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1999 Ridgecrest Vineyards CERISE™
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The Wine
Cerise™ is our name for a predominant Gamay noir blend with Pinot noir. Both varietals are best done in Burgundy and both exhibit a palate of cherry flavors and aromas. "Cherry" in French, Cerise is our tribute to a high fruit, moderately serious red wine. In Burgundy they do one too, called passetoutgrains, blended close to an 80% Gamay noir and 20% Pinot noir, for drinking while waiting for their highly structured Pinots to develop. Ours is made with the same casual purpose in mind.
The Vineyard
Our oldest estate vineyard, Ridgecrest is a 37 acre vineyard on a 72 acre property. Beginning in 1980, this site pioneered grapegrowing on Ribbon Ridge, a small ridge on the western end of the Chehalem Range and Valley. Soils are Willakenzie, a transition soil series exhibiting characteristics of both volcanic and sedimentary underlying structures. The rich, supple black cherry and blackberry fruits are characteristic of Ridgecrest Vineyard and the Willakenzie soil type. Excellent acidity and a finesseful texture and finish are hallmarks of the vineyard site, being relatively high in elevation, mature in vine age and deeply rooted. There are two acres of gamay noir planted at the site, in perhaps the oldest commercial planting in the US.
The Vintage
The 1999 vintage is the second of three excellent vintages in a row. A great year for white wines because of retained acidity, Pinot noir also benefited from good structure and good ripeness, making the vintage good for aging. Some vineyards were exceptional in the vintage, others very good. Ridgecrest was exceptional, providing very low croploads, thanks to our conservative crop thinning, and resultant deep extraction.
Stats
Harvest Data:
Harvested on 10/18/99 @ an average 24.3 brix, 3.09pH, and 9.0 g/l TA
Fermentation:
14 days total fermentation with 7 days pre maceration
Cooperage/Aging:
18 months in barrel, without racking
Wine Selection:
Gamay noir and Pinot noir from Ridgecrest
Bottling:
Bottled 05/11/01
Bottling Analyses:
13.9% alcohol, 8.0g/l TA, 3.12pH
Cases Produced:
100
Suggested Retail:
$18
Release Date:
May, 2001
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Winemaker's Comments
This is a deeply extracted, blackish purple gamay noir with great fruit and acid density. One gets the idea it could stand without a glass. There is bright acidity from the vintage, to the degree that it had difficulty finishing malolactic, so it will maintain its brightness and fruit for awhile. The wine has deep and dusty black fruit, bordering on cassis or an old-style deeply extracted zinfandel, laced with chocolate and fine tannin. From a one ton/acre harvest, this could not be a bigger mouthful of fruit!