Other Vintages

2017 Brut Rosé

Starting with fine bubbles, chalk and brioche, fresh cut pear and rose petal lead this fruit-forward sparkling wine into layers of lush strawberry and underripe watermelon. A slight grip of green tea and blood orange lingers on the finish.

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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

Pat and Joe Campbell named La Bohème vineyard after the family who sold them the property – and their favorite Puccini opera. This picturesque vineyard overlooks the winery and the coast range mountains and rises to 800 feet, making it one of the highest elevation vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley. Fruit for this Brut Rosé was sourced from the lower blocks of La Bohème and harvested early at a lower ripeness. The lower initial sugar level helps us keep the final alcohol level at our desired 12-13%.

Winemaking

Our 100% Pinot Noir sparkling wine is a “méthode traditionnelle” Brut Rosé and was cool-fermented in stainless steel tanks to retain freshness of fruit using a traditional Champagne yeast.

This pink bubbly was initially bottled on site at Elk Cove. After 3 years in tirage (on the lees in bottle) the wine was riddled in an automated “gyropallette” then disgorged. We used a small amount of our ultra-sweet Ultima wine for the final dosage to adjust sweetness to a classic brut level.

Viticultural & Enological Data

  • Vine Age 33 years
  • Harvest Sugars 20 brix
  • Vatting Cool-fermented in stainless steel tanks.