This is what we consider on a year-in, year-out basis our most unique and exotic wine. This is, as always, our only wine that is made in 100% new Cadus barrels. This wine is a textural experience beyond any of our other wines. Rather than attempting to show, in pain-staking detail, the individual qualities of the vineyards we work with the Notorious bottling is about a particular style of wine that is richer, more intense, denser in texture and more lifted aromatically than our other bottlings. 

In 2018 the eight selected barrels come from Balcombe Vineyard (4 barrels of Pommard planted in 1990 and fermented with 0%, 33% and 60% whole cluster from Blocks 1A, 1B and 2B), Estate Vineyard (2 barrels, 1 each from a 1990 planting of Pommard done with 50% whole clusters and from a 2001 planting of Dijon 114 from the Etzel Block done with 50% whole cluster ) and the vineyard we moniker as Mysterious (2 barrels, 1 each from a 1990 planting of Pommard done with 0% whole clusters and 100% whole cluster). These are all incredibly well farmed vineyard with 3 organic sites representing totality of fruit.

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 Anklebreaker (Pommard) block

VINIFICATION: 2 open-top fermenters, a 1.75 ton and a 2.5 ton, the former with 40% whole clusters the latter with 60% whole clusters.

PICKING DATE: September 22nd               TONS/ACRE: 3.33

OWNER: John & Susan Olenik                   PRODUCTION: 12 Bottles

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.

95 pts - Vinous

Shimmering ruby-red. An intensely perfumed, expansive bouquet evokes ripe boysenberry, raspberry liqueur, licorice and exotic spices; a potpourri nuance emerges in the glass. Delivers a compelling blend of richness and energy on the palate, offering sappy red and blue fruit, bitter cherry, lavender pastille and spicecake flavors that are braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Unfolds slowly on the youthfully tannic finish, which hangs on with outstanding, floral-driven tenacity. One-third whole clusters.

-- Josh Raynolds

12 magnums made

Winemaking and Notes:There was a range of whole cluster fermentations ranging from 45% to 100% stem-inclusion that were created from the fruit we received from this block in 2018. They allwent through a normal cold soak of 4 to 5 days and then were fermented in 1.75-ton open-top fermenters (as well as one 2.5 ton round that was done 100% whole cluster and is the bedrock of this bottling) and pigeaged 1x/day until dry and then was pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days before being pressed separately to allow for specific blending later in the year. The wine spent about 11 months in barrel in 27% new oak. 13 barrels of the 100% whole cluster fermentation barrels were selected with 7 coming from the 2.5 ton fermentation and 5 from 45% whole cluster fermentations. This combination allows for the forward, supple nature of Dundee Hills fruit to be showcased while held in check by the old vine, mineral-driven elements of the 100% whole cluster barrels. There is sweet red fruit that is overlaid by a distinctly savory aspect creating a dichotomy upon which complexity exists. This is a wine that has old bones and sensibilities to it while still having the stuffing that Dundee Hill wines are known for all while being an insanely rare example due to the vine age that helps define this wine’s boundaries.

These now monster vines were planted back in 1973 making them some of the oldest vines in Oregon, thus giving this bottling an historical aspect to it. 46-year-old vines in Oregon are exceptionally rare both because there was so little planted acreage back then and some of that acreage has been re-planted due to Phylloxera. The fact that this site and wine exist at all is somewhat of a minor miracle. In part due to this, this wine knows exactly what it wants to be. It shows finesse, subtleness, elegance and discreet balance all backed up by a sneaky and looming firmness. Only older vines make wines like this. This is not a wine that needs to make a dramatic entrance, because all the work is done on the back end.

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.

Wine Making and Notes:This bottling has always been a powerful view of this vineyard site and we still have blocks in the vineyard in the 10-21 year-old range that have not made (will not make?) the change to the far more chic and mineral-driven Estate Old Vine style. That is fine. Our Estate Vineyard is fairly large and incredibly diverse, so having two very different wines coming off of it is great. To us, this is the exciting part of Pinot Noir and vineyard management, and the marriage of the two in winemaking.

The wine is dark in color, dense in earth-tinged dark fruits with relatively thick tannins. However, as the vineyard has aged, fewer blocks are still producing this style of wine that seems to be indicative of the young vines. This comes from just three blocks: a 1998 southeast-facing planting of Pommard, a 2000 south-southeast facing planting of Pommard at lower elevation and, for the first time ever, a 2000 planting of Pommard that faces east at the top and back of the vineyard. This section has finally developed into something beautiful and representative of this site and particular bottling and we are very excited about its inclusion in this wine! The lower block of Pommard by the winery was done with 50% stem inclusion while all the fruit from the other two blocks were done as 100% de-stemmed. Everything went through a standard cold soak of about 4-7 days depending on the block, fermented in 1.75-ton open-top fermenters and was pigeaged 1x/day before being pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days. This spent a little less than a year in barrel with only 3% being new barrels while 86% were neutral so there is minimal oak influence in this wine allowing the pure nature of this dark Ribbon Ridge bottling to really come out. We dry farm our vineyard and these younger vines, even at 19-21 years of vine age, are still under a bit of duress. This leads to small, tight clusters and fairly thick skins. This gives the wine its trademark dark, almost purplish color with a hefty and dense structure. This can be a bit savage in nature when youthful but it comes around surprisingly fast and, of course, is good for many years.

AVA: Ribbon Ridge                                      LOCATION: North Valley Rd.  

ELEVATION: 450’                                         SOIL TYPE: Wellsdale

CLONAL MATERIAL: Pommard                 YEAR PLANTED:1990

VINEYARD SIZE: 30-acre vineyard, 1.0-acre block

VINIFICATION: 40% whole cluster fermentations in a 2.5 ton open top fermenter.

PICKING DATE:9/29/18                               TONS/ACRE:1.95

OWNERS: Patricia Green Cellars              PRODUCTION: 12 Bottles

*Wine Club Only

Winemaking and Notes:The Bonshaw Block is on the southwest-facing slope of the estate hillside, and its significance to the winery is now multifold. This was the block that produced the highest quality fruit off of the entire Estate Vineyard in our first year of production in 2000. Based on that alone this little 1.25ish acre block would be something that we hold as a significant place in our lives. However, as time has gone on and that block has entered full vine maturity the quality of the fruit and resulting wines have only continued to improve. Little did we realize that this improvement was on such a track that we would produce a wine from the 2016 vintage that would become the first Pinot Noir from Oregon to ever garner a perfect 100 score from a major, national wine publication. This isn’t why we do what we do, but a little positive affirmation that happens to be exclusive to our winery is nice.

This bottling has always stood out to us because it showcases the best aspects of all the best blocks, young vine and old vine alike, and show them off together. In this way this block is the nexus of our vineyard. Dark red fruit, earth, mineral, spice, suppleness, structure are all represented in this wine, especially as it changes and evolves both in the bottle over time and in the glass when poured out. The 2018 is a classic. It is, at least, the equal of the 2016 bottling. It combines the intensity and structure of the vintage with savage fruit and great structure. A completely unique and amazing wine. In short, this is one stunning and hedonistic bottle of Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir.