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2002 Pinot Gris
Vitae Springs Vineyard Release Date: 8/18/03 Retail Price $: 16.00 Availability: 479 cases Production Notes Vitae Springs Vineyard, established in 1986, is located in the rolling hills five miles south of Salem, Oregon. The grapes come from the lower hillside on a warm south slope of well-drained Jory clay at an average elevation of 400'. We produced this Pinot gris in a style to bring out ripe fruit and spice flavors without the influence of barrel aging. The must was tank fermented, aged for eight months on the lees, and lightly filtered before bottling.
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Winemaker Notes
Most of my Pinot gris eggs are in this basket. Six years ago I asked Earl Van Volkinburg, the grower, to quadruple the acreage, and those vines are now in into production. The Vitae Springs Pinot gris used to be the smallest production lot at St. Innocent (one year we only produced 83 cases), but no longer.
Pinot gris intrigues me because of its lovely spiciness. We make two gris - Shea and Vitae Springs Vineyards. Vitae Springs is done in a fruit forward style with no barrel aging. It emphasizes purity of fruit. The wine captivates your nose and mouth with its intriguing balance of fruit and spice. The wine ages beautifully and attains an even greater richness of fruit and viscosity after 4-7 years.
Tasting Notes
2002 was the ripest white wine vintage during the last 15 years that I have been making wine. The Vitae Springs fruit was picked at 24.7 degrees Brix and we managed to ferment the wine dry. The fruit and spice aromas are very intense with great concentration on the palate and a clean, lingering finish. The fruit is similar to ripe oranges or Clementines and the spice has an almost chili-like heat. The 2002 Vitae Springs gris is more Alsacian in charactor than in past vintages and is certainly the most intense.