APPELLATION
Dundee Hills
BLEND COMPOSITION
40% Pinot Blanc, 60% Chardonnay
BOTTLED
Tiraged April 2019, Disgorged February 2023
EN TIRAGE
37 months
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
12%
DOSAGE
8g/L (Brut)
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
~5 Years
PRODUCTION
278 Cases
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
The spring of 2018 was warmer than the average over the previous 10 years, and fairly dry. Bud break happened in mid-April and Bloom in early June, which can be a treacherous undertaking as the spring weather can mess up a healthy flowering. A giant hail storm descended on the Dundee Hills in early June, but luckily none of our Sokol Blosser Estate crop was ruined. The summer started like one giant furnace; July was a hot month and wehad a lot of above 90 degree days. Just when it seemed like the hot weather would not stop, August came and more moderate weather with it. This helped slow the ripening down, and even cooler weather in September allowed us to let the grapes hang longer, resulting in riper fruit without additional sugar accumulation. The 2018 vintage is our coolest growing season since 2012, and we believe it will be our best vintage since then.
WINEMAKING
The fruit was hand harvested from Thistle Vineyard on September 6th with the intention of making a sparkling wine, it was picked when the phenolics were low, the acids high, and delicate flavors were just starting to develop. The fruit was gently whole cluster pressed with a Champagne pressing cycle that uses long, light pressure, taking only the pure and best cuts of the cycle. The Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc were fermented and aged separately so we could establish how each would contribute to thecuvée. Both lots were aged for 6 months in 50% stainless steel drums and 50% neutral barrels. The final wine was then put en tirage for 37 months, and then was rested 9months under cork prior to release.
WINE PROFILE
Our 2018 Blanc de Blancs has an expressive nose with prominent notes of brioche and fresh gala apples. On the palate there is wonderful balance of brioche and toasted notes with fresh Bosc pear and apples, ending with a lovely acidity on the finish.
PAIRINGS
Our Blanc de Blancs is perfect for savory pairings such as fresh oysters, lobster rolls, crabcakes and Camembert cheese.
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Chardonnay
GRAPE CLONES
Varied with a 76 and 96 majority
BOTTLED
April 2022
BRIX AT HARVEST
22°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13.5%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
~8–10 Years
PRODUCTION
724 Cases
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/April/May that the Valley has seen through 128 years of record keeping! Bloom, or flowering, 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. July and August turned out to be exceedingly hot and dry, thankfully September started off mild with a couple of rain events that allowed us to fully ripen the grapes. The hot and dry summer made for fruit that was extremely clean, making for excellent fermentations. All in all, mother nature gave us something to be grateful for on our 50th anniversary.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were hand picked from Durant, Anderson Family,and Two Barns vineyards, as well as a small portion from our Estate La Joya Block for the first time! The grapes were harvested in the first half of September, they were pressed as whole clusters to reduce skin contact and then fermented partially in our concrete egg and the rest in French oak, with a portion of new oak. The entire batch went through malolactic fermentation then aged in stainless steel for only 6 months to retain the freshness and vibrancy of the wine.
WINE PROFILE
On the nose, our 2021 Estate Chardonnay shows notes of candied lemon peel, jasmine, and yellow apple, accented with vanilla and elderflower. On the palate, the yellow apple and jasmine are joined by lemon curd, vanilla and finishes with atouch of butter.
PAIRINGS
This wine will pair beautifully with roasted Halibut, classic fried chicken, or fresh Dungeness crab.
SCORES
93 points – James Suckling (2019 – 2016 vintages)
STORY
We make our Chardonnay in the true Oregon style, with less oak and more fresh acidity. Our goal is to showcase the beautiful flavors of Dundee Hills grown Chardonnay fruit and let the wine speak for itself.
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
Wädenswil 2A & Pommard UCD4
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 2006 & 2009
BOTTLED
April 2021
BRIX AT HARVEST
22.5°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
345 Cases
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
What started as a dry winter turned into a deluge of rain in the springtime. We had the wettest and coldest April/May/June in recorded (130 years) history. Freezing temperatures on the morning of April 14th and 15th knocked back the fragile new growth, in fact, until crop estimates were done in late August, we thought our crop yields would be down across the board by 50-60%. The lesson learned is don’t second guess a grapevine. In over 51 years of growing grapes here in the Dundee Hills we have never seen a freezing event during the growing season, so we had no idea what was going to happen. The primary buds froze and died, but the secondary buds came on, produced fewer but larger clusters, and the vines made a miraculous comeback. The coldest and wettest spring turned into the 2nd warmest and driest summer on record, and then we got to October. Everything depended on good
ripening conditions (dry and warm) in the month of October since bloom was much later. Fortunately we got the warmest October in Oregon history, we were able to let the grapes hang, and the rains stayed put until all our Estate fruit was in on Thursday, October 27th. The fruit got nice and ripe, and we are thrilled with the wine produced from this vintage!
WINEMAKING
The fruit was hand harvested from Kalita Vineyard from September 21st to the 24th, and brought back to our Dundee Hills Estate winery were 96% was destemmed and the rest left whole-cluster. The destemmed fruit went through an ambient fermentation while the whole cluster was fermented using our native house yeast. All of this took place in three ton stainless steel tanks with punch-downs for cap management. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak barrels with 20% new oak.
WINE PROFILE
An abundance of black fruit with blackberry, black currants, and black cherry with fresh blossom. A big, rich Pinot Noir with a perfect balance between fruit and tannins.
PAIRINGS
Pair with roasted chicken, beet and goat cheese salad, or a seared rack of lamb with morels.
