Willamette Valley Returns to Classicism: The 2024 Vintage

BY ERIC GUIDO | JULY 14, 2026

Tasting the 2024s from Willamette Valley brought me back to my early experiences with Oregon wine and the vintages that made me fall in love with the region. There were far fewer producers in the area back then, and the average consumer had not yet caught on to the United States’ "New World Burgundy." The wines of the time delivered high-toned, fresh profiles with ample bright fruit, structure and minerality.

Then came vintages like 2014 and 2015. These wines, with their forward characters and ripe fruit, were approachable and attractive to a wide audience, but the problem was that acidity dropped, sugars rose and fruit profiles grew darker with each passing year. As climate warming trends continued, wine lovers had to adjust their understanding of what balance actually means in the Willamette Valley.

The Belle Pente estate vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA.

However, we now meet the cool-toned, neoclassical 2024 vintage. Two thousand twenty-four was not an inherently cold year like 2010 or 2011 (both of which are maturing beautifully). Instead, I would place it alongside the slightly warmer 2008 and 2012 growing seasons, which yielded similarly structured wines. The 2024s are thrilling for both their upfront appeal and their long-term potential. They possess a radiance conferred by elevated acidity, while showcasing bright, lifted fruit and expressive floral aromatics. This is a vintage to be excited about, but it is not without complexities, and it certainly isn’t a vintage to buy blindly.

The Myth of the Perfect Vintage

The barrel-aging cellar at Résonance.

This brings us to the 2024 vintage in Willamette Valley, a growing season that many winemakers with whom I spoke call “perfect” or “easy.” But the reality is more complicated than that. The region's best producers crafted some of the most exciting wines I’ve tasted from the Willamette Valley in years, but many others made less exciting wines that don’t particularly stand out. In some of cases, these wines possess aggressive tannins that sneak up after a few sips. But more on that later.

A study of the vineyards and terroir at Walter Scott.

Many producers describe 2024 as a cool vintage simply because it yielded far more balanced wines than the five years prior. Josh Bergström of Bergström Wines explained, “Two thousand twenty-four had the fewest overall growing degree days since 2019, making it a cooler vintage.” (Growing degree days measure the daily temperature accumulation above the vines’ baseline temperature threshold for growth, allowing growers to predict flowering, véraison and harvest timings.)

Notice, however, that Bergström used the word “cooler,” not “cool.” That’s because July 2024 was actually extremely warm, with a severe mid-month heat spike that saw temperatures crest 100°F. If not for a dramatic temperature drop in August that slowed ripening, 2024 would have easily qualified as a “hot” vintage. Throughout August, daytime temperatures hovered comfortably between 70°F and 80°F, dropping into the 50s at night. Late-summer rain also bolstered soil moisture reserves just in time to buffer the vines against another heat spike in September.

The rare 1977 Wente clone Chardonnay at Bethel Heights.

Ben Casteel of Bethel Heights noted that 2024 was “warm and wet at all the wrong times, with lots of disease pressure.” Willamette Valley experienced heavy precipitation in the winter and spring, and August rain led to humidity-induced disease pressure. All of this followed a severe January freeze (-4°F) that decimated primary buds at lower elevations. The cumulative effect jeopardized production for anyone who wasn’t meticulous in the vineyard.

So how did this extremely challenging year end up such a success, and why is the perception that of a cool, easy vintage? The answer lies entirely in the harvest.

Maggie Harrison in the Antica Terra vineyard, in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA.

Following this series of dramatic climate events that limited yields, created uneven berry sizes (millerandage) and posed a high risk of disease, the Willamette Valley saw nearly perfect weather after the September heat spike. This weather extended the growing season and gave vines ample time to recover, ripen fully and retain balanced acidity.

Jim Maresh of Arterberry Maresh commented, “I could have picked everything the first week of October, but the weather was great, so why not let the fruit hang? I ended up harvesting the last week of October. I had perfect hangtime conditions — a high of 70°F with clear blue skies.” Brian Marcy of Big Table Farm explained that he felt “no urgency to pick because of moderate fall temperatures and no fear of rain.” Many producers chose to let their fruit hang, allowing alcohol levels to rise slightly, but they were happy to gain the extra textural depth that came with it. Others commented on stem health and how whole-cluster fermentation could add structural complexity.

Looking out across the Dundee Hills AVA.

