Wine Enthusiast Raves

Wine Enthusiast recently threw on their party hats and gave our wines a serious fist bump in their upcoming April issue (on sale March 26, 2024). Check out these rocking scores:

92 points Pet Matt 2022 Sunnyside Vineyard Riesling (Willamette Valley).

Matt Berson of Love & Squalor is a skilled Riesling practitioner, so I was excited to try his pétillant-naturel-style sekt. It did not disappoint. Green papaya, peach fuzz, hazelnuts and yeasty brioche aromas segue into flavors of a mineral-laden tonic water garnished with lemon. This wine is bone-dry and ready to dance. Editors’Choice. —M.A. buy here

91 points Pet Matt 2022 Sams Vineyard Sparkling Rosé of Cabernet Franc (Southern Oregon).

This pinkhued pétillant-naturel wine with brash acidity is more fun than we deserve. Crushed strawberries and sunflowers paint an aromatic picture made even more irresistible by notes of thyme and rose petals. Flavors of candied nectarines, saline and juniper berries rub up against a chalky texture. Hidden Gem. —M.A. buy here

94 points Love & Squalor 2019 Reserved Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley).

It’s always the quiet ones. The winemaker named this wine “Reserved” because he thinks it only hints at its potential. Trust me, it is already excellent. Dark raspberry, orange peel, basil and clove aromas lead to flavors of white tea and red cherries. Lemony acidity matches with brawny tannins. Drink now–2034. Cellar Selection. —M.A. buy here

91 points Garageland 2022 Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley).

In Garageland, the wine is always a great value, and The Clash is always playing. The latest Garageland Pinot Noir offers dark raspberry and pine needle aromas accompanied by a trace of cranberry. Boisterous acidity backs flavors like cherry, dark chocolate, cedar and coriander. Best Buy. —M.A. buy here

95 points Love & Squalor 2022 Gamay Noir (Willamette Valley).

This is one of the best reds I tasted in 2023. It is a 100% whole cluster, partialcarbonic maceration wine that aged in neutral oak for 11 months. It’s Tootsie Roll and bergamot aromas remind me of the Terry’s Chocolate Orange I’d get in my stocking as a kid. Cranberry-orange and raspberry pastille flavors meld with green tea and thyme notes. Editors’ Choice. —M.A. buy here

91 points Love & Squalor 2021 Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley).

While the wine’s aromas of ripe blackberries and freshly cut grass are nice, the show really begins with the first sip. Rich boysenberry sorbet and dark chocolate flavors glide on a palate as smooth as silk and the Fine Young Cannibals. This is a fuller-bodied Pinot Noir with gentle acidity and plush tannins. —M.A. buy here

Paul Greguett's Summer Wine Picks

We love a shout out! Paul Gregutt's Northwest Wine Guide about his summer wine picks has some great scores for Love & Squalor. Here’s what he has to say…

High Value, High Flavor Summer Wines

Retailers are overrun with cheap wines. Value wines that are inexpensive are much harder to find.
PAUL GREGUTT JUN 30, 2023

Love & Squalor/Garageland

Garageland 2022 Rosé of Pinot Noir – Big flavors of cherry candy, wet stone and a super fresh mouthfeel make this a summer slam dunk for sipping on your porch. The wine does indeed, as winemaker Matt Berson writes, "dance on the palate". Good texture and impressive length, along with that crisply elegant mouthfeel, make this one of the summer's best. 300 cases; 13.5%; $16 (Willamette Valley) 92/100

Garageland 2021 Pinot Noir – Almost two thirds of this was sourced from Ribbon Ridge vineyards, another 20% from the nearby Laurelwood AVA. That's a high standard for such an inexpensive wine. It's a bit stiff and earthy when first opened, so give it some breathing time. The aromatics are spot on, the flavors a mix of brambly berries and savory side notes. This is a wine that will deliver a lot of depth and complexity if given the chance. 500 cases; 13.8%; $20 (Willamette Valley) 91/100

