Frescobaldi in Oregon

Napa Valley was the first place Lamberto Frescobaldi considered when his family's wine company, Italy's Marchesi Frescobaldi, went winery shopping in the United States. Frescobaldi studied viticulture and enology at University of California, Davis, in the 1980s, just as Napa was booming. It was an exciting time in California wine and Frescobaldi wanted to be part of it.

- By Tim Fish

That aspiration never came to fruition, but more than 30 years later, Frescobaldi found what he was looking for: Oregon and Pinot Noir.

“There is something magic about this place and Pinot Noir,” Frescobaldi said as he stood on the deck at Domaine Roy & Fils and looked out on a brilliant green landscape of the Dundee Hills in Willamette Valley. Founded in 2012, Domaine Roy was acquired by Frescobaldi in 2023, and the family has methodically made adjustments to the winemaking, the vineyards and the winery, which was completed in 2015.

“We now have more tanks and space in the cellar and can become even more precise about keeping separate every lot possible,” Frescobaldi said. “Because how can you get to know a location if you don’t select, select, select? Only then can you make the blends.”

I've been reviewing Domaine Roy Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays since the first vintage release in 2015 and every bottling has earned an outstanding 90 points or higher on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale. Italian winemaker Jacopo Canciani from the Frescobaldi team took over winemaking in 2023.