2021 FORAGER Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
91 points, Highly Recommended
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Low-yielding, mature sites across the Willamette Valley, classic low intervention winemaking and careful maturation captures the typicity of these sites and the purity of this noble grape variety. FORAGER speaks to how growing, gathering, and judiciously blending small lots of delicious Pinot Noir can deliver serious !avor and interest
In Stock
Wine Specs
Vintage
2021
Varietal
Pinot Noir
Alcohol %
12.2
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Our new label features a vintage Polaroid of Oregon’s bounty; foraged chanterelle mushrooms. "is gorgeous
Pinot Noir opens with aromas of ripe cherries and hints of delicate roses. The youthful, complex palate o'ers ripe blood orange, tamarind and cola. The soft, velvety tannins and what we call “crunchy” acidity come together in a generously textured way, bringing it home with an incredibly long, savory finish. Yum. This is a small-lot handmade wine and thus may throw a harmless natural deposit.
Vineyard Notes
The depth of our 2021 Pinot Noir comes from two Pinot Noir selections grown in two Willamette Valley locales. The 1st is at 500’ altitude, LIVE Certified and dry-farmed in Jory (red volcanic) soils. "e 2nd is a site in Tualatins’ rolling hills with Willakenzie (sedimentary) soils. Both sites were hand-pruned and picked.
- Regional Composition: 100% Willamette Valley AVA (Yamhill-Carlton AVA 58%, Tualatin Hills AVA 42%)
- Clone/Selections: 777, Pommard 5
- Maturation: 30% New French Barrels for eleven months
Production Notes
Hand-harvested between September 14 and October 9, the compact Pinot Noir bunches were handled with a very light touch in cellar and hand-sorted with about 40% in whole clusters, then crushed, and cold macerated in 5-ton open-top fermenters. A very light dash of natural sulfur was added at the crusher and fermentation began with prevailing, “local” natural yeasts. Moderate fermentation temperature (85°F) and 1 pigeage per day helped build structure. A$er a gentle press (<1 bar), ML took place in barrel followed by 11 months maturation which contributed spiciness and a velvety mouthfeel. 10% new French oak plays a supporting role. After a light “polish” filtration, 38 barrels (~950 cases) were bottled in July 2023.
Winemaker Notes
The 2021 growing season started dry with moderate spring temperatures. Some rain at bloom knocked down yields and was followed by a short June heat wave. September brought welcome rain and cool nights which enhanced flavor development. It’s a monumental, albeit small, vintage that will be long remembered.
Other Notes
In addition to LIVE Certified and other well-managed vineyards, we have adopted carbon-neutral, Forest
Stewardship Council-certifid and biodegradable natural corks because cork forests sequester about one ton
of carbon per year. A well-farmed natural vineyard will also sequester about 1⁄2 ton of carbon per year.
FSC-certified recycled post-consumer paper labels incorporate compostable inks. We also moved to a
lighter weight (490 grams) recycled glass bottle.