Love & Squalor 2022 'A Frayed Knot' Skin Contact Gewürztraminer – Ripe Gewürztraminer grapes turn a pretty blush color, and when given skin contact prior to pressing some of that comes through. Here it's a light apricot hue, wonderfully aromatic with the powdery floral scents for which the grape is known. Fermenting in neutral barrels has broadened the flavors, added depth and texture, and along the way inspired the wine to continue through a spontaneous secondary (malolactic) ferment. This is inspired, delicious, and unique. 100 cases; 12.5%; $25 (Willamette Valley) 92/100

Love & Squalor 2022 'Walks on Gilded Splinters' Skin Contact Pinot Gris – Grapes from Dion Vineyard are on display here in a rosé style wine with a deep sunset hue. Dr. John aficionados will recognize the reference to the classic New Orleans swamp rock. Lovely texture and mouthfeel, with plenty of crisp apple and citrus fruit at the core. 100 cases; 13%; $25 (Willamette Valley) 91/100

Love & Squalor 2022 Pinot Gris – The winery has had the good fortune in 2022 to contract Dion vineyard grapes for both of its Pinot Gris. This is excellent fruit – ripe, fresh, crisp, minerally and loaded with citrus and stone flesh and skin flavors. The flavors dive down and down through the palate, clean and pure, seeming to gather focus and intensity as the wine gracefully resolves. 250 cases; 12.5%; $20 (Willamette Valley) 93/200

Love & Squalor 2022 Sauvignon Blanc – Winemaker Matt Berson credits "the Sauvignon Blanc cartel – Patty Green, Jay Somers and Andrew Rich – for helping to define this variety in Oregon (I concur) and inspiring him to continue on with it. I've long believed that this should be right up there with Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling as front and center white wine grapes in the Willamette Valley. This is strikingly pure, fresh and varietal, with a hint of grassiness but none of the more extreme flavors that can turn people away. Lime, pineapple, grapefruit and lemon are all in a tangle, with defining acids all the way through the finish.185 cases; 13%; $20 (Willamette Valley) 92/200

The Review on Paul Gregutt's Northwest Wine Guide

OUR NEWEST RELEASE IN WINE ENTHUSIAST

Love & Squalor Dry Riesling Scores in Wine Enthusiast

This new vintage drops the alcohol more than a full point from the previous year, but it remains a dry, steely wine whose electric tension punches up ripe citrus fruit, notably grapefruit, and tart, racy acids. For that style of bone-dry Riesling this is ground zero, with a lipsmacking finish. PAUL GREGUTT

• RATING 91

• ALCOHOL 11.5%

• DATE PUBLISHED 8/1/2020
  

Buy the newest Love & Squalor Dry Riesling Willamette Valley 2017 here<

The Love & Squalor Sunnyside Vineyard Riesling SCORES!

The Sunnyside Vineyard was established near the Salem I-5 corridor in 1971. The site was settled and has been farmed by Tom Owen and Luci Wisniewski since 1980. The block is planted to the Geisenheim Riesling clone 90. It is farmed by hand with multiple passes of leaf thinning and green harvest. The fruiting canes are trained with so-called Pendelbogen arches, and the canopy is permitted to drape down over the clusters, particularly is hot years such as this. The vineyard additionally raises Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Dolcetto and a few other surprises. It is a lovely place.

Riesling is THE varietal that rocked my boat in 2001 when I first tasted its expression from the Oregon soils. I find that white wines, and Riesling in particular, are beautifully transparent in their reflection of the site and the winemaker, in a way that reds can never be - cloaked warmly as they are in their skin contact and their barrel aging. Everything has its place and time. Now is the time for vineyard-specific Oregon Riesling...and here it is!

You can buy it here —>

WINE & Spririts

published August 2021 issue

92 pts. Love & Squalor

2016 Willamette Valley Sunnyside Vineyard Riesling: From a parcel planted in 1971, this wine's scents of lees and lime fruit feel slow to rouse. The wines' texture has an old-vine feel, dry but unctuous, like lime oil, with sneaky acids and a wheat savor to the finish. - P.J.C. (25 cases)

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VINOUS

published sept 2020

91 pts. Love & Squalor 2016 Riesling Sunnyside Vineyard
Willamette Valley, Oregon
White wine from United States
Drinking window: 2020 - 2025

Brilliant straw. Bright and piercing on the nose, displaying an array of fresh citrus fruit and floral scents and a strong mineral topnote. Racy and precise on the palate, offering nervy lemon zest, green apple and bitter quince flavors that very slowly unfurl on the back half. Shows firm cut and mineral lift on a long, penetrating finish that leaves a suave honeysuckle note behind.

