How Clone Diversity Shapes Pinot Noir at Knudsen Vineyards
At Knudsen Vineyards, our Pinot Noir reflects the unique blend of place, clone, and craft. Like Burgundy’s famed vineyards, our Dundee Hills site offers cool nights, moderate days, and varied soils that help produce focused, expressive fruit. With over 20 vineyard blocks on southeast-facing slopes between 500 and 1,000 feet, we showcase how Pinot responds to subtle environmental changes and distinct clones.
Each clone adds its own character—Pommard’s earthy depth, 115’s bright red fruit, 667’s spice, and 777’s dark berry richness. These choices let our winemaker shape each vintage like a work of art. Warmer years highlight some clones, cooler ones others. Some wines spotlight a single clone, while our signature Pinot blends them for complexity.
This clonal diversity gives our wines depth, balance, and a unique story in every glass.
Talking Blocks: Where Clones and Place Speak in Tandem
If clones are the vocabulary of Pinot Noir, then our Talking Blocks series is the conversation.
Each wine in the collection showcases a distinct dialogue between vineyard blocks—paired for their complementary character, clone composition, and elevation—brought to life by the terroir of the Dundee Hills. Whether it’s a harmonious blend of Pommard and 777 or a bold exploration into Chardonnay, these small-lot, block-specific bottlings reveal the subtle magic that happens when site, clone, and intention align.
Let’s meet the Pinot Noir blocks.
Talking Blocks — Backstory
Our past, always present
- Blocks: 6 & 7
- Elevation: 815-870ft (Block 6) and 810-850ft (Block 7)
- Clones: Equal parts Pommard (Block 6) and Dijon 777 (Block 7)
- Planted: 2007
- Spacing: 5×5 ft
- Soil: Classic Jory volcanic red clay
- Barrel: New French Oak 33%
- Tasting Notes: A playful core of pomegranate and strawberry with a nod to Bubblicious, unfolding into velvety textures and a cola-like richness. Subtle aromas give way to a surprising depth on the palate, where cocoa powder and cinnamon spice weave through a balanced mouthfeel and structured finish.
- Story: Planted on higher-elevation slopes, nestled side by side, these blocks share a common border and something quite uncommon—50 years of family ownership and a history of progressive Oregon viticulture. Backstory pays tribute to the Knudsen Vineyards history with this silky, elegant Pinot Noir born of Pommard and 777 French Dijon Clones.
Talking Blocks — Snapshot
Time and place in a bottle
- Blocks: 12 & 13
- Elevation: 740-825ft (Block 12) and 700-775ft (Block 13)
- Clones: Equal parts 828 (Block 12) and 667 (Block 13)
- Planted: 2012
- Spacing: 5×5 ft
- Soil: Classic Jory volcanic red clay
- Barrel: New French Oak 30%
- Tasting Notes: Opens with deep aromas of plum, black currant, and stewed currants, layered with dark chocolate, leather, and a hint of black pepper. The palate is richly textured, framed by barrel spice and smooth vanilla, offering a darker, more brooding expression of Dundee Hills fruit with impressive depth and complexity.
- Story: A vivid portrait of the 2012-era planting expansion—these mid-slope blocks balance youthful energy with structure, showcasing how two bold clones (828 and 667) speak with clarity and confidence. As the name suggests, this 2-block blend of Pinot Noir is a small bottling representing just 8 barrels.
Talking Blocks — Throughline
Crafted with a common thread
- Blocks: 15 & 17
- Elevation: Mid-slope 680-770ft (Block 15) and 590-705ft (Block 17)
- Clones: Equal parts 667 (Block 15) and 115 (Block 17)
- Planted: 2001 & 2000
- Spacing: 5×5 ft (Block 15) and 5×3.3 ft (Block 17)
- Soil: Classic Jory volcanic red clay
- Barrel: New French Oak 40%
- Tasting Notes: This Dundee Hills estate Pinot Noir is bold and expressive, with notes of black pepper, fig, blueberry, and meaty undertones layered over dusty earth and rose petal. On the palate, black raspberry, coffee, and pipe tobacco emerge, supported by hefty tannins and gripping acidity that give the wine a firm, age-worthy structure and savory complexity.
- Story: These neighboring blocks are close in age but contrasting in tone—667 brings richness and structure; 115 offers brightness and elegance. Together, they create a seamless, story-driven Pinot Noir with harmony at its core.
Talking Blocks — Parallels
A tale told in tandem
- Blocks: 9 & 17
- Elevation: Southeast-facing slopes 755-840ft (Block 9), 590-705ft (Block 17)
- Clones: Equal parts 777 (Block 9) and 115 (Block 17)
- Planted: 2008 (Block 9), 2000 (Block 17)
- Spacing: 5×5 ft (Block 9) and 5×3.3 ft (Block 17)
- Soil: Classic Jory volcanic red clay
- Barrel: New French Oak 33%
- Tasting Notes: Vibrant bouquet of red licorice, cinnamon bear, crab apple, and cherry cola. The palate is silky and elegant, with notes of cranberry and red currant balanced by subtle acidity and gripping tannins. A touch of toasty oak lingers on the finish.
- Story: Though they share exposure and soil, these blocks are distinctly different. Their union reveals contrasts in vine age, clone personality, and vineyard history—all culminating in a wine that’s more than the sum of its parts.
How Talking Blocks Change the Conversation Every Year
Just as no two vintages are exactly alike, neither are the conversations between these vineyard blocks. Weather, growing conditions, and the natural rhythm of the vines all influence how each clone expresses itself from one season to the next.
Some years, Dijon 777 may take center stage with bold aromatics and rich fruit. In cooler vintages, Pommard may reveal greater elegance and earthy complexity. Even the same block can tell a different story depending on rainfall, temperature, and harvest timing.
That constant evolution is what makes the Talking Blocks Series so exciting. Every bottle captures not only the personality of its vineyard blocks, but also the unique conditions of that growing season. It’s a snapshot of a single vintage that can never be exactly recreated.
Experience the Conversation for Yourself
Walking through the vineyard, it’s easy to see that every block has its own identity. Differences in elevation, slope, soil depth, vine age, and clone all influence the wines they eventually become.
Our Talking Blocks Series was created to celebrate those differences. Rather than blending away individuality, these wines embrace it, allowing each carefully selected pairing of vineyard blocks to tell its own story while remaining unmistakably Knudsen.
Whether you’re discovering the silky elegance of Backstory, the darker intensity of Snapshot, the balanced harmony of Throughline, or the vibrant contrast of Parallels, every bottle offers a deeper understanding of how Pinot Noir responds to place.
We invite you to visit Knudsen Vineyards, explore the estate firsthand, and experience how clone diversity, elevation, and the Dundee Hills terroir come together to create these distinctive wines.
Because at Knudsen Vineyards, every block has a voice—and together, they tell one remarkable story.
