2005 Pinot Noir Reserve

Winemaker: Stephen J. Cary

Reserve is a term used in the Old World to define wines that have had extended barrel aging, just how long depending on the area and wine in question. Naturally, winemakers who operate under these legal requirements usually put their richest and most structured wines under the Reserve designation. Here in the US there is no legal definition of the term so the winemaker is allowed to declare any wine he or she wants “Reserve”.

At Yamhill Valley we use the term to describe a barrel selection from the best of our eleven Estate blocks. Four of the oldest plantings, from 1983 and 1988, always make up the majority of our Reserves. These wines are then aged from 14-20 months in French oak to help mature the robust structure and fruit intensity that comes from our marine sediment, clay-rich terroir.

2005 was a lovely year. We returned to a cooler growing season, the coolest since 1997. It is certainly possible for a growing season to be too cold but generally we prefer the cool years because they result in wines that are balanced in alcohol, acid and tannin but still have the luscious sweet fruit that is so captivating. We grow Pinot Noir here because we often enjoy just exactly these kind of growing conditions.

We started picking the Reserve fruit on October 17th and finished on the 25th. Those picking dates are later than they have been for eight years and indicative of the long hang time that adds to the wine’s finesse and complexity.

After fermentation the wine was barrel aged in French oak for 16 months and bottled in February of 2007. It is drinking very well at this point (5/08) and I expect it to continue to do so for 3-4 more years.

Harvest Info:
Picking Dates: October 17-25
Yield: 1.9T/Acre
Brix: 24.2 – 25.1
pH: 3.4 – 3.48
TA: 6.0 – 6.4g/ltr

Fermentation:
Vessels: Five-ton open top fermenters
1.5 ton bin fermenters
Yeast: inoculated
Maceration: Punch down/pump over once daily
Duration: 7-11 days

Aging:
Vessels: 100% French oak barrels
Duration: 16 months

Bottling:
Dates: February 14-15/2007
Composition: Selected barrels from seven of our ten Estate plots.
PH: 3.61 – TA 5.6g/l – Alcohol 14.2%
Cases Produced: 950

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