2015 Winter's Hill Pinot Gris Estate Dundee Hills Oregon 750 ml

Oregon’s Signature White Wine

Oregon’s best producers have rooted their Pinot Gris vines in the same Jory clay soils that attracted David Lett of Eyrie, who planted the first Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris vines in the state in the 1960s. In the ruddy-colored Jory loam, Pinot Gris vines yield pristine berries that deliver a powerful, creamy intensity in their youth. They have a stellar, food-friendly balance between fruity and savory aromatics, only emboldened by the supreme vintage in 2015 — none more so than today’s 2015 Winter’s Hill Pinot Gris.

Peter and Emily Gladhart planted their first 20 acres in 1990, when Dundee Hills Pinot Noir economics was challenging at best. Like neighboring Domaine Serene and White Rose, the Winter’s Hill Estate is breathtaking. Set at 525-700 feet in elevation above Stoller just down the hill, today just 35 acres of vines are surrounded by fir and oak forests. As is still so common in Willamette Valley, Peter continues to farm Winter’s Hill himself, with the help of a small crew of six. All of the pruning, training, shoot thinning, and crop reduction is done by hand. Following a meticulous Côte de Nuits script, there is NO mechanical picking on the property. Harvest is carried out by hand, using small clippers and 5-gallon buckets.

The phenomenal 2015 growing season largely mirrored 2014, with one major exception — higher than normal temperatures in the spring allowed for early bloom and exceptional fruit-set, which led to an early harvest overall. Wine Spectator predicted that it “could be the state’s most extraordinary vintage,” reporting that “there’s no precedent for a vintage exactly like this in Oregon.”

Throughout Oregon, harvest was complete by the first week of October — a full month ahead of 2014. Essentially, such steady and warm temperatures assured that no grape would be picked underripe, and even as sugars climbed, acids remained firm. For the Gladharts, it was the picking opportunity of a lifetime.

With ample time to monitor temperatures and inch fermentations along, the Gladharts whole-cluster pressed and aged their 2015 Winter’s Hill Pinot Gris in a combination of neutral barrels and in tank for as long as 8 months.

Radiant yellow-straw hues draw you into a glass of ripe Bartlett pears drizzled with honey, tinged with wet-stone minerality that screams textbook Alsace Pinot Gris. Generous on entry, with a creamy mid-palate beaming with pear-apple tarte tatin, honeysuckle, and anise flavors. While generous and ripe, there’s ample vibrant acidity, which cuts through the butter cream texture. A lengthy finish hints at fresh baked bread and reveals the volcanic minerality of the Jory clay soils. Enjoy now through late 2020.

A real cellar-stuffer, courtesy of the blockbuster 2015 Willamette vintage. There may not be another American white at $16.99 that smacks of such food-friendly, gulpable, mineral-driven perfection. Just 100 cases. Shipping included on 6.