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1997 3 Vineyard Pinot Noir

(updated 8/18/00)

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The Wine

Typical of 1997s from our cellar, it has big, solid fruit, elegance and, yet, exceptionally strong grip on the palate, which will make it an ager, even at this price. Even soon after bottling, we expect this wine to show well with forward rose petal, raspberry fruit and white spices up-front, along with fine balance and firm structure on the palate. Fruit and the name come from our three Estate Vineyards: Ridgecrest, Stoller and Corral Creek, blended into a fully-complemented wine.

A GREAT VALUE ! The highest ranked under $20 Oregon pinot noir in Spectator rankings for the 1996 vintage, we have maintained price on this wine! 3100 cases made but has to last through the tiny 1998 crop.

Stats

Selected barrels from most fermentation lots, harvested from 9/22-10/8/97 @21.0-24.0 brix, 3.15-3.52 pH; 12-14 days total fermentation with 6-8 days pre and 1-3 day post maceration; 11 months in barrel, 9 without racking, in 32% new French oak barrels from 6 coopers and several forests, with 82% 2 prior uses or less; Bottled 11/11-12/98 with egg white fining and no filtration @ 12.8% alcohol, 3.66 pH, 5.5 g/l acid, 0.02 residual sugar. 3100 cases made. THE FRUIT COMES IN 1997 FROM RIDGECREST (36%), CORRAL CREEK (35%), NYSA (the vineyard of a friend, 18%) AND STOLLER (11%).

Quotes

Wine.com, June 22, 2000: A blend of three sites, each of which has something to say about the Willamette Valley. The result: a ripe cherry/berry flavored wine with good acid structure and just enough oak to add a delicate frame around the fruit. Great match with sweet barbeque and other lightly smoky foods.

Wine Enthusiast, October 1999—90: A touch young, but not closed. Opens with complex and concentrated aromas of black cherries, spice, earth, herbs and smoke. Deep flavors of dark fruit and earth, and a fairly full mouthfeel. Finishes with full but fine tannins, and should evolve nicely.

Oregon Pinot Noir Club, August, 1999 (Bob Wolfe): ...qualifies as one of the best deals each year...pretty fruit with mixed red and black berry flavors that burst on the plate and glide to an easy finish, and is quite forward and supple now...

Northwest Palate, March/April, 1999—Highly recommended: Bright red garnet. Closed-in aroma hints at graham and cherry fruit. Youthfully tart and tannic, with emerging rich black cherry flavors and a hint of black truffle on the finish. Cellar 1-2 years for softer tannins.

International Wine Cellar, March 1999 (Steve Tanzer)—85: Good medium deep red. Cherry, licorice, earth and oak spice on the nose. Clean but oaky red fruit flavors of moderate intensity. Slightly minty and dry on the finish, with toasty oak dominating. But not overly tannic or heavyhanded.

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Lane V. Witherall ): has the light, delicate color you expect, along with that telltale cherry nose and blast of beautiful pinot noir fruit. Harry Peterson-Nedry and his colleagues have done an excellent job. A terrific duo [with 1996 Rion Reserve].

Our Customers: ...is really coming around nicely. Nice fruit/acid balance and not at all killed by oak.