2022 Chehalem Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir

94 Points, Jeb Dunnuck

PGC Blocks: This is the most diverse vineyard we purchase fruit from in terms of clonal makeup, which is a defining aspect of this bottling. Below are the sections that we receive:

Calera Clone: .85 acres. 2010 planting. California heritage clone with an unusual growing pattern that best suits a four fruiting cane trellising system. Clusters are extremely small, and fruit is very intense.

Dijon 943: 2.69 acres. While a Dijon clone, this is better known and far more widely planted in California than Oregon. Bountiful clone with small clusters and dynamic fruit profile.

Erath Clone: 1.91 acres (less than half producing). 1978 planting. Interesting and unique clone set into a swale with cooling influences abounding. Extremely short plants and tiny clusters.

Massale Selection: .2 acres. 2002 planting. A huge mix of at least seven and up to nine different clones. Selection unknown.

Pommard Clone: 1.61 acres. 2001 planting. Tried and true clone. Lowest portion of the vineyard near Dopp Rd.

Wadnesvil Clone: 2.01 acres. 2006 planting. Wheelhouse clone for the winery. The lower portion isolated from all the other blocks.

Farming Practices: Chehalem Mountain Vineyard was recently purchased by Cooper Mountain Vineyard. They are moving from sustainable farming to biodynamic principles with a stop in between of normal organic level farming which is where we are right now. Standard every other row tilling. Heavier cultivation in the short term to properly aerate chunky soil. All Patricia Green Cellars sites are dry farmed.

Picking Dates, Tonnages, Tons/Acre: October 1: Pommard 3.75 tons (2.33 tpa), October 4: Calera 2.39 tons (2.81 tpa), Dijon 943 6.81 tons (2.65 tons/acre) and Massale Selection .39 tons (2.00 tpa). September 8: Wadensvil 5.92 tons (2.95 tpa) and Erath Clone .42 tons (let’s not talk about the pathetic tons/acre).

Vinification: Multiple different approaches:

Destemmed: Dijon 943 (4 fermenters), Massale Block and Erath Clone (1 fermenter)
50% Whole Cluster: Pommard (1 fermenter)
60% Whole Cluster: Wadensvil (4 fermenters)
75% Whole Cluster: Pommard (1 fermenters)

Winemaking: Fermentations were managed by a combination of pumpovers early in the process and exclusively prior to fermentation beginning as well as pigeages to ensure gentle handling, extraction, and delicate tannin construction. Cold soaks were generally 3-4 days with the exception of the Wadensvil which was between 6-7 days. Full fermentation from beginning to pressing was 16-17 days except for Wadensvil which was 20-21 days. 48-72 hours settling prior to being racked to barrel. All wines on full lees until assemblage for bottling. Bottled with a light filtration for clarity purposes right before bottling.

Barrels: This 42-barrel bottling consists entirely of neutral barrels except for 4 new barrels (9%), 12 once-filled barrels (29%), with the rest (62%) being neutral barrels. The wine was in barrel until late June and bottled in late July. Bottling consists of:

Calera Clone: 10 barrels
Dijon 943 and Massale Selection: 17 barrels
Pommard: 7 barrels
Wadensvil: 8 barrels

Notes: This wine combines the fruit driven intensity of the two California clones that make up around 65% of its volume with the more densely structured and earthenly nuanced clones that are common to Oregon. Combined with growing in marine soils and the isolated valley nature of this site it all adds up to a unique, dynamic, and intense without being too powerful sort of Pinot Noir. This is richly colored, highly aromatic and abounding with darker/bluer sort of fruit notes and finishing with an excellent structural composition that reins everything allowing for it to be balanced and delicious in the short term while giving appropriate framing for, most certainly, medium term aging and quite possibly rewarding aging well into a second decade in bottle. This finished with a TA of 5.4, a pH of 3.61 and was bottled with under 30 ppm free SO2 and less than 85 ppm total SO2.