Brandborg Winery Pinot noir Benchlands 04
One of the shop's favorite values!
From the winery:
The vintage in the Umpqua Valley arrived a little earlier than the two previous vintages. The fruit was in perfect condition and ripe with lower sugar levels and balanced acidities and pH, allowing us to deliver a wine with finesse without excessive alcohol. Again, about 65% of the blend is from the Melrose Vineyard on a bench of the South Umpqua. This Dijon 115 clone was blended with wadensvil and Dijon 114 from the Red Hill Vineyard. The wine is light ruby and brilliant. The nose is cherry, strawberry with a hint of orange rind and anise. The oak is subtle throughout the aromas and taste with a nice vanillin quality. The fruit flavors carry through with moderate weight and finish. The wine will serve well with grilled salmon with a lemon butter sauce or veal cutlets in an herbed cream sauce.
MORE INFORMATION
From the winery: "The Benchlands is priced to be our entry level pinot noir. Despite the modest price the wine is made with as much care and attention as the other wines and it was aged in 30% new French oak barrels as were all of our releases. The primary fruit source for the wine is the Melrose Vineyard on a bench along the South Umpqua River. This site has deep alluvial soils and the grapes exhibit great up front fruit and aromas. To add some structure and length we blended in a bit of wine from the north part of the AVA. The wine is a clear garnet color with very pretty floral rose aromas with raspberry, cherry and warm honeyed oak. Strawberry and Queen Ann cherries dominate the flavors with a nice round mouth feel. It has moderate weight with a long lingering caramel finish."