Josh Raynolds. Tasting date: March 2020

2020 TEXSOM International Wine Awards!

This year in February, TEXSOM awarded 2 of our wines medals in their competition.

We got a Silver Medal for the ‘Antsy Pants’ Reserve Dry Riesling, 2013 (Willamette Valley) and a Bronze Metal for the Love & Squalor Pinot Noir 2017 (Willamette Valley)

TEXSOM is a wine competition with 61 judges, 69 Sommelier Retreat members, 80+ team members, and 2,875 total entries. Unique amongst all other wine competitions, the TEXSOM International Wine Awards holds a Sommelier Retreat behind the scenes. This year a total of 69 participants were in attendance; 45 sommeliers from 16 states and two countries and 24 mentors (Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine and Editors). While the judges and volunteers were hard at work facilitating the judging of over 2,800 wines, the panel of sommeliers tasted select medal-winning wines, received tutelage in writing about these wines from the esteemed editors also in attendance, practiced blind tasting techniques with Master Sommeliers and worked with the Wine Awards production team to understand the competition’s high standards and rigorous processes.

You can learn more about TEXSOM here —>

Wine & Spirits Top 50 Wines in America’s Best Restaurants April 2018

Love & Squalor got a great review in the latest Wine & Spirits Magazine. Here's the review:

Year’s Best Pinot Noirs

Our blind panels tasted 1,479 new-release US pinot noirs over the past 12 months. Our critics rated 213 ass exceptional (90+) and 38 as Best Buys. Joshua Greene reviews California wines…Patrick J. Comiskey reviews Oregon. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com

90 points

Love and Squalor 2015 Eola-Amity Hills Temperance HIll Vineyard Pinot Noir

A wine that leads with dark cherry scents and fairly lavish oak notes, this delivers its flavors in a sleek, wood driven character, the dark plum and black cherry fruit spiced up by cinnamon notes and firm, dry tannins. (50 cases) 

—Patrick J. Comiskey

VINOUS REVIEWS ARE STELLAR!

SCORE: 89 POINTS
2013    
LOVE & SQUALOR
RIESLING ANTSY PANTS  (RESERVE)
REVIEW DATE: FEB 2018

Bright straw-yellow. Aromas of citrus pith, quinine and succulent herbs, plus a hint of beeswax in the background. Dry and chewy on the palate, offering bitter pear skin and lemon zest flavors and a gentle suggestion of fennel. Very dry and taut on the finish, which echoes the quinine and lemon notes. -- Josh Raynolds    

SCORE: 92 POINTS
2015    
LOVE & SQUALOR
RIESLING SUNNYSIDE VINEYARD
REVIEW DATE: FEB 2018

Very pale yellow. High-pitched aromas of lime zest, chalky minerals and honeysuckle, along with a spicy ginger topnote. Nervy and sharply focused in style, offering incisive citrus and orchard fruit flavors that deepen steadily through the midpalate. Shows a razor-sharp personality, delivering impressive tension and cut on the persistent finish, which leaves behind bitter grapefruit pith and quinine flourishes. -- Josh Raynolds    

SCORE: 90 POINTS
2015    
LOVE & SQUALOR
RIESLING Willamette Valley
REVIEW DATE: FEB 2018

Light bright yellow. Fresh melon, Meyer lemon and floral scents, along with hints of quinine and fennel. Juicy, focused and light on its feet, offering citrus and orchard fruit flavors that loosen up slowly on the back half. Finishes silky and long, displaying lingering pear nectar and honeysuckle qualities and a snap of tangy acidity. -- Josh Raynolds

Wine Enthusiast Reviews are in... 93pts & Editors Choice

93 points
Editors Choice

L&S 2015 Riesling Willamette Valley 

This utterly delicious dry Riesling has just enough roundness to cut through the acidity. Its lush mix of citrus and stone fruit gathers strength and focus as it roars across the palate. It's instantly accessible yet built for enjoyment over the next decade.

