2017 Ancient Waters Pinot Noir
ABOUT ANCIENT WATERS PINOT NOIR
One of our proprietary blends, Ancient Waters sources the highest quality fruit from Wits’ End Vineyard. Ancient Waters’ name is derived from the old marine sedimentary soils in which the vines are planted. Ancient Waters is a powerful wine that showcases the intense flavors possible in Pinot Noirs from the Willamette Valley.
2017 VINTAGE NOTES
2017 vintage was completely different from the previous three years when vintners harvested their grapes earlier than normal. The wet, cool spring delayed flowering until late June, setting the stage for a later harvest. Hot, dry conditions prevailed through the summer and fruit set was higher than average requiring thinning to ensure incredible wines. There is a fresh fruit component and complexity that emerges to the forefront in the wines.
WINEMAKING PROCESS
ROCO Pinot Noir is handpicked and then chilled overnight to 38°F in our large cold room. The chilled bunches are gently de-stalked and the whole berries fall into small 1.6 ton open fermenters. The berries soak for ten days before beginning ferment with our proprietary, house-cultured, indigenous wine yeast. Soaking allows gentle extraction of color and flavor from the berry skin, and not the bitter-tasting seeds. The fermentations are hand punched twice a day to mix skins and fermenting juices. Ferments are allowed to reach about 28°C. A post-fermentation soak occurs until the wine is just right for removing from the skins and seeds. At that time the ferment is gently pressed in our modern tank press. The young wine is then sent to barrel for malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity and to add further complexity, then racked once to new, one, two and three-year-old, tight-grained, French oak barrels. The wines are aged in barrel for 18 or more months before bottling.
WINEMAKER’S TASTING NOTES
"This is a super interesting version of our blend of marine soil derived vineyards. Upon inhale you get strawberry to raspberry fruit folded into a spicy cigar box, brown sugar and hint of molasses aromatics. The palate is an expression of a masculine, grippy tannin. Softened by lovely dark plum, black currant, and pomegranate compote with a rich tip of the hat to black licorice and a North African spice rack. Super rich yet, lively. It’s unusual for Pinot noir to show red fruit in the aromatics and transition to pure black fruits on the palate."