100% Pinot Noir
A warm and beautiful growing season in the Willamette Valley with a substantial fruit set was the perfect backdrop for our inaugural vintage. Still wine producers remember 2013 as touch-and go, with rains coming just as the grapes were approaching ripeness, but for sparkling wine production, the harvest season was a matter of capturing the delicacy and finesse within the very narrow window between the heat of late summer and the rains. Picking was completed on the memorable date of September 11th.
The Pinot Noir grapes were received in immaculate condition and went directly into a small pneumatic press for light pressing. Fermentation was completed in stainless steel to retain the wine’s purity and focus. The wine was then left on fermentation lees to build richness and complexity until it was bottled in the late spring of 2014. After being aged sur latte (on their sides) for 4 years, the wine was disgorged with a minuscule 1.5 g/l dosage and left to further age on cork for 3 months before release. The fullness of the vintage and its long aging is exemplified in this exceptional Blanc de Noir’s rich fruit and full mouthfeel.
This wine expresses the warmth and richness of the vintage with its full structure filled with fresh strawberry and cream notes, pound cake, and rhubarb. The straw hue of the wine is punctuated by the fine and persistent mousse. Fruit and yeast notes linger on through its long finish, leaving the palate alive with flavors of a warm spring day.
91 points Wine Enthusiast
