2021 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Laurelwood District Willamette Valley

The initial nose of spiced black cherry, blackberry reduction and cinnamon expand to aromas of white pepper spice, lavender and bergamot. The mouth is velvety textured with honeyed notes and savory hints of juniper, sage, and cedar. The lingering tannins hold a hint of graphite and dark chocolate.

This vintage brought with it a huge sigh of relief and many smiles to grape growers and winemakers throughout the valley. After the smoke filled 2020 vintage, and
the “heat dome” events in the summer of 2021, we wondered what was next! Thankfully, the heat events seemed to do little damage and, in fact, appeared to have killed off any mildew issues that may have been there. The early rains in September refreshed the vines and the fruit started coming in mid-September perfectly clean, ripe, and full of flavor. Reminiscent of 2012, the nights were very cool creating wines with balanced acidity, big aromatics, and delicious full flavors. Yields were somewhat smaller than expected, but that only adds to the intensity of color and structure of the wines. An added benefit to this vintage was all the happy people so energized to harvest and create beautiful wines again. That must transfer to the wines themselves!

This Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from the new Laurelwood District AVA; Ponzi Vineyard’s Avellana and Aurora Vineyard and Linda Vista Vineyards, Paloma, Alloro, and Gemini. All LIVE Certified Sustainable and grown in Laurelwood soil.

The fruit was hand sorted with 35% whole cluster fermented and 65% destemmed. Fermented in small lots with five days of cold soak to increase aroma and color, the peak temperatures reached 90°F. The fermenters were aerated or manually punched down twice a day (for 12-20 days) before 5 days of post fermentation maceration. This wine was aged in French oak barrels (37% new) for 14 months. It was racked and bottled by gravity and aged in bottle for 12 months before its release.

Alcohol is 13.8%. Finished pH is 3.69 and a Titratable acidity of 5.5 g/L.