The wine is a mix of whole cluster and de-stemmed fruit, with a net of about 20 percent stem inclusion, grown on seven- to seventeen-year-old vines. Farming is LIVE certified. The wine was aged in French oak, 40 percent new.
It’s limpid, light-hearted, and spicy, the sharp aromatics keynoted by cranberry, pomegranate, and allspice. The palate sense is crystal-clean, with flavors of rhubarb, wild strawberry, and spice. There’s not much extraction; this is a limpid wine, a glaze of red fruit flavors. The tannins are modest and tight, somewhat green, a commingling of stem and barrel. The finish feels cleansing.
It’s a good palate cleanser after oily fish or rich cheeses. Equally copacetic with young cheeses, especially chèvre, or lighter cuts of meat. Also a good choice for poultry or pork, pâté, and savory picnic fare, served cold.
2018 Raptor Ridge Winery Tuscowallame Estate Whole Cluster Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains
ABV 14.2% | $50 (sample)
