Pinot Noir St. Dolores Estate

The dry-farmed, certified-organic St. Dolores Estate (15 years) continues to bring that anomaly of both structured while at the same time juicy, from the vines to the wines. Named with a nod to the winemaker’s Canadian farmgirl mother, the estate vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains AVA is a pretty place, and the team is bringing to bear all of the aforementioned viticultural practices to thoughtfully farm the idea of substantial from it. The resulting grapes are wild-yeast fermented in wood and stainless steel then 100% barrel aged for about 15 months in primarily older French Oak, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. Our St. Dolores Estate single-vineyard bottling is a selection of the best six- to eight barrels. The wine throws dark red garnet, with a nose of dark cherry and sanguine. On the palate it’s an electric red attack of cherry-cranberry, followed by cardamom, white pepper, and a bit of tarragon. The acid-tannin structure is vibrant, but ever so refined.