94 Points (Wine Enthusiast)

This clone seems to be a perfect fit in this location, yielding robust berry fruit further defined with sappy acids. Juicy citrus flavors underscore the berries, and despite its youth it's a tangy and quite appealing wine, with another decade of aging potential.

AVA: Chehalem Mountains   

LOCATION: Kings Grade Rd.

ELEVATION: 375’      

SOIL TYPE: Willakenzie

YEAR PLANTED: 1991    

CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Wadensvil

VINEYARD SIZE: 32-acre vineyard, ~2.7-acre PGC Wadensvil block  

VINIFICATION: 2 open-top 1.5 ton fermenters. One fermenter containing 100% de-stemmed fruit, the other containing 60% whole cluster fruit.

PICKING DATE: October 5th    

TONS/ACRE: 2.0

OWNER: John & Susan Olenik     

PRODUCTION: 288 cases bottled              

Winemaking and Notes: The combination of marine sedimentary soil and Wadensvil creates a nearly perfect intersection for Pinot Noir in Oregon. Wadensvil tends toward more elegant, high-toned and red-fruited wines while the sedimentary soil adds an element of structure and turns the wine distinctly toward a very mineral-driven mid-palate and finish. The ten barrels that make up this wine come equally from a fermentation that was done with 60% whole clusters and from a fermenter that was 100% de-stemmed. Despite the differences in the make-up of the fermentations the bins were both pigeaged 1x/day and pressed separately on the same day. The fruit that was fermented with 60% whole clusters emphasizes minerals, spices and back-palate structure all of which provide tension in the herb-laced red fruit. The de-stemmed barrels are a rush of sweet, feminine red fruit with a velvet-like texture. We’ve been using this combination for this particular bottling for the past couple of vintages in some form or another. The whole clusters give an incredible backbone to the wine that lends an austerity that benefits it not only down the road but in the here and now, allowing it to be the wine from the Chehalem Mountains that is the most elegant, graceful and refined of the bottlings. This wine is incredibly aromatic and floral but still allows for the back palate to be the guiding force. This is a sneaky, subtle wine that will playfully hint at grandiosity.

AVA: Chehalem Mountains                LOCATION: Kings Grade Rd.

ELEVATION: 325’                        SOIL TYPE: Willakenzie

YEAR PLANTED: 2007                   CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Pommard

VINEYARD SIZE: 32-acre vineyard, ~1.0-acre PGC Wadensvil block

VINIFICATION: 2 open-top 1.75 ton fermenters, each done with 35% whole cluster fermentation

PICKING DATE: September 26th   TONS/ACRE:

AVA: Ribbon Ridge        LOCATION: North Valley Rd.  

The Bonshaw Block is on the south slope of our Estate hillside, around 1.5 acres. We only harvested approximately 1.4 tons from this section of 100% old vine Pommard Clone. Needless to say, this vintage nailed it. This bottling has intensity and power with dark fruit notes, all while maintaining the classic Pinot Noir sweetness displayed when the block is on its game. What has always made this bottling stand out is the combination of texture and structure. This wine has a full, round, opulent palate, but at the same time it brings in forceful tannins so there is context to all its dimensions.

AVA: Ribbon Ridge      LOCATION: North Valley Rd.  

Wine Making and Notes: Named as such because this section of our vineyard planted in 1986 slopes to the northeast directly toward our neighbor Beaux Freres. The name is an homage to the owner and winemaker there, Mike Etzel. This wine has always pulled some of the most interesting characteristics out of the site and that is its reason for existing on its own. For some reason this has always been the most nuanced, most mineral-driven, most particularly Pinot Noir-sous bois sort of thing going on of all our wines. There are 2 sections within the East Etzel Block and for the first time they are both being used in this bottling. The older Pommard (planted in 1986) was 20% whole cluster and went through a standard cold soak of about 5 day, fermented in a single 1.75 ton open top fermenter and was pigeaged 1x/day before being pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days. The Dijon 114 was done 100% de-stemmed, went through a standard cold soak of about 5 days, fermented in two separate 1.75 ton open top fermenters and was pumped over until fermentation started and then it was only pigeaged 1x/day before being pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days. This spent a little less than a year in 17% new barrels along with a combination of a one time and a four times used barrel. This wine is aromatically extremely complex and nuanced to a fault. Minerality and seductive darker fruits combine with great complexity on the palate to create a wine that shows how elegant, intricate, intense and soil-influenced older vine Pinot Noirs from Ribbon Ridge can be. The addition of whole cluster fermentation furthers the aromatic qualities and drives the graphite notes on the palate and tightens the tannins up on the back end. *WINE CLUB ONLY

