Benton Lane Pinot gris 07
Benton Lane Pinot gris is "Medium to light weight, with good acidity. Lovely flavors of nectarine, melon, apple and a nice background note of spice. What started out as an all pinot noir facility, has now opened up to bring white wines into the line-up, and good thing, because the Benton-Lane, 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris, $16, is outstanding. Wonderfully aromatic with all those typical notes of melon, peach and spice." So says Robert Mayfield of the Statesman Herald. This pale straw colored Pinot Gris displays generous floral, citrus, pear, and tropical fruit aromas. On the palate this beautifully balanced wine is silky and supple with citrus, floral, mango and other tropical fruit flavors. The delightful citrus, mango finish is long and extremely clean.-- the winery
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Growing Season: A record-breaking warm late winter and early spring gave us bud break much earlier in April than normal. Later, cool and moist weather systems came in and stayed throughout bloom. The rain was good for building up soil moisture for the summer, but it also gave us lighter fruit set and a smaller crop load. The summer followed with average temperatures and below average rain. A late summer cooling trend gave us long, slow and late season ripening of the grapes. From bud break to harvest, 2005 was the longest growing season ever at Benton-Lane.
Vinification: The whole grape clusters were loaded directly into the press to minimize juice contact with the skins, as the skins contain bitter phenolic compounds that are detrimental to wine quality. 96% of the Pinot Gris juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks at a very cool temperature to maintain the fresh flavors and aromas of the fruit. 4% of the juice was barrel fermented to add greater depth and complexity to the wine without overpowering the delightful fresh fruit flavors. The wine has been bottled early with a screw cap closure to maximize retention of these fresh flavors and crisp acidity.
