WINEMAKER'S NOTES
Floral components of rose, hibiscus and violet rise from the glass to mingle with impressions of black cherry, cedar, barrel toast and mint. The Pommard grapes in the Homestead Block have always provided a weighty mouth feel, and the 2004 is the same case. Dark cherry, cedar, sweet oak and baking spice compliment a classic Pinot Noir meatiness. Still tightly wound, the wine begs the patience of the wine drinker in order to realize its depth. Fine-grained tannins accompany a persistent finish.

ACCOLADES
Recommended. Always a big wine, made from juicy, silky lush old vine (24 year) Pommard vines, less than 300 cases of this big wine were made. The original farm house was built on this plot, ths the "Homested" designation.

Note that 12.6% alcohol, quite low for an Oregon Pinot noir, and makes this wine about flavor, not "kick."

Big, weighty, this wine takes its time opening up but rewards with big flavors. Scents of rose, hibiscus, and violet mingle wiht hints of black cherry, cedar, barrel toast and mint. Flavors restate the sentents, and add off-the-charts intense juicy dark cherry, with cedar, sweet oak and creamy pie spices adding to a classic Pinot "meaty" quality. The meaty, savory, massive quality steps into the background with age and aeration, opening up to those rich red and black cherry flavors we love in a Pommard.

This is a big, weighty wine. It's tight and young, needs cellaring or, if you must, lengthy decanting to show itself at its best right now. There are very finegrained, silky tannins in the creamy finish.

The balance and layered flavors make this wine our favorite of the last three vintages, especially for cellaring. Drink from 2008 - 2014 - comparable to much more expensive Pinots with aging.

THE VINEYARDS
Homestead Block is a small plot on which sat the homestead of the family that first settled the land. The gentle slope, planted to Pommard grape vines in 1982, is a reliable source of grapes of exceptionally pure dark fruit character.

WINEMAKING
Grapes are hand harvested in the early-morning cool, screened for quality, and delivered to the winery where they undergo destemming and cold-maceration prior to fermentation. The gentle process facilitates maximum color extraction and soft tannins. Following fermentation, the wine was aged 10 months in 50% new oak barrels and 50% once-filled barrels. We selected new fine-grained oak barrels from the Vosge forest and coopered by Mercurey in order to enhance in a subtle way the fruit character of this particular wine. The wine was then blended and returned to barrels for an additional five months of aging during which time the wine flavors continue to meld and integrate with the tannins.