Harvest

September 24th, 2018 at 23.8 Brix, 3.46 pH,
and 5.9 g/L of titratable acidity.

Bottling

Garnet in color, our perennial favorite opens with black cherry, raspberry, cranberry, and cinnamon on the nose. It continues with black pepper and forest aromas to round out an earthy expression of Walla Walla terroir. On the palate, cranberry, ripe strawberry, and cherry dominate and lead into a peppery, moderately tannic finish with bright acidity. The 50% whole cluster makes its presence known! Drink now through 2035.

Winemaking

Compared to Willamette Valley, we 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, half 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 seven. 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 28th, 2020 after crossflow filtration. The wine
saw 21% new French oak for 22 months.

Aging

100% Pinot Noir, Breezy Slope Vineyard, clone 115. 21%
new French oak, aged for 22 months. 50% whole cluster.