"COOLEST, COOL CLIMATE VARIETALS"

Red Wine

Go to White Wines ->

2006 Umpqua Valley Bench Lands Pinot Noir

We source fruit from a number of vineyards for this blend, all with close proximity to the Umpqua River. Some sites have stony alluvial river soils, some have sedimentary clays. All are influenced by the cool maritime air and fog that are drawn daily inland preserving fresh berry/cherry fruit and bright acidity. The wine is a beautiful garnet red rimmed with violet. The aroma is lush with dark cherry, blue berry and ripe plums. The bouquet is filled with toast and spice, showing nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. The flavors abound with blueberries and cranberries with overtones of pomegranate with dark cherries. The mouthfeel is full, pleasing and warm with a long toasty finish. All of our pinots are made the same way. Small lots are fermented separately with hand punch downs, gently pressed and barreled “dirty” to 100% French oak, 33% new. This allows us to stir the lees and build structure and mouthfeel, while maintaining the minerality inherent in Umpqua Valley fruit. We feel this wine is a great value and should be enjoyed regularly. Experiment with pairings, but right now I can imagine it with rotisserie grilled game hens stuffed with lemons, garlic and rosemary.

Bottled (cork free) September 2007 | 2961 cases | 14.3% alcohol by volume

Retail: $22 | Case: $237.60 | Buy

2006 Love Puppets Pinot Noir

The wine is deeply colored with hues of ruby and purple around the edges. The aromas and bouquet are warm and inviting with candied sour cherries, blackberries, persimmon pudding and spice cake with notes of racy oak toast. The flavors revolve around great dark cherry fruit. The mouthfeel is nothing short of voluptuous. This wine coats the mouth with a warm pleasing impression that lasts and lasts and lasts. There are well integrated very fine tannins that are nicely balanced by refreshing acidity. This wine is the real deal, a very decadent and hedonistic pinot noir. All of the grapes in this wine come from our favorite dry farmed vineyards, all with yields of less than two tons per acre. The resulting structure is phenomenal. 2006 is going to prove to be a fabulous vintage for pinot noir in the Umpqua Valley and this wine represents the best of the grapes we bring in from our diverse growers.

Bottled September 13, 2007 | 800 cases | 14.3% alcohol by volume

Retail: $30 | Case: $324 | Buy

2006 Ferris Wheel Estate Pinot Noir

The wine has a very deep ruby color with garnet highlights ringing the edges in the glass. It is clear and brilliantly bright. The aromas are a striking mix of dark fruits, dark cherry, blueberry, with pronounced elements of spicy cedar and cola. The bouquet is very complex with notes of oak spice, coconut and tar with damp forest floor that brings out an evident wild mushroom quality. In the mouth the flavors echo all of the dark cherry and blueberry characteristics with well integrated barrel toast and caramelized orange rinds. The flavors last and last. The mouth feel is very supple and filling. The finish is very long and full and rounded. With airing the wine begins to show red fruits, particularly cranberry and pomegranate, in the nose and on the palate. This indicates good aging potential and we have noticed that the wine is even better the next day, though that doesn’t happen very often. Our estate fruit becomes more profound with each vintage and the ’06 is a deeper wine in every way when compared to the award winning ’05. We are very excited about the continuing development of the Ferris Wheel Vineyard and the quality of fruit that we get to work with. We enjoyed this wine with duck that was brined and then cooked on the BB-Q rotisserie.

Bottled September 2007 | 452 cases | 13.8% alcohol by volume

Retail: $38 | Case: $410.40 | Buy

2004 Syrah

This wine is a blend of fruit from the Marshanne Vineyard near Oakland and the Fox Hill Vineyard located north of Cole Road, close to the hamlet of Umpqua, with a perfect southern aspect. Both contribute unique qualities to this wine. We find earthy, toasty, meaty nuances in the Marshanne fruit and intense black pepper, with blueberries and damson plums in the Fox Hill fruit. These flavor characteristics blend seamlessly in this wine and our oak treatment of 100% small French barrels, 33% new, lends a perfect balance of spice and vanillin richness. The wine has good body and texture with a nice round mouth feel and a welcoming long, lingering finish. The acidity and sumptuous fruit make this wine a wonderful accompaniment to slow roasted meats, game and flavorful grilled steak.

Bottled September 2005 | 599 cases | 13.5% Alcohol

Retail: $27.00 | Case: $291.60 | Buy

2004 Umpqua Valley Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is the one Bordeaux variety that is well suited to slightly cooler climates. We source our cabernet franc from Marshanne Landing Vineyard, a more continental climate and considerably warmer than Elkton, but still a cool climate site. Cabernet franc is usually used as a blending tool, but we choose to bottle this wine as a stand alone varietal, in celebration of its typicity, reminding us of the wines of the Loire. The wine has typical aromas and flavors of raspberries, violets and pencil shavings. The body is medium full with a warm and long finish. The wine has moderate tannins and a good acid balance. Our style is to make wines that are a fine addition to your table and this wine would be a well suited accompaniment to spit roasted, herb stuffed game hens or bacon wrapped venison chops. Or, try with a well aged beef steak, simply rubbed with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, grilled to medium rare.

Bottled September 2005 | 62 cases | 13.6% alcohol by volume

Retail: $29 | Case: $313.20 | Buy