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Amalie Robert 2007 Harvest Review Published December 13, 2007
Dallas, Oregon 97338
Phone/FAX 503.831.4703
Web site Address
Hello and Welcome, The beginning of December finds us in a moment of reflection. The miracle of slowly ripening Pinot Noir has passed and all the activity in the winery has yielded just 65 barrels of wine. These individual barrels in our below ground cellar will steward our wines through the winter months. This aging process will reveal the unique growing season in the aromas, flavors and textures that will become the 2007 vintage. In looking back over the year, we remember significant events that punctuate the year. Much like opening a well cellared bottle of vintage wine, these are some of the things we will recall from 2007.
The Vineyard As always, Ernie likes to talk about the growing season, so we will start with the hard work of viticulture (AKA farming.) the 2007 vintage was another example of cool climate viticulture. Our measure of this is degree days, or how much warmth the vines received. We registered below 1,900 degree days, the coolest year we have ever seen at Amalie Robert Estate.
The vines however, did not seem overly concerned. Bud break and bloom came as we have come to expect. Fruit set was not overloaded as we saw in 2006. By mid-July, we began to notice the laundry bin was still full of turtlenecks and long sleeve shirts. Throughout the summer, the threat of rain was only a stone’s throw away. One of the most critical times in the vineyard is bloom and the beginning of fruit set. This is when all manner of things want to attack the newly formed berries. Add to that the intermittent showers and the opportunity for compromised fruit became very real, very quickly. This is also the time when Dena gets out the life size cut out of Ernie – as he is “out of the office” and in the field for the months of May and June. Ernie believes it is of critical importance to get the canopy in shape by removing excess shoots from the trunk and cane, vertically positioning the remaining shoots and clipping catch wires into place. The timing is critical – you must be timely. As soon as the third set of wires are up, the hedger makes its first pass. And the result is just beautiful – order out of chaos. The Hedger in Motion Before and............After Hedging
The rest of the season is devoted to shaping the flavor profile of our wines. We do this by the timely and meticulous removal of what we do not need. Block by block, we decide how many leaves to take out of the canopy to increase the light exposure and air circulation around the fruit. We remove excess clusters from each vine after the period of high vigor has passed. Each of our 27 blocks are individually managed to achieve full flavor development. The final “dialing-in” comes in the form of wings. Pinot Noir clusters are blessed with what is typically described as a “fruiting tendril”, or a wing. The wing can be just a few berries or in some cases, can be significantly larger than the main cluster. Ernie thinks the wing is Mother Nature’s back-up plan. In years when the weather is very bad during bloom, the main cluster may set little or no fruit. The wing, however, begins to flower about a week later, and may have a better chance of setting fruit. However, they also ripen later than the main cluster. Remember, we are pulling a fast one on these vines. They think their job is to produce viable seeds to reproduce. No one has told them we are making wine out of those berries. We interpreted the vine’s response to this growing season and decided the wings would not improve wine quality. So, we sent the crew through the field and cut off about 360,000 wings, cluster by cluster.
This vintage brought considerable disease pressure to the Willamette Valley. We were fortunate to have been on top of the challenges for the year and had little incidence of compromised fruit. This in turn allowed for us to let our fruit hang through the early rains of October. In fact, we picked the Syrah and Viognier on November 6th. In agriculture, there are few times when you can say for sure what made the difference. However, Ernie believes getting the canopy positioned and cleaned up early was the key factor in letting our fruit ride out the weather. The result is another vintage where the fruit has achieved beautiful flavors and aromas. Expect a more detailed cellar report in the spring. Harvest Photo Gallery
The wines Take a step back and we are looking at the 2006 vintage. It was a warmer year with good ripeness, fully developed and very expressive fruit. We think it was a good growing season for our inaugural vintage. Here is a preview of what you can expect for our 2008 Memorial Day event. 2007 Amalie Robert Chardonnay Stainless Steel fermented Chardonnay seems to be catching on. We enjoy the bright aromas of pure fruit, the rich mid-palate of cool fermentation and the crisp tart apple finish. This wine is as comfortable on the deck as it is in the dining room. Production is 110 cases. Estimated release date: April 15, 2008. 2006 Amalie Robert Pinot Meunier 2006 marks the second vintage of this varietal. Once again we have the perfumed aroma that is similar to Pinot Noir, but with more red raspberries, strawberries and spice. This is providing your palate notice that this is a focused wine on a mission. On the palate the flavors emerge and are likened to cherry pie, warm cocoa dusted almonds and cinnamon. The finish is clean, spicy and reminds us why Pinot Meunier is used in Champagne – the racy finish. We have most often enjoyed this wine with game. It pairs well with traditional roasting of quail to duck and rabbit to lamb and venison. The Pinot Meunier is no stranger to the cheese board, either. Production is 100 cases. Estimated release date: April 15, 2008. 2006 Amalie Robert Syrah During the original layout of the vineyard in 1999, Ernie asked for an acre to grow Syrah and Viognier. He took his time to source the “clones” of Syrah that would do well in a cool climate. He looked to the Côte Rôtie region of France – often referred to as the “Burgundy of the Rhône.” The result of all of this planning and patience is about 35 cases of 2006 Syrah. The first thing you notice about this wine is that it is as dark as a starless night. As you approach the glass you are overwhelmed with powerful, rich plum and black olive aromas accented with dried herbs, spices, and lavender. The palate matches the aroma and you are drenched in the full-on flavors of cool climate Syrah. The wine is mouth filling and rich on the palate. Your final impression is the mouth tingling pleasure of the finely integrated tannins. Estimated release date: May 10, 2008. A brief note about the 2006 Viognier – all 6 cases were allocated to the director of Research and Development. The 2007 vintage (15 cases), is still fermenting, so there is hope for a limited release. Before moving onto the Pinot Noir, let’s take a moment to talk about the art of blending. We were recently asked if we think about wine scores as we make our blends. This is a very good question. Ernie was told sometime ago by a winemaker, that often times we make the wine we have to, not the wine we want to. At Amalie Robert Estate, we choose to present the vintage and the unique characteristics of our sedimentary soils. When enjoying our wines, we want to have a connection to that place in our memory. To take us back to that growing season and reminisce.
