VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
Like the rest of the world, 2014 was a really warm year in Oregon. On average, the Willamette Valley typically receives around 2200 growing degree days; in 2013, it was 2717 but we hit 2867 in 2014. We had a very dry summer and the nights never really cooled down. It was not hot, and we did not get many days above 95°F but the weather was just warm in the day and warm in the night. Not typical. Rain fall was below normal but not drastically below. We did not turn on the limited irrigation that we have in our top pinot blocks as the vines never became water stressed. What did this do to the grapes? Surprisingly, this was the largest crop we have ever seen at Sokol Blosser, and 2014 was our 44th year of winegrowing in the Dundee Hills. Such a large crop can greatly increase disease pressures, but with the dry summer and dry harvest time conditions, the crop came in as clean and disease free as in 2012. Even with thinning the crop back 40-50% in the vineyard we still received on average about 3.35 tons an acre for our pinot noir. What has resulted is a wine with dark color and great intensity.
WINEMAKER NOTES
Our Dundee Hills Estate Pinot Noir captures and expresses the delicate fruit characteristics associated with this varietal, and we balance that with structure and age-ability. In order to achieve this balance we combine a couple of key distinctive winemaking techniques. We increase structure and complexity in the mouthfeel through a lengthy post-fermentation maceration making up about 70% of this blend. To retain the pureness of the pinot noir fruit characters expressed early in fermentation, the other 30% has limited skin contact by removing the wine from the skins immediately following fermentation. Our entire Estate is represented in this cuvée with a percentage of each block coming together in a single blend.
SCORES
92 points – Wine Enthusiast
91 points – James Suckling
90 points – Wine Spectator
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
Pommard UCD4
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 1998
BOTTLED
April 2021
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10-15 Years
PRODUCTION
354 Cases
CERTIFICATIONS
Made with 100% certified organic grapes
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
It was clear something was different with the 2019 harvest when fruit flies were spotted at Thistle Vineyard over Labor Day Weekend. The second sign was the dramatic shift in the weather forecast. At the end of August, we believed we would have a “warmer and drier” than average September/October. Sounds good huh?!?!? Then, at the end of September we got 2.7” of rain… which is double the average, and we had one of the coolest Septembers on record. We remembered and applied the key learnings from prior similar vintages in our approach to the 2019 harvest – get the grapes as ripe as possible with as little fruit degradation as possible. Even with a longer hang time this year the grapes had less sugar, high pHs and high acids. Consequently, we based our picking decision more on the taste of the juice and looking at the weather. We had 5 distinct rain events from when we started harvest on September 3 to when we ended picking on October 10th, and these individual rain events sometimes lasted multiple days. In the end, we got as much ripeness as possible and are very happy about what we put into barrel.
WINEMAKING
The grapes from this block were carefully hand harvested on September 21st. The clusters were then sorted by hand to remove any flawed bunches and 100% de-stemmed directly into 3 ton stainless steel fermenters. The wine was inoculated with our house native yeast and spent 14 days fermenting with cap management done with only punch downs. This was a cooler vintage with long, cooler ferments. After being pressed at dryness the wine was aged entirely in French oak barrels for 16 months with with 29% new oak. 14 barrels were hand selected for this blend.
WINE PROFILE
On the nose, this wine shines with notes of red cherry, craisin, allspice, toast, moss and dried raspberry. On the palate, the cherry becomes darker, as the fruits and spice are joined by oyster mushrooms.
PAIRINGS
This wine will pair with seared king trumpet mushrooms and beef tenderloin.
SCORES
93 points – Decanter
92 points – Wine Advocate
90 points – Wine Spectator
THE STORY
When Alex Sokol Blosser was growing up, this block was not planted to pinot noir, but to riesling. During this time Bill and Susan Sokol Blosser tried their infamous and failed experiment of fencing it in and releasing a flock of geese to consume the grass. Since then, the Sokol Blosser’s have always called it “Goosepen.” When we had to re-plant the block due to Phylloxera, it was decided that the highest and best use of that site was for pinot noir and not for riesling. This was not a failed experiment. To this day, Goosepen is Alex’s favorite of our single vineyard blocks. It does not have the rich tannins of its northern neighbor, Big Tree, nor the finesse of the Orchard Block. It has fruit. A lot of rich fruit that can be heavy some years (2014) and complex in other years (2012 and 2015). Drinking a glass of Goosepen always reminds Alex that experimenting is a two edge sword; sometimes you get the goose, and sometimes the goose gets you!
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
777 & 115
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 2000
BOTTLED
February 2023
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13%
PROPER CELLAR
LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
483 Cases
CERTIFICATIONS
Made with 100% certified organic grapes
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
2021 was the 2nd warmest growing season we have ever seen since 2015. We also got to add a new term to the dictionary: “Heat Dome”. Three straight days of triple digit temperatures in late June breaking heat records for the Willamette Valley! Bud break started like usual in the middle of April. We had the driest March through May that the Willamette Valley has seen through 128 years of record keeping! Bloom also appeared on time in early/mid June. While late June brought the “Heat Dome”, our grapes made it through thanks to bloom being finished at all our sites and there still being soil moisture, so they grew like crazy over those three days of hellish temperatures. While July and August turned out to be exceedingly hot and dry, September arrived with little rain which that allowed us to fully ripen the grapes. The hot and dry summer made for fruit that was extremely clean, resulting in for excellent fermentations. All in all, mother nature gave us something to be grateful for on our 50th anniversary.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were harvested on September 13th and 21st and fermented in 3-ton stainless steel tanks. It was then aged for 16 months in 15% new French Oak barrels.
WINE PROFILE
Our 2021 Big Tree Block Pinot Noir has fresh pomegranate, dark cherry, and a slight floral presence on the nose. On the palate, pomegranate and dark cherry continue with rhubarb coming to the forefront followed by a lovely long finish.
SCORES
92 points – Vinous
91 points – Wine Enthusiast
THE STORY
What is a boy to do when his favorite climbing tree is ruthlessly chopped down by his father in the name of grape growing? Well, Alex Sokol Blosser is still trying to figure that one out. Until then, Alex drinks Big Tree Pinot Noir and thinks about climbing the strong limbs of a solitary, beautiful, and graceful Big Leaf Maple Tree that used to lie smack dab in the middle of a block of Pinot Noir. Big Tree is strong like its namesake with the most powerful tannins of any Pinot Noir coming off our estate. Shallow soil on this site makes the vines struggle more than the rest of our vineyard and produces strength in the wine.