2007 Pinot noir | Reserve
In the Vineyard
Our 2007 Reserve Pinot noir is a blend of wine grapes from throughout the Chehalem Mountains, Yamhill-Carlton, and McMinnville AVAs in the North Willamette Valley. Clones included are Pommard from Meredith Mitchell, Dion-Shaw, and Stony Mountain Vineyards. Dijon clones and a smattering of Wadenswil are also included from Hawks View, Yamhill Springs, Stony Mountain and Shea Vineyards. A full spectrum of North Willamette soil types is present in these vineyards, from Willakenzie and Yamhill series to Laurelwood. Fruit from all vineyards was harvested at an average 21.5 Brix. The earliest fruit came in from Shea Vineyard on September 27, and the last of the grapes were harvested from Stony Mountain nearly a month later, on October 23.
At the Winery
Grapes from each vineyard were fermented separately. In order to enhance extraction, all fruit was 100% destemmed and chilled with dry ice to 45° F for a 5-day cold soak. To further increase the skin-to-juice ratio, a 5% sonnier was performed, bleeding juice off of some of the fermenters. One-third of the fermenters were allowed to go wild. Each remaining fermenter was warmed to 75° F and innoculated with a diverse selection of commercial yeasts. For the cuvee, we selected the best barrels of wine from each vineyard that exhibited a consistent “Taste of Raptor Ridge.” Rather than suggest any one vineyard, the resulting blend exhibits the consistent complexity of our past Reserve cuvees.
At the Table
This wine achieves the balanced spectrum of color, aroma, taste, structure, mouthfeel, and texture that we were after. The color of this wine is clear bright ruby. The Reserve 2007 is the perfect wine for food pairing. If you are going to spend time on a nuanced meal with spices and layers of flavor, reach for this bottle. Very silky on the front of the palate, this wine is fuller than first expected, with plum and zippy pomegranate. Focus sharpens on the mid palate with hints of soy, tart cranberry and crushed cherries. The wine closes with a long finish of clear bright acidity. The evolution of the wine since its November release is quite remarkable.
