Beaux Frères has helped set the standard for modern Pinot Noir in Oregon since its founding in the late 1980s, part of the second generation of Willamette Valley wineries. Founder Mike Etzel is not hands-on in the cellar these days, but son Mike D. Etzel and his team haven’t lost a beat. This 2018 is the wine of the vintage to date, from a year that had its challenges. The 24-acre Beaux Frères Vineyard is planted to a mixture of Pommard, Wädenswil and newer Dijon clones on a steep south-facing slope on Ribbon Ridge, a sweet spot in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. The winemaking consists of wild-yeast fermentation and aging one year in French oak, about 40 percent of which is new.