Pinot Noir – Oracle Vineyard, Dundee Hills
$1.00
| Country | USA |
|---|---|
| Region | Oregon |
| Producer | Westrey |
| Size | 750mL |
| Style | Red |
| Practices | Organic |
| Grapes | Pinot Noir |
| Other Features | Vegan, Indigenous yeasts, Natural, Unfiltered, Unfined |
The 2013 blend includes barrels selected from all of the blocks from Westrey’s estate vineyard except the old-vine block. “After a typical bloom in mid-June, that included some loss due to rain, a wonderful summer unfolded for the growing season. This was challenged right as we were preparing for harvest as a massive storm came through to dump rain on us. But, it was short and intense and delayed us to the enhancement of the fruit. Bring nicely cooler temperatures and washing the dust off of the leaves so that the vines could ripen the fruit purely; we started to pick in early October under sunny skies and beautiful cool days. Balance fruit that was aromatically pure and phenolically ripe rolled into the winery. Only problem, not very much of it. Crop levels were down by around 50% and Oracle Pinot Noir production is down by almost 70% for the vintages on either side of 2013. All lots were fermented with indigenous yeast in open-top 1,500-liter fermentors with complete destemming. This seventeen barrel lot had four new barrels, four one year old, and the balance in neutral wood. The wine displays the classic pure red fruits (pomegranate, red current and raspberry) and rich medium weighty fruit that the 2013 vintage produced from Oracle. After an indigenous malolactic fermentation, it was racked with inert gas in the spring of 2014, and was bottled unfined and unfiltered in September of 2014 after eleven months in oak. 385 cases & 3 cases of magnums produced. 13.1% alcohol.
About the Producer
Westrey Wine Company was founded in 1993 by co-winemakers Amy Wesselman and David Autrey, along with David’s father, Robert Autrey, in Oregon’s burgeoning Willamette Valley. While getting Westrey off the ground, Amy was the General Manager and Assistant Winemaker for David Lett at the Eyrie Vineyards and then the Executive Director at the International Pinot Noir Celebration, a position to which she has recently returned. Amy and David focus on crafting elegant Pinot Noir wines, fruit-driven "Burgundian"-style Chardonnay and crisp, refreshing Pinot Gris. The wines are designed to be balanced and ageworthy, always complementing and enlivening the food with which they are served.
Sourcing fruit both from the vineyards of long-time and well respected friends in the Willamette Valley and from their own Oracle vineyard in the Dundee Hills AVA, Amy and David use these various puzzle pieces of fruit to build complexity into their wines. Vineyard-designated bottlings are designed to showcase the connection between the individual farms where the grapes are grown and the final personality of the wine.
Farming practices: Amy and David strive to grow their grapes and make their wines using a sustainable approach. The vineyard is LIVE Certified, a credential that is earned by taking into account not only organic approaches to farming but also by considering the inputs and outputs of the farm as a whole. Through their commitment to the !Salud! program Amy and David help to provide healthcare to vineyard workers who are otherwise uninsurable. The winery currently produces approximately 4,000 to 5,000 cases annually.
MATT KRAMER: “Westrey is an exemplar of Oregon pinot noir perfectionism. Few, if any, Oregon wineries exceed Westrey in pinot noir quality, even when their prices are well in excess of anything Westrey asks.”
Westrey
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