 DePonte Cellars
DePonte Cellars is a family owned and operated winery, set
in the heart of Oregon’s Dundee Hills, tucked between Archery Summit
and Domaine Drouhin. Winemaker Isabelle Dutartre comes to Oregon from France
and Domaine Drouhin to make wine from the DePonte Vineyard's fruit. The
vineyard is just up the road from famed Archery Summit and Domaine Drouhin,
where Isabelle assisted friend Veronique Drouhin in making 5 vintages of
DDO wines.
Isabelle Dutartre
DePonte winemaker, Isabelle Dutartre,
spent over 15 years producing critically acclaimed wines in both Burgundy
and Oregon, and is acknowledged
to be one of France’s leading experts in wine barrels. She now makes
wine exclusively for DePonte, visiting several times a year from France,
and giving expert guidance to Scott and the cellar crew.
Isabelle started her winemaking career at Maison Drouhin. After 10 years,
she joined their Oregon venture, Domaine Drouhin where she worked alongside
her close friend Veronique Drouhin to make 5 successive vintages of world
class wine.
In 1998, she returned to France to raise a family and became a consultant
for a French oak barrel producer. Her extensive knowledge of barrels and
the contribution the correct barrel can make to a quality wine is a rare
talent that adds to her winemaking skills.
She turned her sights back to Oregon and DePonte in 1999 at the invitation
of her friend Buddy Beck.
Buddy Beck
“Vines have grown successfully on this site for over 30 years and
we’ve taken the lessons they’ve taught us and applied new farming
techniques to match the very best of all worlds – the new and the
old, Oregon and Burgundy.” Buddy Beck
The Vineyards The vineyard includes 3 acres of old vine Pinot Noir and 3 acres of Melon,
headpruned Zinfandel-style. Buddy has devised a unique trellising system
to open up the canopy and expose the grapes to air and sunlight. With only
450 vines to the acre (modern plantings are around 1450/acre) these ancient
vines with their unknown root depth and gnarled trunks are remarkable for
their drought tolerance and resistance to disease.
The DePonte Vineyard
The remaining 11 acres were planted to Pinot Noir in 1999 with clones
and rootsock carefully selected to provide the best blending potential
in the final wines.
In 2002, we refined our vineyard sources to
focus on two distinct locations: our own estate fruit, and nearby Saga
Hills, 7.5 acres of Pinot Noir located
a stone’s throw away, and also planted by Buddy.
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