Dai Crisp has managed this vineyard organically for several years now and the fruit has become highly sought after by many wineries. It’s a large vineyard with lots of blocks in a range of styles, but this one (a mixed planting of Pommard, Dijon 115, and Dijon 777 clones) has always been my favorite. So, when Dai approached me and asked if I would like the fruit from it, I could only weep and say thank you, yes, and did I say thank you enough? I have no doubt this wine will make you a fan of Temperance Hill! At 750 to 800 feet above sea level, it’s our highest vineyard, hence the brightest acidity. If you’re like me, you’ll find flavors of crushed blackberries and raspberries with plenty of raciness, but that raciness is balanced by a rich layer of smoky, dusty earth too. This is an exhilarating wine!
2007 Vintage Report
What a year! If you remember the weather in 2007 you'll remember one thing - rain. The spring wasn't too bad, and we actually had a pretty good set. But we had several unseasonably cool and rainy weeks throughout the summer and early fall. Followed by buckets and buckets of rain in October.
Luckily we were able to get some of our fruit for sparkling in before the end of September, and a little bit of Cabernet from Klipsun Vineyard in Eastern Washing (we put it in our port). Other than that, we just had to hold tight. It was brutal because the fruit wasn't ripe, and the rain just kept coming. We were dreaming of arks and keeping our fingers crossed that it would eventually stop.
We gambled, and sure enough, we won. The sun came out on the 23rd of October and we had gorgeous wetehr till the end of the month. We gave things a few days to dry out and sweeten up, and bam, we went out and picked it all. Somehow we survived, and actually prodcued some incredible wines, in spite of it all. Welcome to Oregon.
At R. Stuart & Co. we hang our hat on blended Pinot noirs. The Big Fire Pinot and the Autograph are really the cornerstones of what we do.
Having said that, it’s still lots of fun to make single vineyard Pinot noirs. In 2007 I made six of them. All in small lots – just about 100 cases each – and all are unfined and unfiltered. We age them each for about 10 months in a combination of new to 5 year old French oak.
Taste and explore these wines for yourself. Watching them unfold over the years is a fascinating and delicious pastime – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
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