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2006 Pinot Gris
Vitae Springs Vineyard Release Date: 9/1/07 Retail Price $: 19.00 Availability: 783 cases Production Notes Vitae Springs Vineyard, established in 1986 and expanded in 1999, is located in the rolling hills five miles south of Salem, Oregon. The grapes come from two blocks. The original planting is at the base of the 'home block' on a warm south slope of well-drained Jory clay at an average elevation of 400'. The more recent 'Inwood' vineyard is planted on a steeper hillside on thinner, volcanic Nekia soil running from 400-500'. 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
I began making Pinot gris produced from Vitae Springs in 1993. In 1999, I asked Earl Van Volkinburg, the grower, to quadruple the acreage, and those vines are now in full 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 unique 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 greater richness of fruit and viscosity after 4-7 years.
Tasting Notes
The majority of the grapes for this wine come from the younger Inwood planting. Those vines are 7 years old and are now appoaching maturity. In order to get the concentration and textures in the wine that I am looking for, we thin to a yield of 2.7 tons per acre. This compares to the average Alsace and Oregon yield of 5 tons per acre. The vines are small because the soil is thin, but the quality of the fruit is very high.
My focus is to produce Pinot gris made in an Alsacian style. I am looking for textural complexity; a wine that moves throughout your mouth. By picking late and harvesting at full ripeness, the signature spice component of Pinot gris is revealed. Vitae Springs has a Clementin orange peel quality to its fruit.
The 2006 Pinot gris, Vitae Springs Vineyard has an intensely spicy nose with orange peel and citrus notes. That spiciness continues into the mouth with pear, apple and citrus flavors. It is very textural in the mouth. Completely dry, it is a great match for Asian-influenced foods, appetizers, and fish entrees.