“Pick whatever wine you want,” Michael D Etzel’s uncle will tell him before diving into his wine cellar, in what could be a scene from Drops of God, “30-year-old-Rayas, whatever takes your fancy.”
It must be rather nice having Robert Parker in your extended family, especially if, like Etzel you’re a winemaker wanting to take your winery Beaux Frères onto the next level.
“My uncle has three massive caverns with everything in there, every vintage, every First Growth, not so much recent Burgundy as he was a bit ostracised but all the older vintages.”
Etzel is describing his family background to me over a glass of chilled Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée N°748 before fellow guests arrive for a tasting at London's Quo Vadis restaurant of Beaux Frères’ latest vintages – which are classy Oregon Pinot Noir at its finest.
Before we continue it’s probably worth explaining that Michael D Etzel was (confusingly) named after his father Michael G Etzel, the now-retired founder.
Michael G. Etzel and Mike D. Etzel (l-r) pictured on 'Chapter two' of a two-night retrospective tasting of Beaux Freres Vineyard Pinot Noir, every vintage from 1990 through 2023
The Parker connection
This being D’s first visit to London, the trip serves to underscore the changes that he is continuing to make at the Willamette Valley estate since taking over from his father and to quite rightly get the wines in front of the UK's key buyers.
The visit is also perhaps, to further distance the wines from uncle Parker’s influence, wines he indirectly helped to make through an investment in 1987, and which he also shaped in the early days through preferred wine style. Michael G Etzel, in turn, partly repaid the debt by calling the estate Beaux Frères’ which, in French, means brother-in-law.
Parker’s investment helped G, then a Colorado Springs wine salesman, to transform what was an old pig farm into a wine estate – first planting five acres of Pinot Noir in 1988 – then transforming the old barn into Beaux Frères’ Winery. Today, the estate covers 61 hectares with 21 hectares planted to vine across three vineyards – The Beaux Frères’ Vineyard (10.5ha), Upper Terrace (4ha) planted in 2000 and The Bridge (6.5ha) planted in 2021. The main variety is Pinot Noir but there is also some Chardonnay.
The first crops off the newly-planted vines G sold to Ponzi, where he was working, then shortly after 1991 when the winery was completed he started producing the first vintages of his own wines.
“I also learned from my father’s school of hard knocks, listening to the growing rhythm of the vineyard," says Michael D Etzel.
Mike D explains that his father was heavily influenced by Parker in three ways: first in the Burgundian approach of densely-planting own-rooted Pommard and Wädenswil clones and younger Dijon clones on phylloxera-resistant rootstocks; second in paying very close attention to the terroir and in vinifying separately in small vats; and thirdly in the style of wines.
“It was the influence of my uncle and American consumers why my father was making this style of wine – picking at peak ripeness and maximum extraction – the first vintages were the highest-priced in the valley, and the climate at the time was a little more conducive to this philosophy,” Mike D tells me.
A change of style
Through his influence and international experience plus that of Artémis Domaines (Ch Latour, Jacquesson, Clos du Tart) which acquired Beaux Frères in 2022, the style of the wines has changed considerably to a style that is more elegant and driven by terroir rather than winemaking technique. Some of the wineries Mike D worked at include Drouhin and Lafon.
“I also learned from my father’s school of hard knocks,” he continues, “listening to the growing rhythm of the vineyard where I cut my teeth working. I learned a lot from father’s work ethic I learned about translating terroir – in 2015 I came back here to work for my crazy Dad – a lot of blood sweat and tears went into this project.”
Mike D Etzel (2nd from right, front row) and the team
Mike D is now CEO and technical director of Beaux Frères with Damien Lapuyade the winemaker, both overseeing a team of 15.
Mike D believes climate-induced changes, as opposed to warming itself, poses the region’s single biggest problem, wildfires in particular. Warming in the short term is possibly beneficial.
“When Oregon pioneers first planted here it was too cold and fringe to grow Pinot Noir but in the last 30 years it has been in a sweet spot.”
The estate farms to biodynamic principles, using tonics rather than commercial sprays, dry farming, junking commercial yeast and picking early – “it helps maintain the expression, the Pinosity” – whole bunch (10%) is only used in warmer vintages such as 2021 and 2023, and all the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Mike D is remarkably candid with his views on some of the larger domaines that have set up base in Oregon since his father’s pioneering days, he’s impressive with his views on winemaking and terroir and where the two meet, but most of all through an illuminating tasting he allowed his wines to demonstrate how Beaux Frères is on a very exciting trajectory indeed – making wines with restrained power and classic structure.
The new Beaux Frères wines
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023
Made since 2005 this is entry level ‘village’ wine blended from contract growers (60%) and estate fruit, grown on poor, shallow soils that encourage early ripening. From a warm, compressed vintage, the wine is fresh, pure, with oodles of wild blackberry and cherry, piney herbs. The nose was a bit closed but in the mouth had youthful intensity and concentration, great depth of flavour and slight creaminess.
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022
Like Volnay, when the growing season is colder (as it was in Oregon in 2022), the wines really do show it. This wine is just starting to open up, was crisp with a lingering length. Red fruits and candy tobacco notes; in the mouth red tea and earth, wild cherry, mouth-watering acidity.
Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023
This was the first of four vintages of Beaux Frères’ flagship wine we tasted on the day. Wild blackberry and plum, concentrated but fresh and balanced. A bit dumb as to be expected, grippy tannins finishing on a chalky note.
Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022
My favourite of the four vintages of Vineyard PN we tasted. A cool vintage which shows in the wine – which has a beautifully pure, clean and cool core. Feels like higher acidity, certainly leaner than the 2023. There is a wilder, more earthy quality to the wine both on the nose and in the palate – wild cherries, blueberries. The new oak was dialled up from 25 to 35% because of the tannins and freshness of the fruit.
Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021
Lively front palate, soft, juicy and very easy to drink – in a good place right now. Wild bramble fruit, blueberries with a nice interplay between dried floral and dark notes of black pepper, sous bois and liquorice. Great balance, delightful fruit flavours and a lovely long, floral finish.
Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010
A fascinating glimpse into the estate’s past with a wine made in the old style (40-50% new oak) but in a cold and wet vintage where it was impossible to get the grapes to full ripeness, and a good deal of tirage was needed. Mike D explains that this was the year when their winemaking “started to back off to see more the varietal elegance.” To me this wine feels much older than 16 years – a lot of sous bois, farmyard – and feels past its prime. I'd drink them up.
Upper Terrace Pinot Noir 2022
Absolute stunning Oregon Pinot – from the estate’s second oldest vineyard (planted in 2000 with Dijon clones) – and was easily the wine of the tasting, a Grand Cru Burgundy by any other name. Red hue, black raspberries, dark stones, violets and sage – lifted woodsy spice, toast and piney herbs. Mouth-filling, plush texture, pure, ripe fruit – seamless feel in the mouth, lovely long finish. Wow!
The wines of Beaux Frères are imported and sold in the UK through Armit Wines which is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.
