Pinot Noir Antoinette

Antoinette, named after the winemaker’s grandmother, comes from grapes grown on the lauded high-elevation Temperance Hill Vineyard, and represents the most elegant of our single-vineyard offerings. Temperance Hill’s (41-year-old) later and cooler vines at the top of the Eola–Amity Hills AVA deliver old-vine complexity with fresh acidity. These own-rooted vines are from the Front Block, the oldest at Temperance, and their massive root systems go deep to deliver high flavor and nuance to the limited yield. The grapes are wild-yeast fermented in wood and stainless steel, 100% barrel aged for about 15 months in primarily older French Oak, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. The best six to eight barrels are selected for Antoinette, whose profile is light-on-its-feet sweet cherry with tangerine, cardamom, with warmer clove and orange accents. The seamless combination of acid and tannin suggest elegance, and that’s really the watchword of this wine.