2018 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve Estate Grown Laurelwood District Willamette Valley

Blueberry compote, spiced plum and chocolate aromas laced with savory notes of rosemary, sage, tobacco and shitake. The broad palate gives black licorice, toasted
coconut, amereno cherries and ancho chile surrounding a firm backbone of tarry, dusty tannins. The finish is long and reminiscent of dark chocolate.

Certain vintages make winemakers feel irrelevant; the 2018 vintage in the Willamette Valley was just that. The weather conditions throughout the growing season remained so ideal that the fruit came into the winery in pristine condition, perfectly and slowly ripened to intense flavor and maturity, all the winemaker needed to do was step aside and allow gorgeous wines to happen. The season began with each milestone hit at the expected time (bud break mid- April, flowering mid-June and fruit set in mid-July). The warm and dry summer had us all believing we were in for another early vintage and ripening due to heat stress, but early September rains allowed the vines a drink and cooler nights slowed down ripening to allow the fruit to be picked when perfectly ready.The white wines are aromatic and fresh
with great fruit intensity and the reds are deeply colored with beautiful tannin structure, spicy dark fruits flavors and inherent balance. These wines should be pretty amazing on release, but have all that’s needed to take some age and evolution.

Fruit for the Reserve was sourced from our Estate vineyards, some of the oldest vines in the valley, in the newly designated Laurelwood District AVA. Barrels were selected from Ponzi’s Aurora, Abetina. Madrona and Avellana Vineyards for this Reserve blend

All of the fruit was hand sorted and destemmed. Fermented in small lots with 5 days of cold soak to increase aroma and color, the peak temperatures reached 90 degrees. The fermenters were aerated or manually punched down twice a day (for 12-20 days) before undergoing a post-fermentation maceration to increase structure and length. This wine was aged in French oak barrels (40% new), for 20 months.

Alcohol is 14.3%, finished pH is 3.65 and 5.6 g/L TA.