Winemaker Notes
2017 tempered August’s occasional heat events with September’s return to cool days and nights. Whether there was any effect of the 1:49 of total solar eclipse is yet to be seen.
Production of this wine returned to 2015’s level this year due to the high quality of grapes and the inclusion of two new vineyards (Prophet in EAH and Azana in Chehalem Mountains). I’m quite proud to offer a truly artisanal, hands-off pinot noir made the same way as our single-vineyard wines at a most reasonable price. Bright and aromatic with red cherry, sour cherry and spice moving to riper mouth-filing fruit with juicy acid and a succulance on the finish.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.