Of the white wines we have made, this is our favourite. From the first samples from tank it displayed excellent concentration balanced by refreshing acidity. Since then it has put on considerable weight in bottle. Lively aromas of pear, quince, apple and melon greet the nose. In the mouth the wine gives an impression of corpulence, yet the finish is crisp and clean, with a lingering aftertaste of pears.
We have found it to be an ideal partner for a wide range of foods, from oysters, seared scallops or tuna through salmon, pasta with morel sauce, roast chicken and veal.
How did it get this way? Well…
In 2008, bud break occurred during the last week of April, and bloom during the last week of June; late timing for both of these events in the northern Willamette Valley. The growing season began with cool and wet weather. The heat of summer, with daytime high temperatures above 90 F, arrived in mid June. July was also relatively hot, which enabled the ripening of the grapes to catch up to a more normal timeframe. August and September were warm, although not above average. These Pinot Grigio grapes were picked between October 8 and 18 during warm, Indian summer conditions. As a result the fruit was perfectly clean with excellent flavours with a nice balance between ripeness (22.3 Brix) and acidity (7.28 g/L) at a yield of 3.39 tons per acre.
The winemaking regimen consisted of the gentlest possible crushing and de-stemming of the grapes, followed by settling of the juice and cool fermentations. All lots were aged in stainless steel with at least 6 months of lees contact. The wine was bottled in August 2009.
Early reports on the wine have been extremely positive, as seen here from veteran scribe and long time friend Tony Aspler:
“Trentino meets Oregon in this dry, well extracted Pinot Grigio...Full on the palate with finely honed flavours of white peach and pear and a spicy finish. A wine to match veal or roast chicken (90pts).” A Wine Lover’s Diary, Part 294.
© Terzetto Wines Ltd, 2010