Limited Addition Pinot Gris/Pinot Noir Co-ferment, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022, United States

The Vitae Springs vineyard in the Willamette Valley’s south Salem hills is an isolated, high-elevation, old-vine vineyard planted in 1977. The own-rooted and dry-farmed site is surrounded by dense conifer forests and is one of the latest ripening vineyard sites that we work with. The original plantings were consisted of pinot noir, pinot gris and Austrian varieties, Riesling, Mueller Thurgau, and Gruner Veltliner, the oldest recorded still producing planting in the US. We work with all of these varieties and the site delivers a unique flavor and aroma profile giving intense umami, flint and a structure acid profile. The Freund family purchased the property in 2018 and their young son works the vines farming organically and incorporating biodynamic practices that suit this marginal site. These own rooted vines of Pommard Pinot noir and the Eyrie clone Pinot gris have grown side-by-side in this vineyard for 45 years. They have a synchronicity about them where they behave more like a family than separate varieties, evolving and ripening in-step. The Pommard is all dark cherries and a hint of sassafras and sandalwood while the Pinot gris is red cherries, cinnamon and cumin spiced. In 2022 I decided again to harvest them together on the same day in mid-October. Arriving at the winery in the early afternoon, we hand sorted them into the destemmer and filled three macro-bins with equal parts of each variety: continuing their journey together for the 2022 season. I now understand why Pinot gris is still found in the old vineyards in Burgundy. The weather, warmer than in previous years, provided the dry warmth that made the ambient fermentation take off at a clip and lasted just twelve days, such is the nature of biodynamic vineyards with healthy nutrient levels. They were fermented to dryness before being pressed and barreled down into neutral oak vessels for the next nine months of their life. Bottled in early August with minimal sulfur to allow their vibrant fruit and spice flavors to shine.

Grape Variety: Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir
ABV: 12.9%
Vol: 750ml