Harvest
100% Pinot Noir, Breezy Slope Vineyard, clone 115. 32% new French oak, aged for 22 months. 33% whole cluster.
Bottling
Dark ruby in color, this Walla Walla Pinot Noir exudes black cherry, raspberry, and cranberry aromatics before leading into wet soil and leather. On the palate, the cherry and raspberry fruits hit first, then pomegranate takes over, and finally a long finish of silky tannin and acidity. The 33% whole cluster fermentation lends a bit of tannin and black pepper to the wine.
Winemaking
Compared to the Willamette Valley, we typically get riper fruit in terms of sugar and flavor plus darker color due to our sunlight and heat. After the fruit was picked early in the morning, it was destemmed into 1.5 ton fermenters with the addition of enzymes that increase color and aromatics and a SO2 and ascorbic acid blend to control oxidation. As mentioned, one third of the grapes were foot stomped for whole cluster fermentation. After two days of soaking on the skins, we added 3001 yeast and malolactic bacteria on day six. The wine fermented for 9 days before being pressed to tank. A day later, the wine was racked into barrels to finish ML. When ML finished, SO2 was added to protect from oxidation and microbiological spoilage. The wine was racked three times before it was bottled on August 27th, 2021 after crossflow filtration. The wine saw 32% new French oak for 22 months.
