The Marigny Carbonic Pinot Gris 2022

In 2012, Andrew Reginald Young transitioned from his career as a New Orleans rock drummer to become a dedicated natural wine producer, with a focus on cooler climate vineyards situated within the Willamette Valley. His methodology underscores a low-intervention approach, aligning with the natural wine ethos.

Young extensively employs carbonic maceration to achieve a lighter wine profile. Each batch is subjected to fermentation with native yeasts, embodying a minimal intervention philosophy within the winery operations.

The naming of the winery amalgamates his middle name, Reginald, with his childhood neighborhood, St Tammany Parish, infusing both personal and geographical identity into his wine-making journey. Through this, he seamlessly blends his past experiences with his present venture in organic wine production, creating a unique narrative in the natural wine domain.

Willamette Valley AVA is located in western Oregon, stretching for about 120 miles south of Portland. The Willamette River runs through the entire region. Willamette Valley is famous primarily for its Pinot Noirs, and it’s become one of the world’s benchmarks for this cold-climate grape varietal, in some cases rivaling Burgundy.

The development of viticulture and winemaking in Willamette Valley can be attributed to the curiosity of a handful of University of California Davis students. In the 1960s they explored the area’s potential for viticulture and found that Pinot Noir would have adapted the best, and the rest is history.

In 1979, a Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley took part in the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiades, beating several Burgundy Pinot Noirs, which at the time were regarded as the best expression of this fascinating grape varietal. This put Oregon and especially Willamette Valley one the wine world map.

Willamette Valley has been its own AVA since 1984, but in 2002 a movement to differentiate the valley’s terroirs started. As a result, several new sub-AVAs have been established in the past fifteen years: Dundee Hills, McMinnville, Eola-Amity Hills, Yamhill-Carlton District, and Chehalem Mountains and Ribbon Ridge.