Both Renée Saint-Amour and Grant Coulter were raised to appreciate Oregon wines, despite hailing from out of state. Their mutual interest and love of adventure brought them to the Valley. Grant worked with Hamacher before joining Beaux Freres and eventually becoming their winemaker under Mike Etzel’s tutelage. Today, Grant is the winemaker at Flaneur, an incredible estate that releases beautiful and utterly delicious wines similarly focused on sustainability.
Together, this wife-and-husband team launched Hundred Suns as a boutique winery and eventually scrapped together enough cash to purchase Breaker Vineyard, a fifty-year-old site in the Eola-Amity Hills and now home to them, their kids, and their winery. They everything by hand, from crafting their wines, distributing in town, and even their stunning label-design.
Hundred Suns was named for the number of days between flowering and harvest, their Pinots drink like a love letter to the Willamette Valley. These are unique, from an assortment of some of the most interesting vineyards in the Willamette Valley including one of our favorites, Bednarik. This vineyard flies under the radar a bit, but Ken Wright fans from the 90’s know the site well. Renée and Grant’s version offers beautiful, crunchy structure allied to a beguiling mixture of black cherry fruit and savory overtones. It’s a cool-climate vineyard, even for Oregon, and that shows in the brightness on the finish, though this wine still shows great power.
Anyone who’s loved the Beaux Freres or Flaneur wines in the past needs to be paying attention to what this husband-and-wife team are doing at Hundred Suns. This project represents one of the most exciting new labels in the Willamette Valley. Lovers of Oregon wines, and Beaux Freres in particular, should stock up now on Hundred Suns wines before they become hard to find.
Newly Arrived from Hundred Suns:
Hundred Suns “Old Eight Cut” Chardonnay, Willamette Valley 2022 750ml $31.90 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Winery note “The Old Eight Cut refers to a diamond cut dating back to the 1400s using simple tools and few cuts to enhance the natural brilliance of the stone without disguising its true nature… Hand-harvested on the 13th and 14th of October, the whole bunches were pressed gently and sent to tank to begin their wild yeast fermentation. Once initiated, the wines were moved to French oak barrels to finish fermentation and were then bottled without filtration one year later.”
Hundred Suns “Old Eight Cut” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2022 750ml $31.90 special, 34 bottles in stock now
Winery note “The Old Eight Cut refers to a diamond cut dating back to the 1400s using simple tools and few cuts to enhance the natural brilliance of the stone without disguising its true nature. 2022 was a year of contrasts. A cool, wet spring punctuated with frost set back the harvest. Warm summer days and a beautiful fall enabled our dry farmed vineyards to reach maturity. Hand-harvested and fermented with wild yeast, this 20% whole cluster Pinot Noir is brimming with red fruits, succulent acidity, and a back bone of fine grain tannins that make this wine approachable but also age-worthy for the next ten years.”
Hundred Suns Willamette Valley Gamay 2022 750ml $31.90 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Winery note “This year’s Gamay was grown at Tualatin Estate in soils mixed with deep sandstone, broken shale, clay, and basalt. Low-vigor vines set a modest crop, and the fruit was picked on October 17th. The fruit was separated into three fermentations: one fully destemmed and two lots of whole bunch. Treated in a traditional fashion, we let native yeast slowly finish fermentation. The wines were pressed and aged in a combination of 20% terracotta and 80% neutral barrels. This wine brims with spice, red cranberries, layers of perfumed licorice, and floral notes.”
Hundred Suns Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir 2021 750ml $39 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Decanter 94 points “Made with 35% whole cluster, this wine exudes that Eola-Amity spiciness—aromatics of violets accented by white pepper and exotic spice. The palate is rich and lushly fruited, all the while complemented with savoury dried herbs, pomegranate, a core of concentrated blue fruits and a richness and power to the finish.”
International Wine Report 93 points “The 2021 Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir is fermented with 35% whole cluster and aged for 11 months in French oak barrels. Showcasing a medium ruby-purple core with a silvery rim in the glass, it contributes aromas and flavors of blueberry compote, early gray tea, red grapefruit zest, sweet cinnamon stick, and wet earth. Balanced tannins and acidity aid in the smooth and lively finish that goes on for minutes.”
Winery note “This Pinot Noir consists of 20% Koosah Vineyard and 80% Big Cheese Vineyard, planted on rocky, volcanic soils and cooled by Pacific Ocean breezes.”
Hundred Suns Bednarik Pinot Noir, Tualatin Hills 2021 750ml $49 special, 11 bottles in stock now
Winery note “Planted in marine sedimentary soil deep in the cool coastal foothills, this 6-acre, own-rooted vineyard was planted in 1988 by William Bednarik to Pommard and Wädenswil clones of Pinot Noir. A dry winter and warm spring led into a warm growing season ending with a dry fall. Handpicked on September 20th & 26th, the grapes were broken up into five lots with varying percentages of whole cluster. Grapes were fermented with indigenous yeast and aged in oak for 11 months. Then they were moved gently to bottle, unfined and unfiltered. Layered with ripe cranberries, sweet red fruits, and floral aromas that accompany the refined and silky palate.”
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