2016 Pinot noir ~ Jessie James Vineyard
tasting notes
rich red fruit, savory, spice and forest floor, broad weight, fine tannins, elegant length, poised and complex, youthful
ava Eola-Amity Hills
elevation 675 feet
aspect south-east, gentle to moderate slope
soils Volcanic Basalt, nekia series
vine age planted 1996
clonal selection Pommard and Wadenswil
farming Dry-Farmed, Organic management
harvest September 20, 2016
bottled september 6, 2017
cases produced 200
the Terroir
The eola-Amity Hills is situated to the immediate east of the Van Duzer Corridor, the "air-conditioning" pathway through the Coast Range where marine air enters from the west and cools the Willamette Valley. the high-density (2,400 vines/acre), four acre planting of vines at Jessie James is on the east-facing side of the EA Hills at high elevation‒ripening here is very patient. Furthermore, the vineyard is in a rain shadow, allowing the grapes to reach peak maturity with less risk of botrytis rot, when‒as is not infrequent‒rains threaten the harvest in September and October. Lastly, the Nekia soil (shallow volcanic basalt) provides appropriat