VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
2021 was the 2nd warmest growing season we have ever seen since 2015. We also got to add a new term to the dictionary: “Heat Dome”. Three straight days of triple digit temperatures in late June breaking heat records for the Willamette Valley! Bud break started like usual in the middle of April. We had the driest March through May that the Valley has seen through 128 years of record keeping! Bloom, or flowering, also appeared on time in early/mid June. While late June brought the “Heat Dome”, our grapes made it through thanks to bloom being finished at all our sites and there still being soil moisture, so they grew like crazy over those three days of hellish temperatures. While July and August turned out to be exceedingly hot and dry, September arrived with with a few mild rain events that allowed us to fully ripen the grapes. The hot and dry summer made for fruit that was extremely clean, resulting in for excellent fermentations. All in all, mother nature gave us something to be grateful for on our 50th anniversary.
WINEMAKING
The fruit was hand harvested from Kalita Vineyard on September 25th and brought back to our Estate winery were 85% was destemmed and the rest left whole-cluster. Over a 12-day period the wine went through an ambient fermentation in 3 ton stainless steel tanks with punch-downs for cap management. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak barrels with 10% new oak. This is our first vintage from the newly acquired Kalita Vineyard and it is also our first purchase of Yamhill-Carlton AVA vineyard land so it is very exciting. This is very different, dark fruited and rich Pinot Noir verses our delicate bright red fruited Dundee Hills we are accustom to be working with.
WINE PROFILE
Our 2021 Kalita Vineyard Pinot Noir bursts with classic Yamhill-Carton dark fruit notes: black cherry, cranberries and blackberries. The fruit is met by warm spices, espresso, and a woodsy forest floor followed by grippy tannins.
PAIRINGS
Serve with rich pairings such as roasted quail or duck, salmon on a cedar board, veal stew, grilled mushrooms, or a piece of dark chocolate.
THE STORY
Kalita Estate Vineyard is located in the heart of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in the Willamette Valley. This stunning, bowl-shaped vineyard is planted with Pinot Noir on hillsides facing South, Southwest and Southeast with elevations ranging from 525 to 750 feet. The site was planted in 2000 by Arthur and Sherry Kalita; it is currently LIVE certified and we are transitioning the vineyard to organic certification. We are thrilled to continue the two-decade legacy of creating superb, world-class Pinot Noir from the beautiful Kalita Estate Vineyard.