fruit comes in cold, because the temperature is in the 40s F at that time.

2024 was a pretty good vintage for quality, and there were just 3 or 4 vineyards with any noticeable botrytis. The main issue for sorting was water berries, which are grapes full in stature but with not colour. ‘2024 might be our best vintage yet,’ says Jay. ‘We pick early looking for tension between structure and the fruit.’ Normally, they have 93-97 days between flowering and harvest, but in 2024 this extended to 100-107 days. ‘2024 had rain all the way to July 4th,’ he said, with dry spells interspersed with rain. It was great for peoples’ gardens, but the Oregonians who get rained on all winter weren’t so happy. Often the rain will stop in April or May. But this regular precipitation was great for winemakers.

What about 2022? This was very different. It was a late vintage that started October 4th and finished October 20th, and it was a cold one. It was cold from Spring to July, with some warmth, but more of a traditional old-school Oregon harvest. It was a challenging year with the weather, as the rain caused disease issues. As a result, they ended up with less than normal of Nisa and Momtazi. ‘I wouldn’t have thought 2022 was going to be super special,’ says Jay, after experiencing the vintage. ‘In 2022 pretty much everything you worry about happened, but we’ve ended up with really good wines.’

I asked Jay: is it important for these wines to be ageable? ‘Yes, it’s very important for them to be ageable,’ he says. ‘Following Jean-Nicolas Meo’s methodology is beneficial for ageing.’ Recently they opened up some of the debut vintage (2014) wines, and they tasted great. So to make ageworthy Pinot, do you have to compromise early drinkability? ‘I don’t know,’ says Jay, ‘but 2017 tasted great from the outset and are still really good, whereas 2019 was difficult and tight at the beginning but is starting to open up.’

Some notes on Pinot Noir winemaking. Everything is destemmed and then goes into a tank where it has around 4 days cold soak before wild fermentation. Some sulfites are added at the beginning of the cold soak, but this is the only time they are usually added: interesting, no sulfites are added before bottling, as Jean-Nicolas thinks that if you do the correct elevage they aren’t needed. There’s no punching down until just before the end of fermentation, with pump overs only. All the wines are unfined and unfiltered: ‘gravity is our only filter,’ says Jay.

All the vineyards they source from are either organic or biodynamic.

THE WINES

Nicolas-Jay Bishop’s Creek Pinot Noir 2022 Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon
They purchased this vineyard in 2013, and it’s mostly own rooted – 9 of the 13 acres of Pinot Noir here are ungrafted. Planted 1987. Lovely aromatics of sweet cherry and raspberry fruit with hints of earth and iodine, as well as some woody hints. The palate has lovely elegance with compact berry fruits and nice spicy detail. Juicy and linear, and well structured, with lots of potential. 94/100

Nicolas-Jay Nysa Pinot Noir 2022 Dundee Hills, Oregon
Own rooted vineyard that has been severely affected by phylloxera, planted in 1988 and 1990. Very fine, detailed, textural and perfumed. This has some mid-palate richness with floral red cherries and plums. It’s already showing off a bit but has lots of potential for development. Real finesse here with some grip on the finish. 95/100

Nicolas-Jay Momtazi  Pinot Noir 2022 McMinnville, Oregon
The owner of this vineyard, Mo, has an amazing story, involving fleeing Iran on a motorcyle with his wife, through Pakistan. This has a vivid cherry and raspberry fruit nose with nice spicy detail. The palate is concentrated and compact with firm tannins but also lovely sweet fruit. Firmly tannic on the finish. Spicy and detailed with lots of potential. 96/100

Nicolas-Jay Own-Rooted Pinot Noir 2022 Willamette Valley, Oregon
This comes from Bishop’s Creek (1987), Nysa (1990) and Highland (1971). They started making this in 2017. It’s a complete wine with sweet cherries and plums. Textural and finely spiced with grainy structure. Has great balance and density with a firmly structured finish, but it’s also very fine. 95/100

Nicolas-Jay L’Ensemble Pinot Noir 2022 Willamette Valley, Oregon
A blend of Pinot from 10 vineyard sites, this is approachable but also ageworthy. Fine floral red cherries and cranberries on the nose. There’s a lovely sappy edge to the red cherry and plum fruit on the palate with direct red fruits and real finesse. Nice energy here: very fine with good purity. 96/100

Nicolas-Jay Bishop’s Creek Chardonnay 2022 Yamhill Carlton, Oregon
From a block at the top of the hill. Fresh and detailed with crystalline citrus fruit. Supple and showing real finesse with some compression, this is taut and complex with well integrated oak. Lemon dominates the fruit spectrum, but there’s some peach and pineapple in the background. This should age beautifully. 96/100

