Beaux Frères

Beaux Freres wines from Oregon in the United States : the height of quality from an exceptional terroir

Domaine Beaux Frères wines: buy at the best price

Domaine Beaux Frères is located on the West Coast of the United States, in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Domaine Beaux Freres was founded in 1986 by Michael Etzel and Robert Parker, his famous brother-in-law, who became partners in the venture. Now owned by the Henriot group (Champagne),... 

Read more
See more
Filters

Price

€80.00 - €100.00

Color

Vintage

Volume

Parker WA rating

No choice available on this group

Burghound rating

No choice available on this group

Revue du Vin de France rating

No choice available on this group

Bettane & Desseauve rating

No choice available on this group

Prices drop

No choice available on this group

Download this list
There is 1 product.
Download this list
  • Name, A to Z
  • Name, Z to A
  • Price, low to high
  • Price, high to low
  • By quantity
  • Latest Arrivals
Beaux Frères Vineyard Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir 2006
3 in stock
60989
Red
75cl
Add to cart
Outside France | USA - Oregon Willamette

Beaux Frères Vineyard Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir 2006

€96.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€80.00 ex-VAT

The History of Beaux Frères

The story begins in 1986. Michael G. Etzel, then a wine representative in Colorado Springs, drives to Oregon with his young family after reading an enthusiastic review of a 1983 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. An impromptu detour takes them past an 88-acre pig farm repossessed by the bank, about twenty minutes from their destination. The hillside, small bungalow and meadow at the summit give him a glimpse of another life. With an investment from his sister Pat and her husband, the critic Robert Parker Jr., the project takes shape, and the estate’s name commemorates this family partnership.

Planting begins in 1988 at the top of the property, with five acres of closely spaced vines at around 2,200 per acre, all Pinot Noir. While establishing his vineyard, Michael works four harvests at Ponzi Winery. In 1990, he harvests his first crop and sells it to Ken Wright and Dick Ponzi, keeping only enough to fill one barrel. In 1991, renovation of the main barn makes a winery possible, and the first vintages of The Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir follow. Critical success comes swiftly in the 1990s and helps bring Oregon to worldwide attention. In 2005, Ribbon Ridge gains AVA status. In April 2017, the Champagne house Maisons & Domaines Henriot acquires a majority stake, before joining the Artémis Domaines portfolio in 2022 alongside Château Latour, Clos de Tart and Château Grillet. The Etzel family retains a stake in the estate, and Mike D. Etzel, head winemaker since 2016, takes over its general and technical management in 2023, assisted in the winery by Damien Lapuyade.

The Terroirs and Vines of Beaux Frères

The estate covers approximately 150 acres in Ribbon Ridge, near Newberg in Yamhill County, with nearly two-thirds remaining wooded. This small, isolated ridge in the northern Willamette Valley has a distinctive microclimate: sheltered from prevailing weather systems, it is slightly warmer, drier and more consistent than neighboring areas. Its ancient, weathered and poor Willakenzie-series soils, formed from marine sediments, naturally limit yields and concentrate the grapes.

Three distinct vineyards make up the heart of the property. The original Beaux Frères Vineyard, planted in 1988 on approximately 24 to 26 south-facing acres, combines own-rooted Pommard and Wadenswil clones—a true rarity in Oregon—with more recently planted Dijon clones grafted onto resistant rootstocks. The Upper Terrace occupies a higher, cooler terrace, producing more taut and reserved wines. Finally, Sequitur, a neighboring 12-acre plot planted between 2012 and 2014, brings together seventeen different Pinot Noir clones and is enclosed by a dense Douglas fir forest. The estate has been farmed biodynamically since the mid-2000s, with on-site composting, nettle and dandelion preparations, in-house grafting and no synthetic treatments, although it has not sought Demeter certification.

Winemaking at Beaux Frères

The winery’s philosophy is unabashedly Burgundian: intervene as little as possible and let the site speak. Grapes are harvested by hand, often at night in warm vintages, so they arrive at a low temperature and retain their aromatic freshness.

Fermentation starts spontaneously with native yeasts. The proportion of whole clusters varies by plot and year, and extraction is very gentle, using manual punch-downs. The wines then age in French oak barrels for ten to twelve months, with the proportion of new oak adjusted to the vintage, generally between 20 and 35% for the single-terroir cuvées. The estate deliberately takes a reductive approach: the wines are barely moved in the cellar before bottling, protecting their aromas and allowing for sulfur use well below the average. They are bottled unfined and unfiltered. The result is unmistakable: Pinot Noirs with a satin texture, supple tannins and a mineral, saline backbone, enjoyable young but capable of aging for more than ten years.

The Wines of Beaux Frères

The Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir (Ribbon Ridge AVA): the estate’s signature wine, sourced from the original vineyard planted in 1988 on the southern slope and selected from the best barrels. Harvested at night and aged for around twelve months in French oak barrels, it displays a brilliant color and an expressive bouquet of blackberry, black plum and raspberry, lifted by floral notes and sweet spice. The palate combines generous fruit with savory woodland undertones, silky tannins, great purity and a long, fresh finish.

The Upper Terrace Pinot Noir (Ribbon Ridge AVA): sourced from the highest and coolest terrace on the property, this wine is tighter, more structured and more reserved in its youth. Its concentration, mineral energy and remarkable aromatic breadth make it one of Oregon’s most sought-after expressions, regularly rated among the best American Pinot Noirs.

Sequitur Vineyard Pinot Noir (Ribbon Ridge AVA): made from a neighboring 12-acre plot planted between 2012 and 2014, surrounded by forest and planted with seventeen different clones. Dense and heady, with pronounced saline minerality, it offers a different, wilder expression of the Ribbon Ridge terroir.

Belles Soeurs Pinot Noir: a nod to the estate’s name, this reserve cuvée is a selection of hand-picked barrels, reintroduced with the 2017 vintage after a twelve-year hiatus. It blends the property’s three vineyards—typically around 44% Beaux Frères Vineyard, 40% Upper Terrace and 16% Sequitur—to offer the most complete portrait of the estate in a single bottle.

Willamette Valley Pinot Noir: a regional-appellation cuvée made from estate-grown grapes supplemented by fruit purchased from carefully selected sites. Shorter aging and less new oak preserve the fruit’s vibrancy. Supple, elegant and beautifully balanced, it is one of the best introductions to Oregon’s great Pinot Noirs.

Willamette Valley Chardonnay: a more recent project, born almost by accident when a neighbor delivered half a bin of unpressed Chardonnay to the estate. Today, the wine is blended from renowned vineyards such as Doration, Star Mooring and Pearlstad, supplemented by estate-grown grapes. Vinified and aged with the same restraint as the reds, it favors tension, salinity and notes of white fruit and citrus over power.

Beaux Frères de Bourgogne: born of a collaboration with the estate’s French partners, this Pinot Noir comes from the Volnay appellation in the Côte de Beaune. It extends the approach of Ribbon Ridge into Burgundy, offering a fascinating comparison between the two terroirs, with a more classic, floral and delicately spiced profile.

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT US

5 good reasons to buy wines on V&M

...

EXPRESS DELIVERY

In a secure polystyrene packaging

...

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

Find out more about VAT-EX sale for outside EU deliveries

...

COLLECTION NEAR PARIS & VAT REFUND FOR TOURISTS

Free collection in our warehouse near central Paris (92)

...