Though every corner of the region had the opportunity to make excellent wines in 2024, that was only possible if winemakers paid close attention to the fruit that entered the cellar. This was a vintage that demanded gentle pumpovers, shorter macerations and rigorous sorting to weed out unevenly ripened berries. It was absolutely not a year to get complacent. Many clusters carried thick skins and uneven maturity, which could result in harsh, rustic tannins.

Ultimately, 2024 stands as one of the strongest vintages of the last decade. It was neither perfect nor easy, but the most conscientious winemakers reached extraordinary heights. The resulting wines display a brilliant combination of vibrant fruit, piercing acidity and balanced structure that makes them some of the most harmonious Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from the Willamette Valley in recent memory.

The Hyland vineyard in the McMinnville AVA.

A Look Back at 2023

Nothing puts a vintage into perspective like tasting its wines side by side with those from a year that feels like the complete opposite. Many Willamette producers released their 2023s too late to make it into my last report. Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from 2023 make up over 300 of the nearly 1,000 wines in this report. My evaluation of the 2023s remains pretty much the same, but the extra year in bottle has helped most of the Pinot Noirs gain a bit more balance. Generally, the 2023s possess overly ripe fruit and underripe tannins that stick out dramatically next to the 2024s, but 2023’s saving grace is that the wines held onto their acidities.

Classic Jory soils in the Dundee Hills: a mix of silt, clay and loam that is high in iron and aluminum.

As I wrote last year, Chardonnay fared much better than Pinot Noir in 2023. Producers harvested most Chardonnay well before the rain that convinced many winemakers to harvest their Pinot Noir early. Following that rain, an Indian summer and rising sugar levels sparked a mad dash to make space in the cellar for incoming fruit. Winemaker Mimi Adams of Antica Terra said, “Half of the harvest came in through the first phase of three harvests. Then came the rain. We are maniacal sorters and removed a good amount of botrytis.” Luckily, a new sorter arrived just in time to alleviate the workload. Antica Terra made the wine of the vintage in 2023.

In the end, producers willing to make sacrifices in the vineyard and at the sorting table succeeded in 2023. The wines provide ample upfront appeal, but in most cases should be enjoyed over the near to medium term. There will be exceptions, but not many.

Evan Martin of Martin Woods has quickly risen to become one of Oregon's elite winemakers.

Beyond Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

Beyond Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, two varieties deserve recognition. Gamay Noir made a strong showing in my tastings. A few decades ago, many thought that the Willamette Valley was too cold for Gamay Noir. However, as the climate changed, winemakers realized the variety handles heat and drought much better than Pinot Noir and retains acidity more easily.

The Brick House estate vineyard and winery in the Ribbon Ridge AVA.

Some producers, such as Brick House, boast a long history with Gamay Noir. Owner Doug Tunnell explained, “The soils here are well suited to Gamay due to their marine sediment composition and low pH of 5, almost identical to the soils in Beaujolais.” Brick House crafts three interpretations from two different clones, ranging from easy-drinking to complex and ageworthy. Oregon Gamay is capable of Cru Beaujolais quality, and more producers are catching on. Keep an eye out for Gamay Noir from Belle Pente, Brick House, Division Winemaking Company, Evening Land Vineyards, Drouhin Oregon Roserock, Failla, Limited Addition Wines, Abbey Road Farm, Ricochet Wine Company and Vincent Wine Company.

Pinot Gris also has a long history in Oregon. Examples from Archery Summit, Alexana Estate, Belle Pente, Vincent Wine Company and Coelho Winery stand out far above the sea of forgettable interpretations of Oregon Pinot Gris. The richer-styled wines that undergo extended lees-aging and bâtonnage are much less balanced, only enhancing the variety’s already round and lush fruit profile. A handful of producers are doing interesting things with Pinot Blanc as well. Pinot Blanc brings more citrus and high-toned fruit to the mix. Bottlings from Bethel Heights and Kelley Fox Wines were real head-turners in my tastings.

Own-rooted Riesling vines in the McMinnville AVA, planted in the 1970s.

Readers will notice that this is my first report focused solely on the Willamette Valley. I will cover the remainder of Oregon in a forthcoming article. This decision has been a long time coming. The winegrowing regions beyond Willamette Valley continue to gain momentum and raise the bar on quality, but they possess distinct terroirs and face drastically different vintage conditions from year to year. This new breakdown allows for a more detailed look at these dynamic, smaller regions, which shine much brighter when not lumped together with the world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of the Willamette Valley.

I tasted the wines in this report in Oregon in May 2026.

© 2026, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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