Nicolas-Jay Affinités Chardonnay 2022 Willamette Valley, Oregon
Four vineyards, around 15% new oak. Subtle toast and aniseed on the nose with taut citrus fruit. Lovely depth of flavour with lemon, pineapple and pear fruit as well as good acidity. Fine and linear, and ageworthy. 95/100

The 2021 releases:

Nicolas-Jay Affinités Chardonnay 2021 Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
This is a taut wine with lovely restraint, showing good acidity and a stony, mineral edge to the bright citrus fruit with a hint of white peach. Quite linear, showing just a touch of almond and cashew nuttiness. Stylish stiff that should age well. 94/100 (£68.00 Berry Bros & Rudd)

Nicolas-Jay Bishop Creek Pinot Noir 2021 Yamhill Carlton, Willamette Valley, Orgeon
This is from a 6.07 hectare site with vines planted in 1988 on marine sedimentary soils. Wild ferment and aged 15 months in French oak. 13 barrels made. Quite taut and unfurled on the nose, with focused black cherry fruit and some spiciness. The palate is beautifully proportioned: as befits a young wine there’s some tannin and fresh acidity, but the fruit is there. Black cherries and blackberries, with compact tannins and notes of iodine, beetroot and cedar spice at the very back of the palate. A serious expression of Oregon Pinot that’s not blossoming too soon, but will repay perhaps 15 years in the cellar. Great concentration and focus here. 95/100 (£113 Berry Bros & Rudd)

Nicolas-Jay Ensemble Pinot Noir 2021 Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
This is a blend of the different terroirs that Nicolas-Jay work with, and a barrel selection from each of the sites blended together. Wild fermented and then aged for 14 months in French oak, one-third new. This is focused and vibrant with sweet cherry and plum fruit, plus some raspberry freshness. Under the fruit is a slightly stern structural character with some tannin and good acidity. Then on the finish there’s a hint of spicy oak. Lots to like about this wine, which shows focus, restraint and good potential for ageing. Give this 10 years to hit its prime, I reckon. I love the poise, restraint and focus. 95/100 (£85.00 Berry Bros & Rudd)

Older notes (2019 releases):

Jay Boberg and Jean-Nicolas Meo were in town showing off their 2019s. ‘2019 was a cool vintage, as you can taste,’ says Jean-Nicolas. ‘Even a cold one. The conditions during the summer were nice, without heatwaves, and it was overcast with a bit of rain during September. It made wines that are a bit different from what we’ve made in the past.’

He emphasized that Oregon isn’t just California with a little less heat. ‘It has a nice variation of vintages. This is certainly leaner than what we’ve done so far.’ The wines are refreshing with lower alcohol. ‘It is definitely a vintage worth investigating if you had this idea of Oregon being new world.’

‘It was a relatively small vintage for us production-wise,’ says Jay. ‘The yields were not high.’ He adds that ‘a ton of grapes is not a ton of grapes is not a ton of grapes. You can have one ton of grapes that produces a lot more juice than another ton of grapes, depending on the skins and berry size.’ 2019 is a lower yield from that standpoint. Fortunately, rain stayed off during harvest so they could pick when they wanted to. In 2021 they had the same thing happening: a leisurely harvest in that they could pick when they decided, rather than being forced by weather.

2019 is the second vintage they’ve made Chardonnay, and they showed two here. ‘Chardonnay is very interesting in Oregon,’ says Jean-Nicolas. ‘It is a new grape for us. It is still in its first stages in Oregon. Certainly, the arrival of Dominic Lafon in the second half of the 2000s was a game changer for Oregon Chardonnay. It is definitely a very hot grape, even though Pinot Gris is still the dominant white grape for Oregon.

Bishop Creek is old vines grafted over from Pinot Gris to Chardonnay, at the top of the home vineyard.

Burgundy Chardonnay clones have really made a difference. ‘They used to have California clones,’ says Jean-Nicolas.

‘They never really got ripe,’ says Jay. They had a small block of them and weeks after everything else they still weren’t ripe.

‘Chardonnay is not really evolving extremely quickly in the vineyard in terms of ripening,’ says Jean-Nicolas. ‘You have time to choose exactly when you want to pick.’ He says there is a difference between Chardonnay and Pinot. ‘We are the first to pick for Pinot, but not for Chardonnay.’ He says some pick Chardonnay extremely early, and not properly ripe – and that the same thing is happening in Burgundy too.

