Winemaking and Notes:The Madrone Block, planted to Dijon 115 Clone creates a much different Pinot Noir than the Pommard Clone from the Bishop Block, and it is special enough to be bottled on its own. One of the reasons that the Dundee Hills was the place that initially defined all of Oregon Pinot Noir and why this AVA remains so sought after in terms of plantable vineyard land is that, quite simply, the wines from here are delicious. In their relative youth vines here produce ripe fruit that wants to be pleasing and friendly. The Madrone Block is just about to get to its 20^th leaf, so it still exists in a spot where it produces fruit that makes wine people want to enjoy.  It is plush wish richness and ripe characteristics, but it also has balanced acidity and enough tannin to keep everything where it needs to be. This is definitely deep in fruit and oozing with textural appeal creating a long, graceful and entirely charming wine. This borders right on sultry as all bottlings of this block have since we began producing it in 2012. Almost certainly, this is the single vineyard designate with the most upfront appeal to it. This will show sweet red fruits which are certainly a staple of the vintage with classic Dundee Hill sweet spices. Hard not to like.

AVA: Ribbon Ridge                            LOCATION: North Valley Rd.  

AVA: Dundee Hills

LOCATION: Herring Ln. just south of Hwy 240

ELEVATION: 325-475’

SOIL TYPE: Jory-ish

YEAR PLANTED: 1992

CLONAL MATERIAL: 50% Dijon 115, 25% Wadensvil and 25% Pommard

VINEYARD SIZE: 16-acre vineyard, 4+-acre PGC blocks

VINIFICATION: Several 1.75-ton open-top fermenters done with 100% whole cluster and one 0% whole cluster fermentation in a 1.75 ton fermenter

PICKING DATE: 09/25 and 09/28/19 TONS/ACRE: 2.72

OWNERS: The Cliff and Allison Anderson

PRODUCTION: 246 cases bottled

AVA: Chehalem Mountains                   LOCATION: Kings Grade Rd.

ELEVATION: 325’                                     SOIL TYPE: Willakenzie

YEAR PLANTED: 2007                            CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Pommard

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

VINIFICATION: 3 open-top 1.75 ton fermenters, one with 0%, one with 40% and one 50% whole clusters.

PICKING DATE: September 26th         TONS/ACRE: 3.25

OWNERS: John & Susan Olenik         PRODUCTION: 12 Bottles   

Winemaking and Notes: Olenik Vineyard sits nearly smack dab in the middle of this south facing hillside. The vineyard sits on the same type of thin marine soil as our Estate Vineyard. Wadensvil Clone is especially perfect for this type of soil. The natures of marine sedimentary soil and the Wadensvil clone are nearly a 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 barrels that make up this wine come equally from the fermentations that was done with 50% and no whole clusters with a couple of barrels of the 40% whole cluster fermenter rounding out the balance. 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 50% 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 and a texture like velvet. The 40% seemed to have a little of both. The whole clusters give an incredible backbone to this wine that lends an austerity to this wine 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. The wine is incredibly aromatic and floral but still allows for the back palate to be the guiding force in this wine. This wine is soulful and richer than it at first seems however it is graceful, subtle and sublime and easily one of the most popular wines that we make.

Winemaking and Notes: As the Estate vines tap their roots deep into the soft sub-soil they eventually make contact with the mineralized water on the property. This brings a whole new element to the flavor and texture profile of the wine. This bottling comes from barrels sourced from both the West and East Etzel Blocks done both destemmed and with 50% whole cluster fermentations, a 1990 planting of Pinot Gris that was grafted to Pommard in 2002 that was done with three fermenters of destemmed fruit which were all pressed together, a 1997 planting of Pommard on a steep southwest facing slope that was all fermented with 50% whole clusters and 9 barrels of Wadensvil (for the first time ever in this bottling!) with fermentations ranging from destemmed to 66% whole cluster. Given the diversity within the vineyard (we have a 360-degree aspect on our hillside vineyard) and the range of vine age (22-33 years) we were able to pick at different times and then blend this together with a greater degree of diversity than we have ever had available. The wine was bottled with just over 20% new barrel. The assemblage for this particular wine is always fascinating, because you can see the wine come together as the elements from each block are added in. This wine is one of the few truly older vine bottlings that exists from Ribbon Ridge. Older vineyards here, have the capacity to translate the mineral laden nature of our water and soil into the refined, focused nature of the fruit. This AVA is a special place and makes some of the most interesting, dramatic and amazing as some of our bottlings, and this is one of them!

AVA: Ribbon Ridge                                          LOCATION: North Valley Rd.  

ELEVATION: 450’                                              SOIL TYPE: Wellsdale

CLONAL MATERIAL: Pommard, Dijon 114    YEAR PLANTED: 1986, 2001

VINEYARD SIZE: 30-acre vineyard, 2.55-acre block

VINIFICATION: All 50% whole cluster fermentations in 1.75 ton open top fermenters.

PICKING DATE: 09/25 and 09/27/18               TONS/ACRE: 3.05

OWNERS: Patricia Green Cellars                  PRODUCTION: 2 Bottles

*Wine Club Only

Winemaking and Notes:The Etzel block section of our vineyard planted in 1986 slopes to the northwest 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 and most mineral-driven of all our wines. There are 2 sections within the East Etzel Block as we interplanted rows in this block the year after we arrived. The rows were still 12 feet apart and we wanted to have tighter spacing so Dijon 114 was interplanted to make more efficient use of the land. The older Pommard (planted in 1986) was fermented in a single 1.75-ton open-top fermenter with 50% whole clusters, and went through a standard cold soak of about 5 days before being pigeaged 1x/day, pressed, and allowed to settle for 3 days. The Dijon 114 was fermented in three separate 1.75-ton open-top fermenters, all of which had 50% whole cluster inclusion, before going through a standard cold soak of about 5 days, and being pumped over until fermentation started. It was only pigeaged 1x/day before being pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days. The wine spent a little less than a year in 33% new barrels along with a combination of a one time- and a four times-used barrel. This wine is aromatically complex and nuanced. Minerality and seductive dark fruits combined with great complexity on the palate creates a wine that shows elegance, intricacy and intensity. This is a perfect example of how soil-influenced older vine Pinots from the 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.

AVA: Chehalem Mountains                   LOCATION: Kings Grade Rd.

ELEVATION: 325’                                     SOIL TYPE: Willakenzie

YEAR PLANTED: 2007                            CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Pommard

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

VINIFICATION: 3 open-top 1.75 ton fermenters, one with 0%, one with 40% and one 50% whole clusters.

PICKING DATE: September 26th         TONS/ACRE: 3.25

OWNERS: John & Susan Olenik         PRODUCTION: 12 Bottles   

Winemaking and Notes: Olenik Vineyard sits nearly smack dab in the middle of this south facing hillside. The vineyard sits on the same type of thin marine soil as our Estate Vineyard. Wadensvil Clone is especially perfect for this type of soil. The natures of marine sedimentary soil and the Wadensvil clone are nearly a 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 barrels that make up this wine come equally from the fermentations that was done with 50% and no whole clusters with a couple of barrels of the 40% whole cluster fermenter rounding out the balance. 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 50% 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 and a texture like velvet. The 40% seemed to have a little of both. The whole clusters give an incredible backbone to this wine that lends an austerity to this wine 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. The wine is incredibly aromatic and floral but still allows for the back palate to be the guiding force in this wine. This wine is soulful and richer than it at first seems however it is graceful, subtle and sublime and easily one of the most popular wines that we make.