Hello and Welcome,
Spring has finally arrived and we
are grateful. Ernie thinks the winter lasted a bit too long and cabin fever
began to set in. But, the "off season" is a good time to reflect and
make plans for the following year. We have taken advantage of this time and
have some updates to share.
The most recent news is that
Ernie has completed planting the "North Orchard." You may recall this
block is about 8 acres and is the highest elevation on the property. This
brings us up to about 30 acres, nearly 45,000 vines. We planted all of this
acreage (about 12,000 vines) to Pinot Noir (Pommard, Dijon clone 114 and 667)
on 3 different rootstocks. The next step is the trellis with about 160 posts
and 65 miles of wire. If all goes well and Mother Nature smiles upon us, the
North Orchard will begin to bear fruit in 2008. We will keep you
"posted".
Dena has also been busy with
label designers trying to refine our look. The 2004 labels were updated just
slightly with better color utilization and the use of a proper burgundy bottle.
The 2005 front labels will show off Dena's handiwork and we will retain the
burgundy shape bottle. The back label is Ernie's design and it reflects the
structure and discipline you have come to expect from him. We have rekindled the
cork debate and may be going "old school" back to real corks for our
2005 Pinot Noirs.
We were very honored earlier this
year to be invited to join the ¡Salud! Pinot Noir barrel auction this
fall. This event is in its 15th year and is held each November. The purpose is
to raise funds to provide healthcare to the people who work our fields and move
from crop to crop as the seasons change. Both Dena and Ernie are big supporters
of this mission and Ernie is on the Steering Committee. His primary responsibility
is the Saturday Big Board Auction. Click here to learn more. www.saludauction.org
The next big thing is our winery
project. Last fall we began planning for our estate winery. We chose an
experienced architect whose projects include Domaine Drouhin, Domaine Serene,
and Stoller Vineyards. We were fortunate that a very experienced builder was
available to construct our winery. Their prior projects include Bethel Heights and
Penner-ash. We broke ground on February 9 and are targeted to complete
the construction by mid-August. Our goal is to crush 20 tons of our estate
grown fruit this fall. The best part is that we will have Syrah and Viognier
for the first time!
Let's talk about the wines. Our
site and Mother Nature really hit it off in 2005. The wines in barrel are just
flat-out gorgeous. We will again have a Dijon clones bottling in 2005 and
perhaps a bit larger production of Amalie's Cuvée. We will also be crafting a ¡Salud!
wine from a very small lot that we personally hand harvested last fall. The
clones are our favorites, Dijon 114 and 115. We have also tasted through all of
our customers’ cellars and everyone is extremely pleased with the 2005s.
We sell fruit to Beaux Frères, Cristom Vineyards, Elk Cove Vineyards and Dick
Erath.
As you know, our 2004s are just
being released. We knew the barrel lots were great, but waiting for them to
come out of bottle shock is a trying experience. Maybe the move to real corks will
help this process. These wines are unfined & unfiltered and are beginning
to develop some sediment. Decanting is not required; however setting the bottle
upright for about 30 minutes is a good idea.
We submitted these wines to a
reviewer who has a palate we trust - Stephen Tanzer at the International Wine
Cellar. We were very pleased with the scoring, but even more excited about his
descriptions. Here is what he had to say about our 2004 Pinot Noirs:
Amalie's Cuvee (91 cases
produced) - Dark red. Raspberry and strawberry preserves on the nose, with
hints of cola and dark chocolate. Sweet, plump cherry and blackberry on the
palate, with good breadth and depth but not the purity or vivacity of the Dijon
Clones bottling. A lush, weighty wine that picks up some exotic spice notes on
the back end, finishing on a sweet, ripe note. (This was the first vintage
under the label of this estate, which still sells half of its harvest to top
local producers like Beaux Frères and Cristom.) 89 points
Dijon Clones (254 cases
produced) - Light red. Flat-out gorgeous nose of red berries, yellow rose
and five-spice powder, with a chalky mineral element adding energy and lift.
Juicy, vibrant and pure, the nicely concentrated flavors running the red fruit
gamut (especially wild strawberry), with an earthy note of rhubarb. Wonderfully
clean and brisk, but with no shortage of concentration or flavor impact through
the finish. Develops a wild, sweet note of underbrush with air. This is
strikingly pure, unadorned and pretty pinot. 91 points
- Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/Jun 06
If you have made it this far, you
know that you won't see or hear from Ernie again until the Harvest Review. His
primary job from here until harvest is directing the field work and putting in
the tractor time that will steward our fruit through the summer and into the
winery where our first crush awaits. During this time, Dena will be keeping
everything else together and staying in touch with you.
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
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