Who is Aubichon Cellars?
Jim Sanders and Tom Mortimer. Friends and winegeeks.
In a word, Aubichon wines are “artisanal” …if there is an easy way to do something, chances are we didn’t do it that way!
Aubichon is meticulous, hand-crafted, time-inefficient Willamette Valley winemaking by Jim Sanders since 2007. Centered around friendships and sourced only from select vineyard sites, Aubichon features distinguished small-production Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris from various AVAs in the Willamette Valley and Eastern Oregon.
Jim Sanders
Winemaker and managing partner of Aubichon.
Tom Mortimer
Owner of Aubichon Cellars & Le Cadeau Vineyard.
History
The two 2007 Pinot Noir wines represent the inaugural releases from Aubichon Cellars – a Willamette Valley cuvée and a Reserve cuvée. Our focus began on the Reserve Pinot Noir, with a specific barrel selection coming later to create the “Willamette Valley” and help elevate the quality of the final Reserve. These two Pinots were eventually accompanied by single-vineyard bottlings starting in 2011, Alsatian-inspired Pinot Gris in 2012, lightly-oaked Chardonnay in 2013, and Oregon-sourced Rhône varietals in 2015.
Wine Spectator’s “Eight Names to Know”
In January of 2015, Aubichon Cellars was proudly featured in Wine Spectator:
Aubichon: Wines of Presence
–Harvey Steiman for Wine Sectator
While studying for his doctorate in psychology, Jim Sanders lived with his wife, Kristin, at Beaux Frères,, where he also learned a few things about winemaking from Mike Etzel. Since 2006, he has made the Équinoxe bottling at Le Cadeau, which assigns different winemakers a portion of its Parrett Mountain vineyard for individual cuvées. Équinoxe has consistently earned outstanding ratings, and now Aubichon – a partnership of Sanders with Le Cadeau founder Tom Mortimer – is reaching even greater heights with its Pinot Noirs. “If there is an easy way to do something, chances are we didn’t do it that way,” Sanders jokes on the winery’s website. The results of this painstaking approach are striking, with focused, fruit-centered Pinots of real presence and harmony.
A copy of this article can be viewed here (pdf)