SCORES
93 points – James Suckling (2021)
92 points – Decanter (2021)
Platinum medal at TexSom
THE STORY
Kalita Estate Vineyard is located in the heart of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in the Willamette Valley. This stunning, bowl shaped vineyard was planted in 2000 by Arthur and Sherry Kalita; it is currently LIVE certified and we are transitioning the vineyard to organic certification.
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
777 & Pommard
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 1998 & 2000
BOTTLED
August 2019
BRIX AT HARVEST
22°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13%
PROPER CELLAR
LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
332 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 excellent fermentations. All in all, mother nature gave us something to be grateful for on our 50th anniversary.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were carefully hand harvested September 12th, making them our first Pinot Noir grapes brought in! They were then sorted by hand to remove any flawed bunches and 100% de-stemmed directly into 3-ton stainless steel fermenters. These fermenters were not immediately inoculated and proceeded with fermentation by ambient yeast which took 5-7 days of soaking to really take off. The wine had 15 days of skin contact with cap management done via gentle punch downs. The wine was pressed off the skins at dryness then aged in neutral French oak barrels for 10 months. We have intentionally chosen not to use new oak in this block as the fruit pairs best with more neutral oak.
WINE PROFILE
The 2021 Peach Tree Block is blackberry and black cherry forward, with hints of mushroom, clove, and spice. A very well-rounded Pinot, and we call it the funky bunch in the mix due to the umami forward notes.
PAIRINGS
Chicken with mushroom puree and swiss chard, beef stroganoff, miso-mushroom risotto, lamb or chicken gyro, and salty cheeses.
THE STORY (as told by Alex Sokol Blosser)
In line with the rest of our vineyard blocks, Peach Tree was named after what was previously planted here: peach trees. I remember those peach trees well, and those ripe peaches still hold a rich place in my imagination for how sweet and juicy they were. The peaches got so big and ripe that my parents would not let me help pick them as my small hand could not encompass enough of the fruit to not tear it. Oh the memories….. Now we have a little over two acres of Pommard and 777 Pinot Noir clone planted in this section. Of all our blocks, it always seems to produce a wild, almost un-focused Pinot Noir,with its power of fruit and flavor going in multiple directions.
APPELLATION
Dundee Hills
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir
BOTTLED
December 2023
RESIDUAL SUGAR
~4g/L
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
12%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
~3 years
PRODUCTION
3,400 Cases
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
2023 was our 3rd warmest growing season on record after the 2015 and 2014 vintages. We had the warmest and driest August on record and if it was not for the rain in early September our harvest would have started before Labor Day Weekend. Three cheers for the rain! One of the interesting things about 2023 was the arrival of our first hail storm right after bloom. We have never seen a damaging hail storm in our vineyard since we started in 1971, so seeing it happen and the resulting damage was at first a little scary. While it looked like our yields might have been higher, the hail storm helped reduce the crop to a more desirable amount. The resulting fruit was excellent, with the heat in August producing lower acid in the grapes and nice full flavors.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were harvested from the south and middle sections of Concert Block on our Estate on September 8th and were immediately destemmed. The fruit was sent directly to the press and gently pressed to minimize extraction of tannins from the skins. The wine saw only 4 hours of skin contact for color. We maintained an extended, slow, cool fermentation of around 2 weeks in strictly stainless steel tanks to preserve the lively fruitiness and delicate floral aromas. The wine did not spend anytime aging as our intention is to create a clean, brightly fruited and delicate Rosé. By fermenting and bottling in a short time, we were able to capture the purity of fruit presented at the time of fermentation. Our 2023 Rosé is a delicate wine that balances red fruit and bright acid with a clean long finish.
WINE PROFILE
Our 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir shines with notes of nectarine, honey crisp apple, honeydew melon and floral hints on the nose. On the palate, mouth-watering acidity is accompanied by candied strawberry, cantaloupe, and a touch of vanilla.
PAIRINGS
Watermelon summer salad with feta and cucumber, Caprese salad, goat cheese omelette, herb focaccia, quiche, dark chocolate and chocolate covered strawberries.
SCORES
93 & Editor’s Choice – Wine Enthusiast (2022)
90 – James Suckling (2022)
THE STORY
We only use Pinot Noir grapes to produce this classic, dry Rosé. We harvest our Pinot Noir from our Concert Block, the large, central block at the front of our Estate that was once the site of the famous Sokol Blosser concerts in the 1990’s. The majority of the Concert Block section Missoula flood soil, a sedimentary soil which lends itself to producing Pinot Noir that is lighter and delicate, perfection for a Rosé. Harvested and crafted with intention, we make this wine to capture Oregon summer sunshine in a bottle.
APPELLATION
100% Yamhill-Carlton
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir
BOTTLED
September 2022
BRIX AT HARVEST
24.5º
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
15%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
264 Cases
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
In the heart of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA lies Elk Cove’s Mount Richmond Vineyard. The second-generation of the Campbell family farms this steep vineyard that is known for its marine sedimentary soils and we were fortunate enough to source fruit from the very crown of the vineyard as part of an exchange between our families.The fruit was hand harvested from Blossom Ridge on October 9th and brought back to our Estate winery where100% was destemmed. Over a 21-day period the wine went through a slow, cool fermentation with ambient yeast in 3 ton stainless steel tanks, with punch-downs for cap management. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak barrels with18%new oak.This is our first year producing wine from this highly sought after vineyard. Due to its high elevation this site ripens later, leading to a nice balance of fruit and delicacy.
WINE PROFILE
Our 2021 Mt Richmond Pinot Noir is fruit forward, big, and silky smooth. Find hints of blackberry, rose petals, with a chocolate and espresso finish. A very well-rounded Pinot Noir.
PAIRINGS
Pair with classic braised oxtail ravioli, grilled pork tenderloin, and even campfire s’mores!
