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2000 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris

(updated 10/9/02)

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The Wine

Pinot Gris is one of the wines we are best known for. We make it in as close to an Alsace style as possible, working to get weight on the palate, while retaining fruit flavors and acidity; we consider pinot gris the perfect, universal food wine. Our Pinot gris is harvested ripe to give full, viscous wines with light spice flavors and long finishes. In an increasingly popular style, this stainless steel fermented pinot gris combines Corral Creek, and Ridgecrest, and Stoller Vineyards fruit and well represents the lushness of 2000.

The Vineyards

Fruit comes from our three Estate Vineyards: Ridgecrest, Stoller and Corral Creek, blended into a fully-complemented wine. The estate vineyards are planted on three different soil types, which provides complementary elements in resulting wines: Ridgecrest on Willakenzie, Stoller on Jory, and Corral Creek on Laurelwood. The interaction of clone and site add great complexity, consistency and fullness of character to blends of pinot gris.

The Vintage

Vintage 2000 was our third great vintage in-a-row, providing full ripeness and excellent weather throughout the growing season and through harvest. The average to one week early harvest, September 29-October 26, saw only 1.09 inches of rain. Fruit quantities were bountiful, permitting crop thinning to obtain ideal croploads of 2.50 tons/acre for Pinot gris, 2.55 for Chardonnay and 2.31 for Pinot noir. White wine characteristics are between 1998's round fleshiness and 1999's crisply structured ageability. Red wines benefit from less extreme extraction at Ridgecrest than the prior two vintages, thanks to normal croploads of 2.49 tons/acre and improved and excellent quality from the other vineyards. The overall quality in the Pinot noir cellar exceeds 1999 and is similar to 1998.

Stats

Harvest Data:

Harvested 10/4 to 10/16, 2000 @ an average of 24 brix, 6.6 g/l TA, and 3.27pH

Fermentation:

Tank fermented with 71B yeast

Cooperage/Aging:

Clonal Selection:

Bottling:

Cold stabilized and filtered, bottled 3/12/01

Bottling Analyses:

13.9% alcohol, 6.2 g/l TA, 3.27 pH, 0.7% residual sugar

Cases Produced:

2600

Suggested Retail:

$15

Release Date:

April, 2001

Winemaker's Comments

The 2000 Estate Pinot gris is the best we've ever made. We have lush stone fruit, mineral, bright citrus and crisp acidity, all with good case quantities. A great balance of emollience, firm structure and freshness, it should serve well short-term and yet be a great ager. We can't nit-pick this wine to find elements to improve.

Quotes

New York Times, October 2, 2002. Between Alsace and Italy, the U.S. Pinot Gris ... [this wine] listed as one of the top four pinot gris out of 22 selected by the NY Times tasting panel.

Wine & Spirits, October-December, 2002. "Top 100 Values of the Year" for 2002.

The Wine Advocate, August, 2001. 87 points. ... exhibits fresh yellow fruit, earth and smoke aromas. It is pure, zesty, flavorful wine loaded with pears, white peaches, and flowers. Well-delineated, and thirst quenching ...excellent value.