2023 Estate Vineyard, Bonshaw Block Pinot Noir

The Block: In the spring of 2000 we took over the farming of what is now our Estate Vineyard from Autumn Wind Winery and Vineyard. The vineyard was in, let’s say, an interesting state back then. No soil maintenance had ever been done in a region where it is critical to vine health, some vines were still trellised on a Geneva Double Curtain system and who knows what the style of farming was like. Sustainability was probably far away. While we have, over the years, produced seven distinct Pinot Noirs from the Estate Vineyard, back in 2000 we were lucky to actually produce just two. There was the larger bottling of Estate and then a bottling from the only block on the property that seemed to be producing something a whole level above. That was this block which became named Bonshaw. Even at just 11 years of vine age in 2000 it was already separating itself from the rest of the vineyard with intense, minerally, darkly-fruited wine. Over the ensuing years it became a mainstay, but also has had its fickle moments. For instance from 2009-2015 it was only bottled in the 2010 and 2011 vintages. While cooler vintages in this west facing block seem to work well it has also fared beautifully in 2003, 2006, 2017, 2021 and again now in 2023. From the 2016 vintage a tiny bottling of just three barrels was awarded what was and remains the only 100-point score ever accorded to an Oregon Pinot Noir by a major, national reviewer and publication. This block looks west out over the narrow, still valley our vineyard hill rises out from. It is a special and unique place that gives us some of the greatest fruit grown in Oregon with which to work.

Farming Practices: We have done the management of this property internally since we purchased it in 2000 with the exception of 2014 and 2015 when Sterling Fox’s management service did the work. Also, at that time, the vineyard was switched entirely to organic farming practices and remains so to this day. The vineyard has always been dry farmed.

Picking Dates, Tonnages, Tons/Acre: Picked on September 14, 2023. 2.43 tons (2.36 tons/acre).

Vinification: One 2.5 ton fermenter in which all the fruit was destemmed.  

Winemaking: Fermentation was managed exclusively by pigeages to ensure gentle handling, extraction and delicate tannin construction. Cold soak lasted for 6 days which is not unsual in a larger fermenter size. Full fermentation from beginning to pressing lasted 17 days. A 48-hour settling of pressed wine occurred prior to being racked to barrel. All barrels were on full lees until assemblage for bottling. Bottled without fining or filtration.

Barrels: This 7-barrel bottling consists of 2 new Cadus barrels (28%), 4 twice used barrel and 1 neutral barrel. Wine was in barrel until late July and bottled in late August allowing for around 10 months in barrel.

Notes: The Estate Vineyard, Bonshaw Block bottling exists because it is both delicious and unique but also because it shows a particular aspect of this vineyard and the Ribbon Ridge AVA as a whole. This block is certainly the quintessential block within the Estate Vineyard and possibly even the Ribbon Ridge AVA being the sole section of land to ever generate a 100-point score from a major, national wine reviewer. The burden of that is seeking perfection each and every vintage. In a few vintages over the years we have not bottled this wine. Even a very good vintage as recently as 2019 had us deciding not to designate this section of the vineyard. Combined with the smoke taint of 2020 and the frost damage of 2022 the 2023 is only the second bottling in the last 5 vintages. At its apex this block delivers concentrated fruits from both the black and red spectrums, deep texture and an alluring mouthfeel that is accentuated by rich, thick tannins on the back end. The 2023 will not disappoint long time fans of this wine. The wine finished with numbers of a TA of 5.5, a pH of 3.53, a free sulfur level below 35 ppm and a total sulfur below 80 ppm.

Tasting Note: Please be aware that I am loathe to write tasting notes on our wines. Each person has an individual palate and therefore unique experiences with every wine. Also, what a person has tasted in their life and what they enjoy informs them on what a wine is like. If I tell you a wine tastes like cherries and you either have never had a cherry or don’t like cherries what I am saying is irrelevant information. That being said I have been asked to include my thoughts on each wine (since we have so many).

The 2023 Estate Vineyard, Bonshaw Block Pinot Noir is at its apex and that says a lot given the history of its bottling. From the day the fruit was picked we knew that this was going to be an ultra-special version of the Bonshaw Block. This has immense levels of fruit concentration and the structure to back it all up. The supremely dense fruit comes both from the vintage and because we chose to destem all of the fruit so as to accentuate the lush dark and red fruit components, knowing that the vineyard itself would provide the backbone for the wine to have the infrastructure to be balanced. The wine is delicious and fun and incredibly enjoyable now, in its youth, however its true nature will take between 10-15 years to reveal itself. This wine will give the most ardent Pinot Noir collectors the very thing that they seek when they put wines away for extended periods of time.