2019 Private Stash Pinot Noir
ABOUT PRIVATE STASH PINOT NOIR
ROCO’s premier Pinot Noir, Private Stash is a numbered series of small production Pinot Noir sourced from a 2-acre plot on the Soles’ private 21-acre vineyard. This complex Pinot offers layer upon layer of intense, silky, full-bodied flavor that is elegantly balanced. Derived from Rollin’s special clonal propagation, 3A, otherwise called “the ROCO selection” these vines produce smaller than normal clusters of tightly packed berries. We hold that this wine will stand shoulder to shoulder with the finest Pinot Noirs from around the globe.
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 sent to barrel for malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity and to add further complexity, then racked once to a unique ratio of new to three-year-old, tight-grained, French oak barrels. The wines are aged in barrel for 18 or more months before bottling.
2019 VINTAGE NOTES
This was quite the “Yo-Yo” growing season, so definitely not boring to this old Veteran Vintner, Rollin Soles. The warmer-than-normal start in May with temperatures into the 90’s was a worry as there is normally a colder temp at the time. Then, when the shoots were a good 6 -8” long, a cold, rainy mid-May hit came for a full two-week period. Then, a warm long summer kicked in. And just as anticipated, from first of September to the 19th, we were presented with nearly 3” of cold rain. Mt. Hood looked fantastic with its early mantle of white snow! Cool temps and refreshing rains after such a long time dry in the vineyards, lifted the aromatics (think “floral” qualities) and the elegance in the palate and in the fruit flavors.It’s becoming a pattern here in the Willamette, where we receive a “refreshing wash” of cold rain at the end of August or into early September (15, 16, 17, 19 for example). Seems to brighten and lift the fruit and acidity of our wines.
WINEMAKER'S TASTING NOTES
The power of this Private Stash impresses right away. Aromas of Blackberry and black currant fruits intermingle with baking spices, cinnamon/clove, vanilla, and bergamot exotica. The palate is lush from start to long finish, yet maintains structure and acidity. The tannins are plentiful, and rounded. Feral blackberry and boysenberry fruit are ornamented with cocoa nibs, candied red apple, chicory, tobacco leaf, and a touch of delicate maple syrup. The power and length of this 2019 sets this wine apart as a “super ager” in your cellar collection. - Rollin Soles, Winemaker
92 points, Cellar Selection - Wine Enthusiast