Winemaker, Laurent Montalieu ~
Laurent Montalieu began making our wines with the 2004 vintage. Laurent brings a keen passion toward crafting exceptional Pinot Noir and is responsible for our expansion into the new wines we now offer for your pleasure - namely, our 'reserve'  Pinot Noir, Cuvée Giselle; the Ana Vineyard Pinot Noir from older Pommard clones on the Dundee Hills and our all-stainless/multiple vineyard approach to Pinot Gris.

Laurent and his wife, Danielle Andrus Montalieu launched their own family operated winery, Soléna Cellars in 2003. In 1995, Laurent joined Willakenzie Estate as a partner and winemaker whereby he garnered the respect of industry leaders and professionals with his passion for the highest quality standards in the vineyard coupled with a philosophy of minimal intervention in the production of handcrafted wines.

Laurent took his first steps in vineyard in Medoc owned by his great grandfather, Joseph Montalieu. He grew up on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, yet spent summers in his family's homeland of Bordeaux, where he learned to grow grapes and drink wine. Laurent returned to Bordeaux in 1980 to attend high school. With a renewed interest in wine, he immersed himself in studies of vineyard management and winemaking. Upon his graduation in 1987 from the Institute of Oenology of Bordeaux, he worked for Chateau La Tour Blanche near Sauternes, France and followed by Domaine Mumm in California. Laurent's launched his love-affair with Oregon during his seven successful vintages at Bridgeview Vineyards in Cave Junction, Oregon, and to this day is also a strong advocate for Bordeaux and Rhone styled reds as well as Pinot Noir from Oregon. 

Peter Rosback of Sineann crafts Lachini Vineyards 'S' Pinot Noir ~ 
The 'S’ Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley or la Sorella della famiglia (‘sister’ to the Family Estate Pinot Noir) results from our desire to experiment and learn from our young Estate vineyard. It is our belief that no one winemaking style or technique is correct, yet an each winemaker seeks the Holy Grail every vintage and uniquely offers a subtle expression of his or her artistry. To that end, we believe experimentation with different winemaker styles, harvest dates and vineyard management will ultimately allow us to learn more from our young vineyard and perhaps condense 20+ years of learning under the tulage of one winemaker to some shorter timeframe with multiple. Each vintage, we utilize the same block composition of grapes as goes into the Family Estate Pinot Noir for the 'S' Pinot Noir; yet the styles of wine could not be more different - which has been readily apparent over the last many warm growing seasons. Peter "who grabs the golden ring of extraction, weight and power, without losing sight of varietal character or balance" shares a pointed philosophy - "most wine in America is consumed within it's first year of release. Thus, let's make a wine that's ready to please today and yet has some backbone to age for tomorrow."

Since the 2002 vintage, the 'S' Pinot Noir with 100% Estate fruit has been the richest, most fruit-forward and accessible upon release of our Pinot Noirs.

Is there any truth to fans who refer to  the ‘S’ as appropriately standing for “smokin”, “sultry” or “sexy”?