Wine Notes > Pinot Noir > Previous Release
2006 Oregon Pinot Noir Reserve
(new release March 2009)
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The Wine
We look for this wine to embody the essence of Pinot Noir. Select barrels and fermentation lots are chosen from Ridgecrest Vineyards before any blending is done in the cellar. We choose components to make a wine that epitomizes finesse, elegance, complexity, textural silkiness, and palate breadth and length for the vintage. We think these elements are what Pinot Noir is all about — not as big and macho as we can make it, but as beautiful and feminine as we can make it. Its balance makes it optimally ageable. This wine was once called the Rion Reserve, in thanks to friend and former advisor Patrice Rion.
The Vineyard
Our Reserve uses fruit primarily from Ridgecrest Vineyards, our oldest estate vineyard, a 55-acre vineyard on a 176-acre property. Beginning in 1980, this site pioneered grapegrowing on Ribbon Ridge, a small ridge on the western end of the Chehalem Mountains. Soils are a Willakenzie soil called Wellsdale, a transition soil series exhibiting characteristics of both volcanic and ocean sedimentary underlying structures. The rich, supple black cherry and blackberry fruits are characteristic of Ridgecrest Vineyards and the Willakenzie soil type. Excellent acidity, silky texture, and a long finish are hallmarks of the vineyard site, being relatively high in elevation, mature in vine age, and deeply rooted.
The Vintage
I have the highest regard for the Pinot Noirs in barrel, not having seen better fruit EVER from selected blocks or vineyards, including 22 harvests from Ridgecrest! The reds should be held to high expectations. The whites are the surprise, since a very warm vintage often blunts the acid, raises alcohol to unbalance the wine, and softens the fruit to soft and fleshy. Not so in 2006. The Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Blanc are crisp, bright, and scintillating in fruit aromas and complex in spice and fruit flavors. The warmth that came during the growing season abated before most fruit seriously began ripening, with cooler days and, especially important, acid-saving nights giving finesse to the wines. Appealing early, they should age respectably, too. Color me pleased.
Stats
Harvest Data:
Harvested 9/23–10/10/2006, fruit coming from Ridgecrest Vineyards (70%), Wind Ridge Vineyards (21%), and Stoller Vineyards (9%), @ 24.2–26.4 brix, 3.42–3.67 pH, and 4.6–5.3 g/L TA, from 1.4–3.1 tons per acre cropload
Fermentation:
11–16 days total skin contact, with 7–10 days of that pre-maceration, native ferments on Ridgecrest fruit and BRG yeast with Stoller fruit; average 10% whole cluster
Cooperage/Aging:
Aged for 10 months in French oak barrels with 45% new and 81% new or one-year prior use
Clonal Selection:
Pommard, Wadenswil, and Dijon clones 115 and 667
Bottling:
Bottled 9/7/2007
Bottling Analyses:
14.95% alcohol, 3.58 pH, and 5.6 g/L TA
Cases Produced:
772 cases
Suggested Retail:
$60
Release Date:
March 2009
Quotes
The Wine Advocate, October 2008, Jay Miller: 92. The 2006 Pinot Noir Reserve is a barrel selection of the best in the cellar. It was aged for 11 months in 50% new French oak. Toast, earth notes, raspberry preserves and cherry pie compose a formidable bouquet leading to a rich, layered, nearly opulent wine with excellent balance and a long, fruit-filled finish.
Pinot Report, February 28, 2009, Gregory S. Walter: 92. Medium-deep ruby color; rich, ripe cherry aromas with toasty oak notes; rich, ripe, cherry and berry flavors, spice and earthy notes with toasty oak; good structure and balance; long finish. Ripe and full Pinot with a nice dose of toasty oak…
Wine Enthusiast, February 2009, Paul Gregutt: 90. …The fruit is ripe and precise, with sharply defined, tart raspberry flavors. Burgundian whiffs of bark and earth add to the complexity.
International Wine Cellar, May/June 2008, Josh Raynolds: 90. Medium red. Dark berries and cherry preserves on the nose, with a strong undertone of baking spices. Sweet, silky and broad, with deep red and dark berry flavors, supple tannins and mounting spiciness. Finishes with very good clarity and lift, with the sweet cherry quality repeating.
Wine & Spirits, April 2009, Year’s Best Pinot Noir: 90. …The wine leads with exceptionally deep aromas, like meat smoked with pine fronds, a fine floral quality to accompany dark cherry fruit. It’s fresh and persistent in texture for roast pork.
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© CHEHALEM
31190 NE Veritas Lane • Newberg, OR 97132
Tasting Room (503) 538-4700 • Winery (503) 537-5553 • Fax (503) 537-0850
Winemaker's Comments
This vintage gave lusciously rich Pinot Noir, with enough structure to keep it bright and refreshing, balanced in fruit and acid with light, fine tannins. There is effusive cherry, chocolate, perfume, and spices, such as pepper and vanilla, integrated on a pretty, creamily textured palate. It is very well balanced, with nice weight, length, and complexity. In this vintage, it could have been much bigger, but we thought it best to keep it as pretty as we could make it.