Aubaine

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• NewsJan 12, 2026
  Welcome Home Paden

  A Joyful homecoming PADEN WEST RETURNS TO OUR WINEMAKING TEAM Paden West is coming home. After getting his start working alongside Directors of Winemaking Andrew Davis and Isabelle Meunier a decade ago, he’s rejoining a unified production team as Winemaker at Lytle-Barnett | Aubaine. It’s a genuine, full-circle moment and we’re here for it. The fundamentals that united this team years ago haven’t changed: obsessive attention to detail, patience, and an unwavering commitment to letting our vineyards express themselves. Now they get to create together again. So what’s Paden been up to while he was away? In short: everything. He helped launch Failla Oregon’s portfolio, built out Benza Vineyard’s winery and sparkling program, and started his own label, Approachment Wines, with his wife Jess. He’s one of those rare winemakers who can handle both still and sparkling production with equal finesse, and he’s worked with everything from Chardonnay to Syrah from the Rocks District. Each experience sharpened his skills and broadened his perspective. And now? The timing is perfect for him to bring it all back home. Beyond the talent and experience, it’s Paden’s approach that makes this reunion so special. His palate, trained in old-world winemaking by smell and taste rather than spreadsheet. His leadership honed across multiple programs. His understanding that the best wines know exactly when to show restraint and when to let it all unfold. With Paden’s return, we’ve got the band back together, and we can’t wait for you to taste what’s next. “Paden’s return feels like the natural evolution of everything we’ve built here. He learned our approach from the ground up with Andrew and Isabelle, and now he’s rejoining them with years of experience that will elevate what we do. This is about strengthening our team with someone who understands our philosophy at its core.””- Andy Lytle, Founder

• ReleaseJan 8, 2026
  Andrew Davis Named Person of the Year

  Lytle-Barnett’s Director of Winemaking Andrew Davis Andrew Davis, Lytle-Barnett Director of Winemaking, Named Person of the Year Have you heard? Our Director of Winemaking, Andrew Davis, has been named the 2025 Oregon Wine Press Person of the Year! While the rest of Oregon’s wine industry is just catching on to what we’ve known since Lytle-Barnett was founded in 2013, this honor recognizes Andrew’s revolutionary impact on the state’s sparkling wine scene. Through his founding of The Radiant Sparkling Wine Company and his technical mastery, Andrew has quietly transformed Oregon wine, bottling over 350,000 cases of traditional method sparkling wine and mentoring dozens of producers. At Lytle-Barnett, we’ve known about Andrew’s genius all along, as he’s been an integral part of our story since day one. Andrew’s collaboration with founder, Andy Lytle, began the same year Andrew launched Radiant. Together, they’ve grown Lytle-Barnett from 400 cases in that first vintage to 4,000 cases today, making us the second-largest sparkling producer in Oregon and one of only a handful of brands devoted exclusively to traditional method bubbles. The article explores their vision for establishing Oregon as the iconic equivalent to Champagne, their work championing the “Method Oregon” movement for rigorous labeling standards, and why our cool climate produces such elegant, finesse-driven sparkling wines. You’ll also discover his philosophy that motivates our work at Lytle-Barnett: “If someone’s got a glass of sparkling in their hand, they’re smiling.”– Andrew Davis The entire Lytle-Barnett family couldn’t be prouder of Andrew and this well-deserved recognition. His humility, expertise, and relentless commitment to excellence embody everything we stand for at Lytle-Barnett. We’ve always known Andrew was special—now the whole world does too. Join us in raising a glass (of sparkling, naturally!) to celebrate the quiet revolutionary who’s been moving mountains right here in the Willamette Valley all along. Well deserved, Andrew!

