2017
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Other Vintages

2017 Riesling Late Harvest

A classic fresh and floral sweet wine made from our old vines Riesling blocks.

Vintage

VINTAGE 2017 was a classic Oregon vintage with plenty of sunny days and refreshingly cool nights. It was also the first year since our wines were 100% estate grown, created entirely from grapes we own and farm. We now have full control as we care for our vineyards and soils for generations to come. “Estate Grown” is now proudly displayed on each of our labels.
After three early harvests in a row, 2017 brought us back to what many consider “classic Oregon weather.” A wet, cool spring led to a late start to the growing season with an early June bloom. Dry, hot weather in July and August meant great ripening as we thinned clusters to protect quality. Worries of smoke taint during the Columbia Gorge fires proved unfounded in our area, but hazy skies slowed September ripening slightly.
We began bringing in fruit in mid-September, but were interrupted by rain a few times in late September and mid-October. With 40+ vintages under our belts and hillside vineyards at diverse elevations we were able to choose the right windows to pick beautifully ripe fruit from each block. Sometimes this meant pulling long hours: in fact October 9th was our biggest day on record, with 110 tons landing on the crush-pad. Expect ripe tannins, fully developed flavors and classic cool climate freshness in these 2017 vintage wines.

Vineyard

We only produce our Riesling Late Harvest in years when we can allow the fruit to ripen fully on the vine.  In Oregon, this depends both on the timing of both harvest and the fall rains.

Winemaking

Our Late Harvest Riesling is made from very ripe fruit with 5-20% botrytis (noble rot) which adds an earthy honey character to the wine.  The grapes are whole-cluster pressed and fermented at very cool temperatures in small stainless steel tanks to retain the freshness of the Riesling grapes.  Some of the original sweetness is always retained in the final wine, without sacrificing structure and acidity.

Viticultural & Enological Data

  • Vine Age 10 & 42 years
  • Harvest Sugars 22 brix
  • pH 2.97
  • Vatting Whole-cluster pressed and cold fermented in small stainless steel tanks.
  • Cases Produced 200