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2008 Pinot Gris
Vitae Springs Vineyard Release Date: 9/1/09 Retail Price $: 20.00 Availability: 752 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.
There are two blocks of Pinot gris at Vitae Springs Vineyard. The original planting is at the 'home' vineyard is 20 years old. The younger Inwood planting is 11 years old and in full production. In order to get the concentration and textures in the wine that I limit the yield by thinning to achieve a yield of 2.7 tons per acre. This compares to the average Alsace and Oregon yield of 5 tons per acre. The vines struggle, especially in their youth, because the soil is thin, but the quality of the fruit from this site is very high.
My focus is to produce Pinot gris made in an Alsacian style. These wines are known for their textural complexity; the way the wine feels and moves inside your mouth. Pinot gris intrigues me because of its unique spiciness. By picking late and harvesting at full ripeness, the signature spice component of Pinot gris is revealed.
Our Vitae Springs Pinot gris is produced in a style to accentuate that spice along with concentrated and complex fruit charactors. It is fermented and aged in stainless steel (no barrels) to retain the purity of those flavor and textural components. The wine ages beautifully and attains greater richness of fruit and viscosity after 4-7 years.
2008 was an exceptional vintage, made exceptional by being quietly ordinary. Bloom was very late in variable weather. The result was smaller clusters with fewer berries. The summer passed quickly with veraison occuring earlier than expected, leaving the false impression that there was more crop hanging in the vineyard than there really was. Final ripening took place in endless cool, sunny days in an atmosphere of calm that I have never experienced, but hope to again. The fruit was picked clean and perfectly ripe. The only downside was the very small crop, our smallest in ten years.
Tasting Notes
The 2008 Pinot gris, Vitae Springs Vineyard has a wonderfully ripe, spicy nose of melon, Asian pear, and Honeycrisp apples with orange peel and sweet citrus blossom notes. Concentrated apple, pear, fresh blossoms and cobbler spices enter your mouth with a fresh sweetness that melds into a rich minerality and a completely dry finish. It is both textural and persistent in the mouth. Backed by great acidity, its great fruit is perfectly balanced by its length and richness in your mouth. It is a great match for salmon, pork, fish, and Asian-influenced foods and dishes with spicey notes.