2006 Pinot noir | Harbinger
In the Vineyard
In 2006, grapes received quite a bit of hang time to develop a lush and hedonistic flavor profile. By the time the right flavors developed in the grapes, the potential alcohols had risen to high octane levels! At Raptor Ridge, we eschew watering and acidifying our wines, so please enjoy this once-in-a-decade vintage — 2006.
Harbinger Vineyard is a higher, cool site located along the ancient landslide portions of the Chehalem Mountains. The vineyard is densely planted at a spacing of 1 by 2 meters, and pruned single-guyot-style so that each vine ripens less fruit, but there are many more vines per acre to accumulate the yield.
At the Winery
We harvested on October 3, noticing substantial desiccation of the berries brought on from an earlier (eradicated) powdery mildew outbreak. We harvested the fruit at a whopping 29 Brix, 5.4 to 7.0 TA, and 3.78 pH. 100% of the fruit was destemmed while adding about 100ppm of SO2 post destemmer. We adjusted the Brix and acidity levels to where the must could finish dry, avoiding a sweet, overly-alcoholic end point of a stuck fermentation. We allowed the grapes to cold soak at ambient temperatures for about four days and then inoculated with commercial yeast strain BRL97.
After 18 days of soak and fermentation, the wines were pressed off at between -1.5 and -2.2 Brix, settled overnight in tank and racked to barrel clean.
The 2006 Raptor Ridge Harbinger vineyard designate is a selection of three barrels that best show the signature characteristics of Harbinger Vineyard. The cooperage was all French oak, with none of it being 100% new.
Tasting Notes
Light color, pale at the edges of the glass. Rich and full on the palate. Aromas hint of Amarone and golden raisins. Rich and sappy on the palate with flavors of plum and golden raisins. Finishes with a touch of concentrated cherries and sherry notes. Interesting stuff — I keep coming back to it.
