2003 Ribbon Springs Vineyard Pinot noir

2003 Ribbon Springs Vineyard Pinot noir

Background:
Lynn and Jack Loacker, co-owners of Adelsheim Vineyard, purchased their 120-acre site on Ribbon Ridge in 1995. It had been abandoned and was overgrown with Scotch broom and blackberries–some imagination was required to see a vineyard there! But after clearing and some re-contouring, they found room for 80 acres of grapes (mostly Pinot noir, but also a little Pinot gris and Auxerrois) and a new home. In the last years, their vineyard has become our most important source of Pinot noir grapes, with high-density plantings of Oregon’s traditional clones as well as all the newer “Dijon” clones. This 2003 bottling is just our third single vineyard wine from Ribbon Springs Vineyard.

Growing Season:
 Even in March of 2003, there were signs that it would be an early year. A warm spring meant budbreak occurred around Easter and flowering took place in mid-June. Once we saw how large the year’s crop would be, we sent our vineyard workers through the rows–often more than once–to thin the crop level enough to ensure rich intensity. As the heat of the summer continued into early autumn, harvest came on fast, and was over after just a few short weeks.
Vineyard Ribbon Springs Vineyard is around the 500-foot elevation on the Ribbon Ridge spur of the Chehalem Mountains. It has a mostly southeast exposure with many large, even-sloped vineyard blocks. The soils are sandstone-based, sedimentary in origin; they would tend toward drought-stress in August or September, were it not for the eponymous springs, and a large reservoir, which serves as an irrigation source. Even in its youth, this vineyard gives us rich, approachable, opulent wines with intense red fruit and rose petal character. This single-vineyard bottling is produced with grapes
from Blocks 1, 21 and 22, which are planted to Pommard clones.

Winemaking:
We harvest by hand and gently de-stem into temperature-controlled, open-top fermenters. These are punched down once or twice a day during a 4-6 day cold soak, then two or three times per day once the fermentation begins. The wines undergo malolactic fermentation in small French oak barrels (25% new) and are aged in barrel for 10 months. Throughout the process, our methods are aimed at increasing complexity while preserving the beautiful fruit that characterizes this vineyard. This wine was blended and bottled in August of 2004.

The Wine:
The 2003 Ribbon Springs Pinot noir is a showcase of pretty, red fruit characters, subtle oak flavors, creaminess and delicate spice. This wine can be enjoyed immediately, or allowed to increase in interest through 2012. It would pair well with such foods as grilled salmon, domestic and wild fowl, and other savory main dishes.

The Label:
Created by artist Bob Bredemeier, this single vineyard design depicts Ribbon Springs Vineyard and the surrounding Chehalem Mountains, with the Adelsheim winery superimposed below. The naïve style, one-point perspective, and lunette format were inspired by the work of the Flemish painter Giusto Utens, who produced a series of 14 tempera paintings depicting the Medici family villas in 1599. Careful viewing will reveal the Loackers’ three golden retrievers in the
foreground.

The Quantity:
Production of this wine was limited to 115 six-bottle cases of 750ml bottles.