Wines> Library Wines> 1998 Red Hills Estate Pinot Noir
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description | |
Press Acclaim | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
ORIGIN: The Red Hills Estate vineyard has moderate slopes, shallow Jory soils, and southern exposure. It produces one of our finest “vineyard designated” wines. As one of the premier sites in the Red Hills of Dundee, our Red Hills Estate is destined to take its place as one of the best Pinot Noir vineyards in the world.
VINEYARD: This wine comes from the original 1977 planting of the self-rooted Pommard clone and a small amount of our new plantings of Dijon clone 113, 115, 777 and 828. The Jory soils and excellent southern exposure provide ripeness of fruit, penetrating flavors, and texture in this classic Oregon Pinot Noir. The grapes were harvested in late September 1998 at less than 1.2 tons per acre.
WINEMAKING: The wine was vinified traditionally by cold soaking the grapes, using native yeast and 35% whole clusters. The cap was gently punched down two to three times per day. The wine was aged in new heavily toasted François Frères French oak barrels for 14 months. Gently crafted in our 100% gravity flow facility from the arrival of the fruit to bottling, this wine is unfined and unfiltered and was bottled in December 1999.
TASTING NOTES: The 1998 Red Hills Estate has a saturated dark purple color and boasts complex aromas of marion berries, cassis, smoky oak, dark cherries, cinnamon, earth and minerals. This large scaled masculine wine has big firm tannins that are ripe and well integrated with the great concentration of dark fruit. The mid-palate is wide and deep. Brooding and intense, complex with great structure, this is a wine that will reward cellaring.
The vintage produced 499 (750ml) cases, available in our unique four-bottle laydown box, and was offered in 3-liter bottles in limited quantities.