• EventNov 8, 2025
  10-Year Extended Tirage Brut

  Introducing the 2014 Lytle-Barnett Extended Tirage Brut After a decade of evolution in the bottle, Lytle-Barnett proudly unveils the latest in our sparkling wine collection. The 2014 10-Year Extended Tirage Brut marks the first in our extended tirage program, standing as a tribute to time, patience, and the ultimate reward. This highly limited release (just 44 cases produced) is offered only to our Wine Club Members as a gesture of gratitude for those who support our work and our ambition; we are all rewarded for the commitment required to make wines like this come to life. The striking red label, created by Bend, Oregon artist Phyllis Yes, features a bold X slash—a modern interpretation of the Roman numeral ten. Her work mirrors the wine itself: expressive, layered, and crafted with intent. Not a member? Please join us to enjoy this exceptional bottling. It represents the pinnacle of our commitment to Méthode Champenoise, and serves as a celebration of enduring craftsmanship and Willamette Valley terroir. 96 points, Wine Enthusiast Vintage 2014 brought a warm, dry growing season with a strong fruit set, yielding exceptionally clean fruit. With hot days and nights in early September, the challenge was picking at just the right moment—capturing optimal flavor without excess sugar or loss of acidity. The wine was bottled in June of 2015 and is a blend of Pinot Noir (68%) and Chardonnay (32%). It was disgorged in May of 2025 with a nominal dosage of 2 g/L and let rest on cork for 6 months before its release. Tasting Notes The color is just beginning to show a bit of age in its straw hue. Time has brought delicacy to the abundant miniscule bubbles that rise to a persistent ring of mousse at the glass’s edge. While not leaping out of the glass, the aromas beckon you inward with notes of cedar box and teak, apricot and toasty yeast, even deeper elements of autumn leaves and peach cobbler. The near perfect vintage of 2014 paired with years of silent aging have provided all of the benefits of long-lived sparkling wines – perfectly graceful mousse, depth and a complex assemblage of flavors. The first thing that is noticed is just how fresh this wine feels with a clean, brisk acidity overlaying the palate that opens to notes of stone fruit, brioche, rolled oats, and pear tart. Umami notes serve to build both weight and complexity. A touch of fruit sweetness balances and elongates experience and the wine finishes with notes nectarine Danish crisp with flaky pastry. Incredible. Enjoy tasting time in a bottle!

