Hundred Suns Gamay Noir Willamette Valley 2025
We have 10 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Oregon built its reputation on Pinot Noir, but Gamay may be the grape that fits the Willamette Valley most naturally. The valley runs on the same cool, marginal rhythm as Beaujolais: long growing seasons, cold nights and a harvest that can swing on a week of September weather. Hundred Suns builds its Gamay Noir from several dry-farmed sites in different corners of the valley rather than a single vineyard. The sites sit in three different AVAs: La Belle Promenade in the Chehalem Mountains, Carson Phillips in the Dundee Hills and Jubilee in the Eola-Amity Hills. Blending across sites is the point. Each vineyard brings a different ripeness and texture, and the finished wine reads as Willamette Valley Gamay rather than as one hillside.
The Wine
Grant Coulter treats Gamay with the same attention most Oregon producers save for Pinot. Each site is handled differently. In the 2024 release the blend ran 25% La Belle Promenade fermented as whole clusters, 33% Jubilee at 50% whole cluster and 42% Carson Phillips fully destemmed. The whole-cluster lots bring perfume and silky tannin, the destemmed portion blueberry depth and a cocoa-toned grip. Fermentation runs on native yeast, and the wine spends 11 months in 10% terracotta amphora and 90% neutral oak before bottling unfined and unfiltered at 13.5%. Picking that year ran September 28 to October 10. Expect red cherry, cranberry and blueberry, a crunchy, juicy middle and a snappy finish. The 2025 season was warm and steady, with a dry winter, a short bloom that thinned the crop naturally and an early, compressed harvest of clean fruit.
The People
Hundred Suns is the husband-and-wife project of Grant Coulter and Renée Saint-Amour. Grant spent roughly a decade in the cellar at Beaux Frères, one of the benchmark Pinot Noir estates of the Willamette Valley, and also made wine for Flâneur. In 2015 the couple sold their house in Portland, put everything they had into the winery and moved to a fixer-upper in wine country. Renée left teaching to run the business side and work harvests. In 2018 they bought a 4.5-acre property in the Eola-Amity Hills with a 50-year-old vineyard, where they live with their kids. Grant's approach is to do as little in the cellar as possible: native yeast, neutral vessels and fruit from growers he came to know during his Beaux Frères years.
Food Pairing
This is a red to drink with a light chill. Roast a whole chicken over sliced shallots and thyme and let the crunchy acidity cut through the crisp skin. Grilled bratwurst with grainy mustard and quick-pickled red onions works for the same reason, the fruit and acid standing up to fat and salt. A mushroom and gruyère tart puts the wine's earthier side to work. And a charcuterie board with saucisson sec, pâté and cornichons is classic Beaujolais territory. Gamay from the Willamette Valley is the bottle to open on a Tuesday when you want red wine without the weight.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
The Willamette Valley, nestled in Oregon, is a region renowned for its cool-climate wines, particularly its Pinot Noir. While Pinot Noir is its most celebrated variety, the valley is also home to other cool climate varieties like Chardonnay and Riesling. The region's unique terroir, characterized by rolling hills, volcanic and sedimentary soils, and a maritime climate influence, contributes to the elegance and complexity of its wines. The wines of the Willamette Valley offer a delicate balance between fruit, acidity, and earthiness. Its increasingly growing reputation places it among the world’s top regions for Pinot Noir.
Oregon - Willamette Valley
A red wine grape most associated with Beaujolais, Gamay makes fresh, fruity red wines with berry and violet aromas. It is grown around the world outside of France where it is often a darker and less tannic cousin to Pinot Noir in cool climate regions such as Oregon and Victoria.
