Le Cadeau Vineyard Cote Est Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：5151

Reflecting the coolest sector of Le Cadeau in this exceptionally cool vintage and vinified as usual by Steve Ryan, the 2011 Pinot Noir Cote Est projects sage-laced sour cherry along with peppered bacon and other resinous allusions to toasted oak. There is sappy brightness here to be sure, but no saliva-inducing savor; and resinous, woody as well as decadently autumn foliage notes are what linger longest, drying and displacing any sense of juiciness. At Mortimer’s request – because it had been bottled the July week of my visit – I put off tasting this until September, when I did so from two sample bottles. I’m hoping it will benefit from a bit longer post-bottling rest, and won’t attempt yet at this point to handicap its bottle evolution. “We spent around $25,000 dollars extra on farming,” relates proprietor Tom Mortimer of the 2011 vintage, specifically due to “l(fā)arge clusters that necessitated us dropping to one cluster per shoot. And as soon as there was anything to cut off, we got rid of all the shoulders. And then – since we still had more than we wanted in these very cool conditions – we went in and did individual cluster surgery, taking off ears and tails. We farmed the heck out of the vineyards,” he concludes, Aand were then super-cautious with vinification and in choice of barrels (for eventual assemblage), bottling only very small volumes: 75-150 cases of our top-tier cuvees. (In addition to Mortimer’s further collaboration with Jim Sanders under the Aubichon label that serves as an outlet for lesser Le Cadeau barrels, the two also release wines under the name “Jolete” that involves fruit from both of those other projects. Notes on recent releases will be found in this report under the name of each label.) Given this incredibly rocky site’s high elevation, it’s perhaps unsurprising, once the exceptional circumstances of this vintage are granted, that picking here continued into the first week of November. For much more about this amazing vineyard high up on Parrett Mountain; its diverse blocks; and its vinification by multiple winemakers, please consult Issue 202. (The Cote Est and Rocheux bottlings are labeled “Oregon” but not “Willamette Valley” due to restrictions imposed by their being raised in California winemakers’ facilities.) Tel. (503) 625-2777