Winderlea Pinot noir Winderlea Estate 09

Review:

Winemaker Robert Brittan: "A warm vintage and good, mature grapes make a rich, ripe wine that retains structure and shows the character of the vineyard."

The 2009 Winderlea Estate is a lush and rich reflection of a warm vintage. Flavors of red and black berries mingle with a hint of Italian black plums and sweet spice. Ready to drink or cellar for 2-4 years.

2008 Vintage tasting Notes

2008 Wine Advocate - 91 points - The 2008 Pinot Noir Winderlea Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir spent 11 months in 33% new French oak. Aromas of cedar, spice box, blackberry, and plum lead to a dense, savory, structured wine with a sense of elegance. This well-balanced wine will benefit from 2-3 years of cellaring and will provide optimum drinking from 2013 to 2023. - Jay Miller

2007 Vintage Tasting Notes

2007 Wine Advocate - 91 points - The 2007 Pinot Noir Winderlea Estate is more deeply colored than the Ana cuvee with a nose of toast, spice box, earth notes, cherry, and cranberry. Velvety-textured, savory, and ripe, on the palate it displays succulent flavors, excellent concentration, and a pure finish. Drink it over the next 8 years."

"Winderlea Vineyard and Winery is owned by Donna Morris and Bill Sweat who purchased the former Goldschmidt Vineyard in 2006. Now known as the Winderlea Vineyard, it was originally planted in 1972 with the oldest remaining blocks dating from 1974. The owners are moving toward biodynamic farming."

From the winery -

The 2007 Estate Pinot noir (formerly Goldschmidt) was picked on September 29th and October 15th. The core of the wine is two new blocks of Pommard planted in 2005 which we allowed to ferment in our new 2.5 ton Taransaud wood fermenters. The remaining fruit was fermented in 1.5 ton macro bins and 2.5 ton stainless steel fermenters. In addition to being fermented in a wooden tank, the Estate was barrel aged in French oak barrels for 9 months prior to being bottled in August. The Estate shows a deeper garnet color, concentrated red and black fruit, full mouth feel and a pretty finish. The Estate will benefit from 1 2 years bottle aging and we believe has a minimum of 8-10 years aging potential. 560 cases produced.

2006 Vintage Tasting Notes

The Winderlea Vineyard' Goldschmidt Pinot noir 06 first greets the taster with a delightful scent of red berries, country hedgerow, rose petals, violets, and a hint of soft toast greet the taster. It is wild rose season in the Willamette Valley now, and I was hiking through a thicket of bushes covered with tiny pink wild rose flowers last week. That characteristic delicate floral and spicy scent reminded me instantly of the scent of this wine.

The Winderlea Goldschmidt Pinot's flavors continue to charm the taster as layers and layers of fruit impress with black raspberry, black cherry, and dried cherry flavors. A touch of cocoa and cream show in the midpalate. Fleshy and elegant, a lilt of acidity and just discernable balanced tannins provide a sensuous finish.

In 2006, the Goldschmidt Vineyard was still owned by former governor Neil Goldschmidt, and this Pinot noir is made from blocks 8 and 9 of what is now Winderlea. The Pinot is comprised of entirely Dijon clone fruit from vines planted eight to ten years ago. The site abuts the Maresh Vineyard. The wine was aged in 30% new oak barrels, 70% used oak barrels that previously held Chardonnay.