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 Willamette Valley has seen through 128 years of record keeping! Bloom 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 little rain which that allowed us to fully ripen the grapes. The hot and dry summer made for fruit that was extremely clean, resulting in excellent fermentations. All in all, mother nature gave us something to be grateful for on our 50th anniversary.

WINEMAKING
The grapes were carefully hand harvested September 12th, making them our first Pinot Noir grapes brought in! They were then sorted by hand to remove any flawed bunches and 100% de-stemmed directly into 3-ton stainless steel fermenters. These fermenters were not immediately inoculated and proceeded with fermentation by ambient yeast which took 5-7 days of soaking to really take off. The wine had 15 days of skin contact with cap management done via gentle punch downs. The wine was pressed off the skins at dryness then aged in neutral French oak barrels for 10 months. We have intentionally chosen not to use new oak in this block as the fruit pairs best with more neutral oak.

WINE PROFILE
The 2021 Peach Tree Block is blackberry and black cherry forward, with hints of mushroom, clove, and spice. A very well-rounded Pinot, and we call it the funky bunch in the mix due to the umami forward notes.

PAIRINGS
Chicken with mushroom puree and swiss chard, beef stroganoff, miso-mushroom risotto, lamb or chicken gyro, and salty cheeses.

THE STORY (as told by Alex Sokol Blosser)
In line with the rest of our vineyard blocks, Peach Tree was named after what was previously planted here: peach trees. I remember those peach trees well, and those ripe peaches still hold a rich place in my imagination for how sweet and juicy they were. The peaches got so big and ripe that my parents would not let me help pick them as my small hand could not encompass enough of the fruit to not tear it. Oh the memories..... Now we have a little over two acres of Pommard and 777 Pinot Noir clone planted in this section. Of all our blocks, it always seems to produce a wild, almost un-focused Pinot Noir,with its power of fruit and flavor going in multiple directions.

SCORES
93 points & Best Buy - Wine Enthusiast
92 points - Wine Spectator