WillaKenzie Estate
2007 Pinot Noir, Pierre Léon, Willamette Valley
The 2007 Pierre Léon is a selection of different estate grown Pinot Noir clones, including several Dijon clones—primarily 113, 114 and 115. WillaKenzie Estate has a total of 68 acres of Pinot Noir. The vines are densely planted at 1,200 to 1,800 vines per acre, running north to south, allowing for maximum sun exposure. All of the vineyards are planted on Willakenzie soil, a type known for its excellent drainage. The plants are grafted onto phylloxera-resistant rootstock and trained into an upright, double guyot trellising system. The crop was thinned at the time of véraison to assure low yields and maximize flavor and intensity.
The 2007 vintage in Oregon will be remembered as a challenging one, requiring skill and dedication in the vineyard and winery in order make great wines. Budbreak occurred around April 8, but the vines did not start developing until late April due to cold and rainy weather. Bloom took place around June 12, followed by a good set. Véraison did not occur until mid-August because of a very cool summer. High temperatures never exceeded the low 90s, and some nights in September were unusually chilly (36 degrees Fahrenheit!). A cool growing season is great for Pinot, since it is a cool climate grape. Unfortunately, the rains came in early, continuing steadily through harvest with breaks between downpours. We started harvest in Terres Basses on September 27 and picked at 24.5º Brix. We finished harvest after 5.5 inches of rain on October 26. Most of the vineyards were harvested between 23º Brix and 23.5º Brix. With good sanitary conditions in the vineyard due to very careful viticultural practices, we elected to wait as long as we could before picking to ensure tannin ripeness. We also made extensive use of our state-of-the-art cold storage facility to dry and dehydrate the grapes before processing them. We are extremely pleased with the results. The wines show great concentration, ripe tannins and lower levels of alcohol. Both winemaker Thibaud Mandet and vineyard manager Daniel Fey rose to the challenge and demonstrated that knowledge and skill always pay off.
Yield: 2.5 tons/acre
Brix: 23.5°
TA: 6.0g/L
pH: 3.50
We used our state-of-the-art, gravity-flow winery to achieve a fully extracted and complex 2007 Pierre Leon. A cool maceration preceded the open-top, Burgundian-style fermentation for a total of 22 days of skin contact and daily punch downs by “Bigfoot,” our mechanical punch down device. The wine was then gravity fed directly to barrels where it underwent 100 percent malolactic fermentation during the next seven months. The wine spent a total of 13 months in French oak barrels (50 percent new) from a selection of coopers.
The wine presents intriguing and complex aromas, which combine black fruit with perfumed floral tones, fennel, spice and cedar. By contrast, the flavors tend at first toward brighter red fruits like raspberry and cherry that become sweeter through the pleasingly long finish which carries a hint of toastiness. Juicy and satisfying, the 2007 Pierre Léon will be an extremely versatile food companion, complementing such foods as steak in a wine reduction sauce, grilled tuna, or pork chop with mashed potatoes, grilled Portobello mushrooms and roasted vegetables. It will improve for the next two to three years and age well for eight to 10 years.
Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 13.8%
TA: 5.5g/L
pH: 3.75