VARIETY Riesling
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 12%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-riesling-willamette-valley/

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92 points

L&S 2013 'Antsy Pants' Reserve Riesling

This 2013 is the current release. Its lovely floral highlights distinguish the aroma and carry into the flavors. Sourced from 40-year-old vines from the Brooks and Sunnyside vineyards, it was fermented entirely with native yeasts to almost complete dryness.

DESIGNATION Antsy Pants
VARIETY Riesling
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 11%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2013-antsy-pants-riesling-willamette-valley/

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92 points

L&S 2015 Sunny Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir

This well-balanced wine pushes cherry fruit front and center, underscored by refreshing minerality. The tannins are polished and firmly set on the finish, with a cinnamon kick that resonates long after the last swallow.

DESIGNATION Sunny Mountain Vineyard
VARIETY Pinot Noir
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 14.4%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-sunny-mountain-vineyard-pinot-noir-willamette-valley/

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92 points

L&S 2015 Temperance Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir

This well-known and widely-admired vineyard doesn't disappoint in this wine, delivering lovely cherry fruit touched with a citrusy edge. The concentration builds gracefully, with tasty highlights of chocolate-covered orange peel and roasted coffee.

DESIGNATION Temperance Hill Vineyard
VARIETY Pinot Noir
APPELLATION Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 14.2%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-temperance-hill-vineyard-pinot-noir-eola-amity-hills/

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91 points
Editors Choice

L&S 2015 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Lovely cherry lollipop flavors introduce this smooth and tasty effort. Its juicy and irresistible sweet fruit is highlighted with sliced orange and lemon peel notes. A streak of coffee runs through the finish, and the wine is substantial enough to cellar for another half decade or longer.

VARIETY Pinot Noir
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 13.8%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review Online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-pinot-noir-willamette-valley/

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91 points

Love & Squalor 2015 Sunnyside Vineyard Riesling  

The first-ever vineyard-designated Riesling from Love & Squalor, this is bone dry and as tart as lemon juice. Its green apple fruit shows excellent concentration. For acid lovers, this will be a revelation. If acid isn't your thing, look to the winery's regular Riesling instead.

DESIGNATION Sunnyside Vineyard
VARIETY Riesling
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 13%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-sunnyside-vineyard-riesling-willamette-valley/

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Reviews by Paul Gregutt, a Contributing Editor for Wine Enthusiast magazine, a founding member of the magazine’s Tasting Panel, and reviews the wines of Oregon and Canada.

90 pts for L&S SINGLE VINEYARD 2014 Temperance Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir

Just a single barrel of this designate was bottled—too bad, as it's a tasty wine with bold fruit flavors of cranberry and cherry. Baking spices and a streak of cola come through also, and this should drink nicely into the mid-2020s.

PRICE $52,  Buy Now
DESIGNATION Temperance Hill Vineyard
VARIETY Pinot Noir
APPELLATION Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY love & squalor
Print a Shelf Talker Label
ALCOHOL 13.5%
BOTTLE SIZE 750 ml
CATEGORY Red
DATE PUBLISHED 4/1/2017

source: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2014-temperance-hill-vineyard-pinot-noir-eola-amity-hills

Interview with the winemaker Matt Berson talking about the single vineyards wines can be seen here

90 pts in Vinous Review of Oregon Wines

Vinous Review

Josh Raynolds, of Vinous (WIne Reviews and Ratings) gave the 2013 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 90 points in his roundup of Oregon Wine.

We only have a few cases left of our top rated wine and are only selling direct from our site.

buy it here

Best 100 wines of 2016 says Wine Enthusiast. Guess who’s #53?!

#53

Love & Squalor 2013 Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley)

93 Points Editors’ Choice

A sensational value, this is a Pinot lover's wine, beginning with the gorgeous color of a deep red/orange sunset. Cherries, chocolate, and a light touch of orange peel elevate the aromatics and inform the well-integrated midpalate. The wine lingers gracefully through an immaculate finish.

You can buy the wine online here (click)

The article can be seen here: http://www.winemag.com/toplists/top-100-wines-2016/

WHAT?! A Rosé of Gewürztraminer? Here's a nice review...