• ReleaseSep 8, 2025
  Aubaine 2023 Vintage Release

  Aubaine’s Latest Release: 2023 Our newest vintage release, the 2023 Collection, showcases estate-grown classics alongside a brand-new single-block Vreugde Chardonnay and the return of our beloved single-block Athas Chardonnay. Crafted by Director of Winemaking Isabelle Meunier and her cellar team, this release is among our most exciting to date, born from a truly spectacular growing season. VINTAGE After a swing of unusual vintages in the previous three years, the growing season of 2023 was a welcomed return to normalcy, from a Willamette Valley perspective. Despite an early setback with a cold spring that delayed budburst by over two weeks in April, an early miniature heat wave in mid-May quickly allowed vineyards to catch up to typical growth levels for that time. Bloom occurred following long-term trends by mid-June, which brought slightly lower yields, particularly in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, due to a small isolated rain event on June 19th. Overall, we progressed very nicely through July and August with warmer-than-average daily highs and beautiful nighttime lows that helped preserve acidity while promoting beautiful flavor development. The weather surprised us a bit in September, with warm temperatures and a late season heat that promoted very quick ripening across the valley, yielding beautiful tannin profiles, lush fruit, and excellent quality all around. We picked from September 15th to September 20th at Anahata Vineyard, in beautiful weather conditions, where we hand-harvested some exceptional grapes indeed. Shop now! 2023 Aubaine Estate Pinot Noir 94 points, Jeb Dunnuck 92 points, Wine Enthusiast 92 points, James Suckling Our Estate Pinot Noir is sourced from our Anahata Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills of the Willamette Valley. Tasting Notes Beautiful deep garnet in color with a dark ruby halo, the first nose opens with mixed aromas of vibrant cherries and red currants, rose petals, rosehip tea, and a wet slate minerality. These lovely aromas evolve toward baking spices, nutmeg, and cardamom, with hints of lavender and wet gravel mineral notes. Smooth on the palate with a velvety texture and refined tannins, sustained by the baking spices and black currant core, the wine travels nicely on the palate and tightens on the mid-palate toward a long finish, where the stony mineral notes and fruit flavors remain, lingering amidst the tightening minerality. This wine feels like a classic example of the iron-fist core, mixed red and dark fruits, and earthy rosemary aromas so distinctive within the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, and at the Anahata Vineyard in particular. Those balanced attributes are enjoyable now, yet will blossom and open up in elegance as it ages. 2023 Aubaine ‘Joie’ Pinot Noir 94+ points, Jeb Dunnuck 94 points and Editor’s Choice, Wine Enthusiast 93 points, Wine Spectator Our “Joie” Pinot Noir is sourced from a single block on our estate owned vineyard, Anahata. This wine is the definition of “iron fist with a velvet glove.” Tasting Notes: Lovely deep ruby in color with a brilliant edge and clarity, the first nose opens with aromas of fresh dark cherries and marionberries, dusty rose, fragrant peonies, and a hint of bergamot over earthy forest floor notes. Elegant and balanced, those aromas blossom with a swirl, revealing fresh peonies and an assortment of mixed berries, blackberries, and dark cherry crumble. Smooth and lively on the palate, with a tightening core, it reveals a fine yet firm texture and wet rock minerality on the finish. There is a complex balance of bramble berries, Earl Grey tea notes, with hints of baking spice and earthy minerality. This wine reveals the compelling classic Pinot Noir characteristics all around: light yet wonderfully full, with an energy that will age beautifully and gracefully over time. 2023 Aubaine Estate Chardonnay 94 points, Jeb Dunnuck 93 points, Wine Enthusiast Our Estate Chardonnay is from our Anahata Vineyard and represents the best possible expression of the Eola-Amity Hills. Tasting Notes: Brilliant, pale straw in color with shimmering chartreuse and silver edges, the nose first opens with a subtle flinty character woven around Asian pears and sweet honeysuckle undertones. These evolve gracefully in the glass, unfolding into layers of citrus—Meyer lemon and orange blossoms—alongside white nectarines and a delicate hint of toasted hazelnut. The palate offers a vibrant yet refined entry, with elegant, focused flavors that linger on notes of lemon curd, stony flint, and a well-poised lemony core that will continue to flesh out with time. Refreshing, harmonious, and precise, this Chardonnay carries a long, resonant finish anchored by its stony core. Beautifully enjoyable now, with the promise of remarkable aging potential. 2023 Aubaine ‘Vruegde’ Chardonnay 93 points, Wine Enthusiast 93 points, James Suckling The 2023 Aubaine “Vreugde” Chardonnay is the inaugural release and comes from a single block of our Anahata Vineyard, named for the Dutch translation of “joy.” Tasting Notes: Brilliant pale straw in color with a youthful chartreuse edge, the nose opens with fresh lemon curd, key lime, and green tea aromas, while delicate, fragrant white flowers dance within the citrus core. Fresh and bright on the palate, the flavors carry clean citrus fruits with hints of jasmine tea and creamy notes over wet rocks, tightening as they progress toward a finish that invites another glass. Overall, it is balanced and complex, with great energy that remains vibrant from start to finish. 2023 Aubaine ‘Athas’ Chardonnay 93 points, Jeb Dunnuck 94 points and Editor’s Choice, Wine Enthusiast 93 points, James Suckling Our ‘Athas’ Chardonnay is from a single block of our Anahata Vineyard named Athas, which is Irish for “joy”. Tasting Notes: Brilliant golden-straw in color, this Chardonnay shines like sunshine in a glass. The nose reveals honeyed, waxy white peach with delicate jasmine and a stone-fruit core of apricot, passionfruit, and nectarine, all lifted by a subtle hint of lemon-scented brioche. On the palate, it is fresh and vibrant, carrying bright citrus and stone-fruit tones across a sleek mid-palate of wet rock, tightening gracefully into a long, mineral-driven finish. A classic Chardonnay, it balances ripe fruit and citrus purity with remarkable vibrancy and tension from start to finish.