2006 Pinot noir | Shea
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.
Shea Vineyard is a lower level, warm site located in the coastal sedimentary soils of the Yamhill-Carlton District.
At the Winery
We harvested on September 27, bringing the fruit in at a range of 25.7 to 26.6 Brix, 5.4 to 5.7 TA, and 3.48 to 3.32 pH. 100% of the fruit was destemmed while adding about 30ppm of SO2 post destemming. The fruit was harvested later in the day and came to the winery somewhat warm. No artificial/mechanical cooling was applied so indigenous fermentations began virtually immediately; the stuff rocked on! We immediatedly inoculated ¾ of the fermenters with commercial strains of yeast, but allowed the remainder to ferment on their indigenous strains.
After 17 days of soak and fermentation, the wines were pressed off at between -0.8 and -1.5 Brix, settled overnight in tank and racked to barrel clean.
The 2006 Raptor Ridge Shea vineyard designate is a selection of our 20 best barrels: none of the barrels was 100% new! The cooperage was a range of once-used (20%), twice-used (15%), thrice-used (35%) and the remainder from good quality barrels of four or five uses. Cooperage selected was from Remond, Ermitage, and Francois Frere.
Tasting Notes
Ruby garnet in color. Slight mushroomy earthiness on the initial palate, followed immediately with crisp, wild cherry flavors. High toned and elegant aromas. Moderate palate weight. Lovely sappiness developing.
