2015 Pinot Noir, Mount Richmond Vineyard MAGNUM

From Winemaker, John Abbott:

The 2015 vintage came out of the gate fast and furious. The Willamette Valley experienced a March bud break, the earliest I know of. The above-average temperatures kept rolling along through most of the summer. Then we received a much needed break in late August and September, when cooler temperatures and scattered showers made longer hang-time achievable and, as a result, excellent flavor development and grape maturity. Our harvest dates were very similar to those of 2014, but with the early start of the 2015 growing season, the fruit hung on the vine for one to two weeks longer than in 2014.

I was prepared to handle the cellar practices of the 2015 Freedom Hill similarly to the 2014, as the harvest dates, flavor profile, and chemistry were comparable. Just when I start to think this way, a new vintage will remind me that no two vintages are ever the same. Agriculture and Mother Nature is the combination that can make a vintage fun or at the very least can give us a lot to think about! In this case, the 2015’s were much more restrained, requiring more time in both the fermenter and in barrel to bring out the potential of each clone. The wait was worth it.

In my opinion, Pinot Noir shows a sense of place more than any other grape variety grown in the Pacific Northwest. Freedom Hill Vineyard definitely has its own thumbprint of dark cherry, blueberry, and raspberry, combined with a delicate mix of both fresh and dried flowers. It also has a hint of forest floor that reminds me of foraging for mushrooms on the Oregon Coast when I was a kid. The trick is to make sure these characters all blend together in a fragrant, elegant collection of fruits, aromatics, acidity, and tannin. The quality and expression of this fruit make this task an easy one.

In my view, this is a classic Pinot Noir vintage – beautifully developed without being over the top and it needs its music to match. Who remembers Walter Egan? I recommend his hit Magnet and Steel. Don’t stop there; download or go into your library and hit play. James Taylor’s, Something In The Way She Moves would be nice, (but you really can’t go wrong), and then finish with Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline. I grew up with four 8-track tapes in my dad’s truck and happily this was one of them. Tonight I Will Be Staying Here With You would be a great place to start. Thank you for all of your support, and enjoy this very pretty wine!