2017 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

A multi-faceted nose of cherry, tobacco, violets and pastry introduces a wine with great purity of fruit. Its fresh, rounded notes of plums, currants and fresh candied cherries give way to finely balanced tannins in this elegant, bright wine.

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“This has a vibrant and lively nose with upbeat, red-cherry and berry aromas that are laced with attractive perfume. The palate has a smooth, fresh and juicy array of vibrant red-cherry flavor and holds the finish in attractive, fleshy mode.”
– JamesSuckling.com (May 3, 2019)

Oregon Pinot Noir, a phrase that resonates around the world, had a remarkable yet predictable showing.
– Great Northwest Wine Competition (November 2019)

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

Our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is made with 100% estate grown fruit from all six of our vineyard sites: The Winery Estate, Mount Richmond, Five Mountain, Clay Court, Goodrich and Windhill. These sites are comprised of both Pommard and Dijon plant material, with multiple clones represented. Because we draw from vineyards representing all three of the major Willamette Valley soil types, we are able to pick and choose for different flavor components to make the best possible blend each year for our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Some people call this making wine “spice rack” style, we usually just call it delicious. Our goal is the perfect version of what we believe a Willamette Valley Pinot should be: a wine with freshness of fruit, well-integrated alcohol, and great concentration of flavor.

Winemaking

To make our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, fruit from each vineyard block is fermented separately in small, temperature controlled steel tanks, hand punched down twice daily, and barreled in 20% new French oak barrels. After 10 months of aging in 20% new oak, the wine we choose for the Willamette Valley Pinot is carefully blended to produce the most approachable, well-balanced Pinot Noir we make.

Viticultural & Enological Data

Vine Age 6-43 years
Harvest Sugars 23 brix
pH 3.53
Vatting Fermentation in small open top fermentors. 10 months in French oak.

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2017 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Accolades

92 Points from James Suckling

Gold Medal