Four Graces Pinot Noir 09

Review:

2008 Vintage Tasting Notes

Enticing, vibrant, dark ruby-purple in color, it presents ripe pomegranate and cranberry on the palate, laced by an earthy spiciness. Aging for over 10 months in French (30% new) has contributed a softness to the mouthfeel without masking the lovely red to black fruit characteristics of premium Dundee Hills Pinot Noirs.

The velvet texture, balanced acidity, vibrant freshness, integrated tannins and long, elegant finish are each signatures of this spectacular estate vineyard. The meticulously-maintained Black Family Vineyard is located in Oregon's acclaimed Dundee Hills AVA. Pinot Noir was planted in two stages with Pommard and Wadensvill in 1990, and Dijon clones 114, 115 and 777 two years later. Vine age and sustainable farming, combined with average yields of no more than 2 tons per acre, are producing the best fruit to date from this 110-acre property.

From the winery:

Our Reserve Pinot Noir is a blend of our finest clonal selections from our estate in Dundee, Oregon. Each vineyard block was hand-picked at optimal ripeness and chilled to 50 degrees F prior to a careful sorting of the fruit, allowing us to commence primary fermentation using 10% whole cluster. The wine was fermented with select Burgundian proprietary yeast in small stainless steel tanks, 2.5 to 5 tons. In the traditional Burgundian style open top tanks, the wine underwent daily punchdowns for a total of 22 days of skin contact, further enhancing the already soft and polished tannins. Gravity-fed into French oak barrels, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation and aged for 12 months in 69% new and one-year old barrels from a diversity of coopers with medium to heavy toast on the oak. Only the best barrels were selected for our Reserve Pinot Noir for a resulting blend of: 32% Wadensville, 49% Dijon Clone 115, 11% Dijon Clone 777, and 8% Dijon Clone 114. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered. ALCOHOL: 14.5% PH: 3.70 TA: 5.25