2017 Pinot Noir Rosé

Pastel rose in color, this wine reveals fresh strawberry, key lime, roses and lemon thyme on the nose. The palate is juicy with watermelon, strawberry, bubblegum, and a dusty, brambly salinity that melds into a pithy grapefruit finish.

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

The fruit for this all Pinot Noir Rosé is hand-harvested from select vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley. For the Rosé, we choose both young and old vines from higher elevation vineyards on their own rootstock. These give us the full flavor development and aromatics needed for a fresh white wine, within a framework of lower alcohol.

Winemaking

Pinot Noir fruit for our Rosé is hand-harvested very ripe and gently whole bunch pressed with limited skin crushing, which makes virtually a “white Pinot Noir”. The wine is fermented cool in stainless steel tanks.  Then carefully selected lots of fermented red Pinot Noir juice is blended back for color and texture.  Our Pinot Noir Rosé is finished completely dry.

Viticultural & Enological Data

  • Vine Age 5-43 years
  • Harvest Sugars 23 Brix
  • Vatting Gently whole-cluster pressed, cold fermented in stainless steel tanks. Select pinot noir juice added for texture & color.
  • Cases Produced 4000