2002 Pinot noir | Reserve
In the Vineyard
Our 2002 Reserve Pinot noir is a blend of winegrapes from the McMinnville Foothills area: Meredith Mitchell (MMV) & Stony Mountain (Stony) Pommard clones, Yamhill Springs Dijon clones, and Coeur De Terre (CdT) field blend. Soil types in these vineyards include Willakenzie, Yamhill, and Peavine. Fruit from each vineyard was harvested in a range from 22 to 24 Brix, with a pH of 3.22 to 3.4.
At the Winery
Grapes from each vineyard were fermented separately, using a diverse selection of yeasts and cooperage. For the blend, we selected the best barrels of wine from each vineyard that exhibited a balanced, consistent "Taste of Raptor Ridge." Rather than suggest any one vineyard, the resulting blend exhibits the consistent complexity of our finest vineyard designates of the past.
At the Table
This wine achieves the balanced spectrum of color, aroma, taste, structure, mouthfeel, and texture that we were after. Dark garnet red, this wine's meaty nose is nicely tempered by subtle aromatics of cedar and sandalwood, a classic signature of our Ermitage cooperage. It is a full, round and fleshy wine with fine grained tannins. The flavors straddle the red fruit and blue fruit spectrums with flavors of Pomegranate, pie cherries, strawberry jam and plum. The Reserve pairs perfectly with tea-smoked duck and plum sauce or brine-soaked, cedar planked Steelhead with raspberries. The Reserve evolves nicely in the glass, at the dinner table, and with age in the bottle.
