Winemaker Notes
The aromatics of the 2009 Pinot blanc have taken on dimensions that I have not previously seen. Its usual yellow and white fruit, have expanded to include melon and hints of ginger and salty, coastal air. Floral and tropical fruit flavors are layered with peach, red apple, and cantaloupe with nuances of spice, white flowers, and powdered ginger. It has a lovely mouth filling texture and its flavors linger well into the finish. This vintage finished completely dry.
Pinot blanc is perfect with crab cakes, mussels, ceviches, and a wide variety of flavorful appetizers. It is especially good with hors d'oeuvres that are a bit salty and rich. Drink now or over the next two years to enjoy this wine at its peak of freshness.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill Vineyard offers up a melange of white fruit aromas, spice box, and mineral. Layered, round, and smooth-textured, this dry, pristine offering will pair beautifully with ceviche and shell fish over the next 2-3 years. All three of these white wines are excellent values.
Approachable, aromatic and pleasantly plush on the palate, Pinot Blanc is a white grape variety most associated with the Alsace region of France. Although its heritage is Burgundian, today it is rarely found there and instead thrives throughout central Europe, namely Germany and Austria, where it is known as Weissburgunder and Alto Adige where it is called Pinot Bianco. Interestingly, Pinot Blanc was born out of a mutation of the pink-skinned Pinot Gris. Somm Secret—Chardonnay fans looking to try something new would benefit from giving Pinot Blanc a try.
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.