Recent Press
Soléna Featured in: 2021 Willamette Valley and Oregon Round Up
by Audrey Frick of Jeb Dunnuck
September 2023
Among an amazing group of fellow Oregon wine producers, our new releases received high praise from Audrey Frick. She wrote, “The short one-liner on 2021 is that this is a stellar vintage, with the wines displaying an outstanding balance of ripeness, depth, and tension, with the top wines offering broad drinking windows.”
Summary of our featured wines and scores:
2021 Zena Crown Pinot Noir - 96 Points
2021 Shea Pinot Noir - 95 Points
2021 Domaine Danielle Laurent Pinot Noir - 95 Points
2021 Gregory Ranch Pinot Noir - 94 Points
2021 Hyland Pinot Noir - 93 Points
2021 Domaine Danielle Laurent Chardonnay - 93 Points
2021 Prince Hill Pinot Noir - 92 Points
Decanter Magazine Features Soléna 2021 Wines!
August 2023
Clive Pursehouse, US Editor for Decanter Magazine published “Oregon’s Willamette Valley 2021: Vintage report and top-scoring wines” and prominently featured our amazing 2021 wines. His overall review is, “The resulting wines are brilliant. They offer great concentration, wonderful lift and freshness and such fine tannins… the top producers have made wonderfully collectable wines that will age 15 to 20 years. A five-star vintage for the Willamette Valley.”
Included in his report is high praise for our wines:
2021 Domaine Danielle Laurent Chardonnay - 94 Points
2021 Hyland Pinot Noir - 93 Points
2021 Shea Pinot Noir - 93 Points
2021 Zena Crown Pinot Noir - 92 Points
2021 Prince Hill Pinot Noir - 92 Points
2021 Domaine Danielle Laurent Pinot Noir - 92 Points
Paul Gregutt Highlights Some of his Favorite Soléna wines!
June 2023
This write-up profiles how special the 50-year-old Hyland Vineyard is, including some highly rates wines from both Soléna and our sister winery, Hyland Estates. We love how Paul describes our wines in such a detailed and complimentary way.
2021 Domaine Danielle Laurent Chardonnay - 94 Points
2021 Domaine Danielle Laurent Pinot Noir - 94 Points
2021 Zena Crown Pinot Noir - 92 Points
2021 Prince Hill Pinot Noir - 93 Points
2021 Hyland Pinot Noir - 93 Points
2021 Shea Pinot Noir - 93 Points
Soléna Pinot Gris Recommended as a 4th of July Crowd-Pleaser!
“Red, White & Bubbly”
Spring Lake Magazine, June 2023 Issue
Laurent Featured as a Thought-Leader on the 2020 & 2021 Vintages:
Wine Spectator’s Oregon Tasting Report, June 2023
By Tim Fish
“Montalieu worked with multiple filtration and fining techniques and even tried using milk. “We treated our wines to a level that it was no longer detectable by analysis or palate,” he says. “I feel very proud that we were able to help some growers that were literally dumped by big companies. How would those growers survive one vintage without making an income?” For Montalieu, the proof is there in the bottle: I rated Soléna’s stylish Pinot Noir McMinnville Hyland Vineyard 2020 an impressive 94 points. . .”
2021 Prince Hill Pinot Noir Receives 94 Points
“Graceful and fragrant, with elegant raspberry, cherry blossom, rose petal and spiced cinnamon flavors that linger on the silky finish.”
-Tim Fish, Wine Spectator
Soléna Featured in Wine Spectator’s Insider Weekly!
March 8th, 2023
We’re excited to see our brand new Pinot Noirs receive high praise from Tim Fish of Wine Spectator. It’s further proof that the 2021 vintage will be a crowd favorite from the Willamette Valley. Read the full Insider Weekly here. Summary of our featured wines and scores:
2021 Zena Crown Pinot Noir - 93 Points
2021 Shea Pinot Noir - 93 Points
2021 Domaine Danielle Laurent Pinot Noir - 93 Points
2017 Blanc de Blancs - 94 Pts, Decanter
In the article, “Top-rated American sparkling wines for New Year’s Eve”, December 27th 2022
“A delicious Blanc de Blancs from the winery's Hyland Estate, one of the Willamette Valley's oldest and iconic sites in the Coast Range. The wine offers aromas of candied ginger, quince, and beeswax. The palate is beautifully balanced. Flavours of ripe pear, blood orange, great creaminess, tons of texture and a very lengthy finish.” — Clive Pursehouse
2021 Grande Cuvée - 92 Pts, Wine Spectator
Insider Weekly Edition, November 9th 2022
“Youthful and fresh, with expressive raspberry, orange peel and savory spice flavors that fan out and glide on the long finish. Drink now through 2030.” — TF
2021 Willamette Valley Chardonnay - 16+, Jancis Robinson
Oregon Off-Beat Good-Value Picks, November 22nd 2022
“Medium lemon in colour. Smells like a lot of money was spent on new wood. Oak notes of vanilla and spice balance lemon, green apple and double cream. The palate is round and very oaky, but the fruit quality is elegant. Some phenolic bitterness on the finish. If you're looking for an oaked Chardonnay built to impress for under $30, this will do the trick. It may actually be better in another six months when the oak has further integrated.” — Samantha Cole-Johnson
VinePair chooses our 2021 Pinot Gris as #11 of 50 best wines in 2022!
“This is not the Willamette Valley Pinot you’ve come to know. From the region best known for producing delicious Pinot Noirs, this crisp Pinot Gris serves a nuanced white alternative . Owned since 2000 by Laurent Montalieu and Danielle Andrus Montalieu, Soléna crafts terroir-driven wines that showcase their love for the land they gifted to one another for their wedding. Expect great depth of fruit, held up by layers of salinity and acidity — classically crisp and crowd-pleasing, and under $25 at that. Rating: 92”
All of our 2019 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs - 94 pts, Wine Spectator
October 2022
We had a clean sweep on our 2019 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs! Click the links to read each review by Tim Fish:
Prince Hill Pinot Noir - 94 Points
Shea Pinot Noir - 94 Points
Zena Crown Pinot Noir - 94 Points
Hyland Pinot Noir - 94 Points
Domaine Danielle Laurent Pinot Noir - 94 Points
VinePair mentions our Grande Cuvée Pinot Noir as a Best Bargain
We Asked 6 Sommeliers: What’s the Best Bargain Oregon Pinot Noir?, May 11th 2022
“Lastly, the 2020 Soléna Estate Grande Cuvée is another full-bodied wine that showcases lots of dark fruit and leather notes.”
—Nial Rhys Harris Garcia, beverage director and sommelier, The Conrad Hotel, Washington, D.C.
2020 Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir - 94 pts, Wine Spectator
Insider Weekly Edition, April 27th 2022.
“Elegantly structured and stylish, with vibrant raspberry, orange peel, cinnamon and other baking spices. Builds richness and tension toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2030.” —T.F.
James Suckling Praises our 2020 Pinot Noirs
April 20th, 2022
2019 Grande Cuvée - 93 Pts
Wine Spectator, October 2021
“Showing style and personality, this Pinot is expressive with raspberry, savory forest floor and dusky spice flavors that take on structure toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2029. 7,000 cases made.” — TF
Celebrate friends, family, and life!
17096 NE Woodland Loop Road, Yamhill, OR 97148 | 503-662-3700 | info@SolénaEstate.com