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2002 Pinot Noir
Anden Vineyard, special selection Release Date: 9/2004 Retail Price: $ 180 per 6 bottles Production Notes Anden Vineyard (formerly part of Seven Springs Vineyard) overlooks the fertile Willamette Valley from its position in the hills west of Salem. Growing on a steep southeast slope, the vines are protected from maritime winds by a fold in the hills. The vineyard was planted in 1982 on Jory soil, a shallow clay over fractured rock, at an elevation of 400'. The grapes were fermented in a Burgundy oak fermenter after two days of cold maceration. The wine aged French oak barrels for 19 months before bottling. The Cuve de chene, special selection was selected from the best barrels and bottled and a unique cuvee This Pinot noir complements foods with wild berry, earth, and spice flavors - gamebirds, venison, wild mushrooms - and will benefit from aging up to 12 years.
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Winemaker Notes
In the past, we have offered wine as a future to ensure that our out-of-state customers could purchase small production wines before they sold out. Our website now allows 24 hour a day access to all of St. Innocent's wines from the moment they are released. As a result, we have stopped offering those wines as a future. In 1999, we began offering another type of future, a unique bottling of a barrel selection. Two to four barrels are selected from the 30 or so barrels of one single vineyard offering and bottled as a special cuvee. These cuvees are sold only at the winery. They represent the best of the best and are always age worthy. We are now offering the third of these special cuvees.
In 2002, we purchased two French oak, Burgundy style fermenters. Used to ferment some of the greatest red Burgundies, I believe they help to capture more of the nuances of Pinot noir. Half of the 2002 Pinot noir, Anden Vineyard was fermented in the Vicard tank. In my 2002 harvest report, I described the fermentation aromas as the best I have ever smelled. After pressing, we barreled the wine from that fermenter separately. Our future offering will be selected from those barrels. Two or three exceptional barrels will be bottled as the 2002 Pinot noir, Anden Vineyard, Cuve de Chene special selection. Futures will be offered from Thanksgiving weekend 2003 through January 2004. Sold in six bottle lots, the finished wine will be available for pick-up (or shipped) in September 2004.