In 2019 they made 87 cases of Bishop Creek and 200 cases of the Affiite Chardonnays. But they plan to make more. They have picked up another Chardonnay vineyard and planted three more acres at Bishop Creek in 2015. They also picked up two new vineyards in 2021 – Spirit Hill and Lone Star. These are both owned by Argyle, and they have agreed to sell them a few tons of each, which they use for their high-end sparkling.

The idea is that they want to replicate what they are doing with Pinot Noir for Chardonnay, with a series of single-vineyard wines as well as a blend.

One big change has been working in a new winery – before they rented space at Sokol Blosser. ‘It’s like going from roommates in college to having your own place,’ says Jay. They have two cellars at the new winery, and this makes extended barrel ageing feasible. This is part of their winemaking approach. ‘In Oregon, few people over-vintage,’ says Jean-Nicholas, and this is a problem. ‘You can’t bottle in July.’ They were able to over-vintage at Sokol Blosson, but it was a bit problematic. ‘The wines need time,’ he says. ‘They need the second fall and beginning of winter. It is really important for the wines to calm down from malolactic. It is essential.’

Because they didn’t make any red wines in 2020, as a result of the fires and smoke, 2021 was their first vintage in their new cellar. ‘The biggest thing I noticed this year,’ says Jay, ‘Is that we had the flexibility to do things exactly when we wanted to.’ The new winery has a capacity of 8000 cases, but they don’t think they’ll ever get there.  The other advantage about the new cellar? Jay is a music guy, and at last he can choose the music. ‘We have the best winery sound system in north America!’

What’s so interesting about these wines is that the winemaking has revealed the differences between the various sites: these wines all taste different, although there is a slight house style, emphasizing freshness rather than bold sweet fruit. Perhaps the two are aligned.

THE WINES

Nicolas -Jay Affinités Chardonnay 2019 Willamette Valley, Oregon
Nice intensity on the nose, which is nutty and toasty with powerful pear and citrus fruit. Linear, quite mineral, with the concentration and richness nicely restrained with good acidity. Lovely weight here with a fine, spicy finish. Serious effort. 94/100

Nicolas-Jay Bishop Creek Chardonnay 2019 Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon
This is really lively with a lovely linear flow: it shows great acidity and precise citrus fruit, with a hint of pear richness and a touch of green apple. There’s a touch of mandarin here. Real intensity and purity with potential for development. 95/100

Nicolas-Jay Ensemble Pinot Noir 2019 Willamette Valley, Oregon
Beautifully floral aromatics with sweet red cherries: so inviting. The palate is supple and elegant with fresh red cherries and plums. Very fresh and delicious with such purity and real elegance. I love the texture to this wine which is just so fine. Real elegance. 96 /100

Nicolas-Jay Ensemble Pinot Noir 2018 Willamette Valley, Oregon
There’s some structure and density here, with sweet cherry and berry fruit but also a density and some dusty weight. Firm and beautifully proportioned, with a grippy finish. 94/100

Nicolas-Jay Own Rooted Pinot Noir 2019 Willamette Valley, Oregon
Lovely brightness to this wine, with good acidity, and fresh red cherry and redcurrant fruit. This has some structure, but it sits in nicely amid the focused bright fruit. There’s a transparency to this wine, which is bright and purposeful. Very fine. 95/100

Nicolas-Jay Momtazi Pinot Noir 2019 McMinnville, Oregon
This is ripe, fresh and quite dense with keen acidity and bright red cherry and raspberry fruit. Great concentration here and lots of freshness, with a slight liqueur-like richness on the mid-palate. This is really fine and potentially long lived, combining good structure and acidity. Sensational. 97/100

Nicolas-Jay Nysa Pinot Noir 2019 Dundee Hills, Oregon
Very fine aromatics: bright red cherries with some floral overtones and a slight sappiness, showing a hint of oak, too. Astonishing elegance on the palate with red cherries, cranberries and a hint of cedar spice. This is so pretty, in a lighter style, but it doesn’t lack concentration or potential ageworthiness. Give this a little time to fully integrate. So good. 95/100

Nicolas-Jay Bishop Creek Pinot Noir 2019 Yamhill Carlton, Oregon
Very fresh and fine with lovely redcurrant and cherry fruit, with nice intensity and structure. There’s a distinctive woody spiciness hiding under the fresh fruit. Has a touch of gravel and spice with fresh red cherries on the finish. Lovely intensity here and potential for development. 95/100

See also:

Nicolas-Jay, a new Oregon Star

New releases from Nicolas-Jay

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com