WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS
Unlike the extremely warm vintage of 2003, 2004 was more of a typical Oregon year. We began our Pinot Noir harvest on September 10 after a week of clear, warm, sunny days, only to be hit with rain on the 11th. During the next week we had cool, wet weather, with just enough periods of drying out for us to bring in about half of our Pinot Noir. Finally, on the 20th the rain and showers ended and, with the exception of some cold, foggy mornings, we had generally nice weather, especially in the afternoons. We brought in the balance of the grapes during the two weeks between September 21 and October 5, just before the rains began again on October 6. Sugars were not excessively high, acid levels were good, and, other than the mini-eruption of Mt. St. Helens on October 1, the harvest of 2004 was refreshingly uneventful.

At this stage in this wine’s development the flavors and aromas are mostly fruit-based: predominately black cherry and raspberry. There is a dusty cola/mocha component from the oak, which is beginning to integrate with the rest of the aromas, and with additional time should contribute another dimension to the wine. The distinctive Sokol Blosser earth and truffle secondary flavors and aromas have appeared, the middle has rounded out, the finish is very long, and the wine has become more evolved and complex.

The real story of our 2004 Dundee Hills is the texture and structure; the excellent balance of sugar, acid, and tannins in the grapes is reflected in the wine. Here is what our Pinot Noir is all about – tightly structured, with the fruit and acid for long-term aging, yet the tannins are soft, smooth, and polished.