Wine Making and Notes: Coury Clone Pinot Noir has a fascinating background tale that is literally rooted in the earliest history of the Oregon wine industry. The short version is that Charles Coury submitted his master’s thesis for cool climate winegrowing to the University of California at Davis while studying in Alsace, France in 1964. He brought cuttings back to the U.S. when he returned that summer. From these small and straight forward beginnings the plantings and legend of the Coury Clone begins. For a full and detailed account of this very, very interesting agricultural story that was lost to history for some time please go to The Price of Pinot’s website (http://www.princeofpinot.com/article/1214/) and read for yourself.

AVA: Willamette Valley       LOCATION: Burnell Rd.  

Wine Making and Notes: As always this is simply perfect material from one single block of the vineyard (East Liberty Block), all Dijon 115 Clone Pinot Noir planted in 2004. This bottling has always emphasized the ability of whole cluster fermentation to shine with fruit from this vineyard. Nine barrels came from 50% whole cluster ferments, 5 from 100% and 4 from 20% whole cluster ferments. This mix deftly mixes the more fruit forward aspects of lower whole cluster usage with the aromatic and complexity inherent to higher whole cluster ferments.  There are no new barrels on this wine and, in fact, there is only one barrel that was used just once previously. The bulk of the barrels used for this wine were completely neutral so to further enhance the incredible nature of this vineyard-driven bottling. This has a strong, black-fruited tone to it with a range of flavors and spices mingled in for complexity. The tannins are sticky and firm and born entirely of the fruit. This wine will reward with a long life of aging, but will also be appreciated by fans of intense and sinewy Pinots in its youth.

AVA: Willamette Valley       LOCATION: Burnell Rd.

ELEVATION: 500’                SOIL TYPE: Bellpine

YEAR PLANTED: 2001        CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Pommard

VINEYARD SIZE: 85-acre vineyard, 11-acre PGC block       

OWNERS: Dan & Helen Dusschee   

This trio of wines, where we attempt to show you the nature of Freedom Hill Vineyard through the lens of a single clone, have been exceptionally popular and very well received. The 2015 Dijon 115 was referred to as “sharing the traits of Romanee St. Vivant” while the Pommard “could pass for a New World Richebourg” by Josh Reynolds of Vinous.com. Despite that high praise it was the 2015 Coury Clone that netted the highest score of the three wines with 95 points.

The 2016s are largely by the boards already at this juncture, but the 2017s operate in the same sort of stratosphere as previous vintages. The Dijon 115 will be selected from a wider variety of barrels than ever before and its depth, character and complexity will reflect its larger pool of possible components. The Pommard may well turn out to be the most fascinating of the six bottlings we have made previously of this intense version of Freedom Hill. The Coury Clone will be, as always, the crown jewel of the cellar, combining amazing aromatics, fantastic texture and unique flavors.

Our first two vintages with this old, heritage Chehalem Mountains site yielded gorgeous, complex and utterly unique wines. The Jory soil in a non-Dundee Hills location combined with the 36-40 year old vines and the distinct Pommard and Dijon 777 Clone combination made for amazing wines that will take years to reach their apex. The 2017 might be the best of the trio. Soaring aromatics and depth like a spring fed well make this wine an absolute must have from our cellar. Only 6 barrels total produced.

AVA: Chehalem Mountains                LOCATION: Kings Grade Rd.  

ELEVATION: 325’                                 SOIL TYPE: Willakenzie

YEAR PLANTED: 2007                        CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Pommard

VINEYARD SIZE: 32-acre vineyard, ~1.0-acre PGC Wadensvil block

VINIFICATION: 2 open-top 1.75 ton fermenters, each done with 35% whole cluster fermentation