VINTAGE NOTES
The 2009 growing season began with snow in February, then a day of graupel (hail-like precipitation occurring when supercooled water droplets freeze on a falling snowflake) and cold winds in March. We had a couple of days close to 80o in early-April, then more cold and hail, then back to a few days over 80o in mid-April. May was warm and beautiful, but June brought some wild weather. On June 4 an actual tornado blew through (very unusual for Oregon), and we all hunkered down nervously in the winery cellar. Then it turned cool and we had a torrential downpour (almost an inch in 24 hours) on June 12. July was all heat – we had a few very hot days (upper 90o s to 100o ) throughout the month, with the final days of July hitting up to 108o . It finally cooled off in early August only to heat up again mid-month. September brought continued hot weather and when the drying, desiccating east wind kicked in on September 20 we began picking as fast as we could. We brought in all 175 tons of our Pinot Noir in just eight days under hazy skies, but we managed to avoid overly high sugars and raisining in the grapes, and the acid levels were good. Overall, another challenging Oregon vintage.

TASTING NOTES
This wine exhibits a core of distinct flavors and aromas, including truffle, mushroom, leather, cherry, berry, violet and spice. The finish is long, rich and lush with a velvety mouthfeel.