Description
In 2013, the growing season was early, starting with a warm wet spring, then an exceptional summer that briefly yielded to a wayward storm in late September. Harvest of ripe fruit begins at Firesteed’s Estate Vineyard on Hwy. 99 W on September 16th, then three days later at our Erratic Oaks Vineyard on Ballard Road. Picking continued there and several other selected sites around the Willamette Valley, finishing up on October 15th. Our 2013 Pinot Noir continues the Firesteed tradition of a consistent fruit driven style, achieved with gentle techniques in the cellar and imagination in the vineyard. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts propagated from cellars in Burgundy, pressed during the last days of fermentation, and racked as soon as the wine finished malo-lactic fermentation. A touch of barrel-aged wine was included in the blend to round out the flavors and enhance complexity. Lively and expressive, this wine’s aromas of raspberry, cinnamon, blueberry and flavors of cocoa powder and Rainier cherry, encourage second sip before flowing into the soft, lingering finish. Wine Analysis: pH: 3.59 / TA: 5.50 g/l / Alcohol: 12.0%
