Pinot Noir

Dundee Hills AVA - Willamette Valley - Oregon

2013 - A Tale of Two Harvests—one very early and one normal, with rain in between. They started as one very early harvest thanks to a very consistent, warm growing season, the warmest on record up to final ripening mid-September. An unanticipated 30-year rain event of 5″ then appeared the last days of September, made of remnants from a typhoon that had hit Japan days before, ushering in a spate of cool weather, interrupting the season, slowing ripening and turning it into two discrete picks, with early Pinot noir ferments already in barrel before remaining grapes were ripe and picked! Although grapes ripe during the rain were vulnerable to botrytis, earlier and later picks showed very good quality, with many considering the coolness and longer hang-time a big benefit, preserving acidity and flavors, while minimizing alcohol. Color, texture, balance and acidity on the whole were good for the vintage. Croploads were moderate to high, except for blocks and varieties lost to the rain.