FORAGER
2020 FORAGER Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Highlights
- Our FORAGER Willamette Valley Pinot Noir illustrates that careful, experienced growing, selection, blending and maturation of Pinot Noir lots grown in diverse locations can deliver delicious flavor and interest.
- Excellent low-yielding sites, classic low-impact Burgundian winemaking techniques and careful maturation in top new French oak capture the typicity of these sites - and the purity of this noble red grape variety.
- Regional Composition: 100% Willamette Valley AVA
- Varietal Composition: Clone/Selections: 115, 777
- Maturation: 20% New French Barrels for nine months
In Stock
Wine Specs
Vintage
2020
Varietal
Pinot Noir
Alcohol %
12.8
Wine Profile
Vineyard Notes
The nuance of our 2020 Pinot Noir comes from two clones grown in two Willamette Valley locales, a terrific spot for exemplary cool-climate Pinot Noir. Both sites were hand-pruned and picked. The soils in these low yielding, cool sites are generally gravelly loams. Each site and clone provided different aromas, flavors & structure and we developed the blend from these diverse components.
Production Notes
Hand-harvested between October 3 and 19, the compact Pinot Noir bunches were hand-sorted, mostly destemmed, crushed and cold soaked for 1 day in five-ton open-top fermenters. A small portion fermented “whole cluster” adding nice “grip”. Fermentation began with prevailing, local yeasts and was completed with cultured Burgundian yeast. Moderate fermentation temperatures (~87°F) and 1 pigeage (punch-down) per day helped build structure, color and texture. After a gentle press, ML took place in barrel followed by nine months maturation (no racking) which contributed nuanced spiciness and a velvety mouth-feel. New French oak plays a minor role in its aromatics. We call our wine FORAGER to illustrate how growing, gathering & judiciously blending small lots of delicious Pinot Noir can deliver serious flavor and interest.
Winemaker Notes
Vintage 2020 showed us who was in charge, and her name is Mother Nature. Between a pandemic, forest fires, tricky wet weather, the season was a massive challenge. We made difficult decisions to keep quality at a high level, and watched as the valley saw declines of up to 35%. Pinot clusters ended up being well ripened and while the size of the crop was tiny, quality is high. In short, a vintage which displays pleasant color, subtle earthy, aromas and textures.