Wine Notes > Pinot Noir > Current Release

2006 Corral Creek Pinot Noir

(new release May 2008)

The Wine

This wine is the single-vineyard wine from Corral Creek Vineyards, the vineyards surrounding the winery, and recently the source of very consistent, balanced wines, without extremes of fruit, acid, tannin, or barrel. They have become a favorite of those who want elegance without having to wait years for it to appear from the musculature of bigness.

The Vineyard

Corral Creek, although not our oldest estate vineyard, was begun in 1983 by John and Diane Howieson, founders of Veritas Winery from whom the vineyard was purchased in 1995. A 28-acre vineyard predominantly planted to Pinot Noir, with significant reworked plots of Dijon Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, and both new grafts of Riesling and a heritage 1.1-acre block of 15-year-old Riesling, it is nestled on a low bench above Corral Creek. Soils are Laurelwood, a predominantly blown sedimentary soil series (i.e., loess) that, although being low in elevation, is well drained and not terribly fertile. Visible from Highway 99W, and with seductively folded land masses, this may be the most photographed vineyard in Oregon.

The Vintage

I have the highest regard for the Pinot Noirs in barrel, not having seen better fruit EVER from selected blocks or vineyards, including 22 harvests from Ridgecrest! The reds should be held to high expectations. The whites are the surprise, since a very warm vintage often blunts the acid, raises alcohol to unbalance the wine, and softens the fruit to soft and fleshy. Not so in 2006. The Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Blanc are crisp, bright, and scintillating in fruit aromas and complex in spice and fruit flavors. The warmth that came during the growing season abated before most fruit seriously began ripening, with cooler days and, especially important, acid-saving nights giving finesse to the wines. Appealing early, they should age respectably, too. Color me pleased.

Stats

Harvest Data:

Harvested 10/3 & 10/13/2006 @ 26.1–27.5 brix, 3.61–3.8 pH, and 4.7–7.5 g/L TA, from 1.86–2.35 tons per acre cropload

Fermentation:

Average of 15 days total fermentation with 7 days pre-maceration

Cooperage/Aging:

Aged for 11 months in French oak barrels, racking once, with 39% new and 61% new or one-year prior use

Wine Selection:

Selected barrels from three fermentation lots

Bottling:

Bottled 9/5/07

Bottling Analyses:

15.3% alcohol, 5.8 g/L TA, 3.64 pH

Cases Produced:

299

Suggested Retail:

$44 (TO ORDER)

Release Date:

May 2008

Winemaker's Comments

Light to moderate red, with cherry or garnet hues, this is typical of Corral Creek, even in warm vintages, showing elegance and subtlety rather than extremes of extraction or intensity. Lovely, spicy, barrel-accented, red-fruited aromas, carrying hints of caramel-covered cherries, toasted brioche, dried cherries, raspberries in several forms, and even blueberry and plum clafouti. On the palate, after a sweet, red-fruit entry, there is thickness and a soft broadness that spreads widely but thinly on the mid-palate, ending without great length but with interesting flavors that are red fruit overlain with a spicy, woody, forest floor, dusty patina. A light, spicy, and red-fruited Pinot that dances.

Quotes

Wine Spectator, October 31, 2008, Harvey Steiman: 91. Silky, supple and appealing for its cinnamon-scented red berry and cedar aromas and flavors, lingering on the lively finish.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/June 2008, Josh Raynolds: 90. Light red color. Spicy raspberry and red cherry aromas are complicated by musky floral and herb qualities. Sappy and round, with sweet red fruit and candied floral flavors, gentle tannins and building spiciness. This suave and inviting wine finishes supple and with striking purity. Awfully seductive right now.

The Wine Advocate, October 2008, Jay Miller: 89. The 2006 Pinot Noir Corral Creek is another easy-going effort with aromas of red fruits and a smooth-textured, sweet, ripe mid-palate. It finishes with no hard edges.

Wines Northwest, June 3, 2008, Wines of the Week: Copper River Salmon and Pinot Noir, Chuck Hill: ... A blockbuster of a Pinot Noir with an elegant nose of red fruits, orange blossom, cherry cola, spicy oak and a variety of other appealing olfactory impressions. The palate is ripe with earthy/meaty notes over rich red fruit flavors. Grilled salmon over charcoal will bring out the best in this big wine.