Great Northwest Wines review of Love & Squalor 2015 A Frayed Knot Rosé of Gewürztraminer, Willamette Valley

One of the leaders of Portland’s urban wine scene, Matt Berson, finally has answered the pleas of his peeps and given them a rosé — and he chose 30-year-old Gewürztraminer from prized Sunnyside Vineyard near Oregon’s state capital. Foot-pressed fruit grown by Lucille Wisniewski and Tom Owens produces an intriguing pink that could at first look be mistaken for a Pinot Gris rosé where it not for the tropical nose of lychee, rosewater and kiwi with peach pie and honey. That exotic blend of fruit makes it way to the palate with a dry approach, picking up hints of strawberry and peach skin with a lingering finish that blends pink grapefruit with tangerine. That he tagged this #orangeisthenewrosé bodes well for a 2016 version.

Rating: Excellent
Production: 110 cases
Alcohol: 13%

By Great Northwest Wine on October 1, 201 

Wine Enthusiast Reviews are in again – 93 points!

Fine winemaking is on display here...

— Paul Gregutt Wine Enthusiast June 2016

love & squalor WV Riesling 2013 - 93 Points - Editor's Choice
This packs tremendous flavor into a low-alcohol wine with moderate residual sugar. Peach pit and juice, green apple and citrusy acids start it off. The flavors keep going through a long, complex finish, adding subtle notes of herb and cut grass.

love & squalor Antsy Pants Riesling 2011 - 92 Points
Ignore the silly name and focus on the important particulars—old vine (planted 1976), wild yeast, biodynamic farming. Absolutely bone-dry yet bursting with complex minerality, citrus rind, and penetrating acidity, it has phenolics that give length, breadth and detail.

love & squalor WV Pinot Noir 2012 - 91 Points - Editor's Choice
Fine winemaking is on display here, as the blend includes grapes from six far-flung vineyards. It’s artfully melded, with brambly berries, Bing cherries, cola, cocoa and red licorice notes. Seamless and buttressed with natural acids, it’s not at all reliant on barrel flavors, having seen just 6% once-filled oak, with the rest neutral.

love & squalor Antsy Pants Pinot Noir 2011 - 91 Points
The proprietary name indicates that this is the winemaker’s reserve cuvée, a three-barrel selection mixing equal proportions of grapes from the Eola Hills, Dundee Hills and Ribbon Ridge AVAs. It’s austere, tight and yet authoritative, showing compact wild berry fruit, Mediterranean herbs and a slight saltiness. It’s best to cellar it until 2020, or give it a good long decant.

Thanks Mr. Gregut 

source: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2013-pinot-noir-willamette-valley

Wine Enthusiast Reviews Are In!

“Fine winemaking is on display here...”

— Paul Gregutt Wine Enthusiast June 2015

love & squalor WV Riesling 2013 - 93 Points - Editor's Choice
This packs tremendous flavor into a low-alcohol wine with moderate residual sugar. Peach pit and juice, green apple and citrusy acids start it off. The flavors keep going through a long, complex finish, adding subtle notes of herb and cut grass.

love & squalor Antsy Pants Riesling 2011 - 92 Points
Ignore the silly name and focus on the important particulars—old vine (planted 1976), wild yeast, biodynamic farming. Absolutely bone-dry yet bursting with complex minerality, citrus rind, and penetrating acidity, it has phenolics that give length, breadth and detail.

love & squalor WV Pinot Noir 2012 - 91 Points - Editor's Choice
Fine winemaking is on display here, as the blend includes grapes from six far-flung vineyards. It’s artfully melded, with brambly berries, Bing cherries, cola, cocoa and red licorice notes. Seamless and buttressed with natural acids, it’s not at all reliant on barrel flavors, having seen just 6% once-filled oak, with the rest neutral.

love & squalor Antsy Pants Pinot Noir 2011 - 91 Points
The proprietary name indicates that this is the winemaker’s reserve cuvée, a three-barrel selection mixing equal proportions of grapes from the Eola Hills, Dundee Hills and Ribbon Ridge AVAs. It’s austere, tight and yet authoritative, showing compact wild berry fruit, Mediterranean herbs and a slight saltiness. It’s best to cellar it until 2020, or give it a good long decant.

link to them here

Thanks Mr. Gregutt