Wine Notes > Pinot Gris > Current Release

2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris

(new release May 2008)

The Wine

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

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, especially in an excellent vintage.

The Vintage

In summary, we think this may be a fantastic white vintage and a surprisingly good red vintage, despite the rain that many times might lead to less intense wines. With rain in the range of 2005 and much less than the last really rainy harvest season of 1997, most winemakers in the valley knew how to adapt and took advantage of the vintage’s attributes, such as lower sugars (and therefore alcohols) and higher acids. As long as botrytis is kept from reds or sorted out, and winemaking sleight of hand provides physical therapy for the intensity shortcomings, such as saignée, tannin adds, chaptalization, and acidulation, the vintage will have stellar wines, just with more variability. Buy whites in general, buy reds from trusted names.

Stats

Harvest Data:

Harvested 9/25–10/12/2007 from 39% Stoller, 35% Corral Creek, and 26% Ridgecrest sites @ 21.1–23.1 brix, 3.2–3.38 pH, and 6.3–7.8 g/L TA, from 2.25–3.66 tons per acre cropload

Fermentation:

Tank fermented with VL3 yeast

Cooperage/Aging:

None

Bottling:

Cold stabilized and filtered, bottled 3/28 & 4/28/2008

Bottling Analyses:

13.6% alcohol, 6.2 g/L TA, 3.47 pH, 0.54% residual sugar

Cases Produced:

3,000

Suggested Retail:

$19 (TO ORDER)

Release Date:

May 2008

Winemaker's Comments

Brilliant, light blonde, white gold color, with all things white in the aroma, from white spring flowers of daphne, gardenia, and citrus to hard Christmas candy, white peach, crisp pear, and white tea. There are spearmint, honey, and ambrosia hanging in the air and austere river rock, bright acidity, apricot, ginger, and golden plum complexity on the palate. The texture is broad and rich (and with very good acidity!), rounded in the mid-palate, showing a borderline minor sweetness that turns on the salivation response. Ends with a spicy, tangy burst at the finish. A lot to love, but with a refreshingly low alcohol. One of our best.

Quotes

San Francisco Chronicle, September 5 , 2008, Oregon Pinot Gris, Lynne Char Bennett, 2 STARS: ... A limpid, warm style with understated honeydew melon, green tea and fresh hay on the nose. The bigger, broader palate comes through a bit more with riper apple, peach and vanilla, cream with a fruity focus and mineral grip on the finish.

Sunset, September 2008, Top 40 Wine Award Runners-Up, Sara Schneider, Good Value Wine: Chehalem Pinot Gris 2007 (Willamette Valley, $19) ...Save this list. Maybe they didn't make the top 10, but we like them a lot anyway.

Wine News, August/September 2008, Pinot Gris Gains Ground, Richard Kinssies, 89: Crisp, fresh and lively. Medium bodied with fragrances and flavors of pear, white peach, melon, blossoms and the smallest touch of honey.

The Salt Lake Tribune, October 1, 2008, Weekly Toast: Sour economy, but sweet deals to savor, Zev Rovine: ...Oregonian winemakers make really great Pinot Gris and Chehalem has made excellent examples consistently for awhile. Their style more resembles that of Alsace than Italy and the wines take on a considerable richness. The flavors range from ripe pear, to apricot, mineral and red delicious apple.