During the year, we taste wine from barrel frequently. As each block in the vineyard is harvested and fermented separately, we have a cellar map that matches the vineyard. Each barrel in our cellar has a direct link back to a single vineyard “block.” Both Dena and Ernie find some barrels more elegant, generous or just more interesting than others. Note that these are often times not the same barrels. We look for different things in the wines. During blending we have the year's tasting experience of what might go well together and that is where we start. The process is iterative and interactive. Out of 9 potential blends, we have chosen 3 wines to represent Amalie Robert Estate Pinot Noir from 2006. 2006 Amalie Robert “Dijon Clones” Pinot Noir As always, the Dijon Clones Pinot Noir is a collage of blocks from all over the vineyard. The blend again favors the 777 clone and it provides a beautifully pure and focused palate. We add to this with bits and pieces of other Dijon Clones from the remaining 5 blocks to complete the blend. This year’s blend is 777 (58%), 667 (13%), 114 (11%), 115 (9%), and 113 (9%). As we write this note, this wine is still settling in tank awaiting the bottling line. However, we expect the Dijon Clones to be in top form for Memorial Day. Anticipated production is about 1,000 cases. As a preview, here is a summary of our blending notes: The color is a beautiful garnet red that is reminiscent of Montmorency cherries which used to cover the vineyard. The bouquet delivers raspberry truffles, cocoa, and spice. On the palate we found rich fruit, with a hint of Boysenberry and a core of sweet earthiness that holds everything together. The finish lingers with fine grained tannins and a deeply satisfying “YUM!” 2006 Amalie Robert “Amalie’s Cuvée” Pinot Noir This wine is the matriarch of the cellar. Amalie’s Cuvée represents the elegance and finesse of Pinot Noir grown on our sedimentary soils. Amalie’s Cuvée originates primarily from just 1.2 acres of Pommard clone Pinot Noir from blocks 26 and 27. We find the Wadenswil clone from block 3 is an essential component for this blend. And this year, the remaining wine in barrel from the ¡Salud! Pinot Noir Auction will be included. The aromas are intense with red cherries and raspberries, laced with hints of cinnamon, sandlewood, cola and cocoa. The same berry flavors fill your mouth with soft, lush fruit, balanced with well-integrated tannins. This wine is still in barrel and will be bottled over the winter. Estimated release is in the early Fall. We anticipate about 220 cases of Amalie’s Cuvée for 2006.
2005 Amalie Robert “Estate” Pinot Noir During our blending trials last year, we found another wine among the barrels. Estate reflects a blend of Pinot Noir that is the muscular complement to Amalie’s Cuvée. Dena has made it quite clear that clone 115 from block 8 is very special to her. Ernie is a believer in the mid-palate richness of 114 clone from block 11. These two clones are the base wine of Estate. To this solid foundation we added a familiar friend, the Pommard clone. The resulting wine is structured, perfumed and rich on the palate, with a definite "Yum" factor. Production is 40 cases and will be released on Memorial Day. 2006 Amalie Robert “Estate” Pinot Noir The 2006 Estate begins with the base of the 114 and 115 clones from blocks 7, 8 and 11. A fascinating barrel of the 113 clone from block 16 was an irresistible match and joins the blend this year. The final, spicy component was a barrel of Wadenswil that Ernie quietly snuck into the blending trials. Dena likes to keep that for Amalie’s Cuvée. Dark cherry and earthy aromas give a preview of the intense dark fruit flavors to come. The sweet richness of dark cherries and plums are balanced with dried herbs and tannins. This wine is still in barrel and will be bottled over the winter. Estimated release is in the early Fall. We anticipate about 220 cases of Estate for 2006. The A-List As we mentioned during our last conversation, we have been thinking about a cellar club for some time. We tried to answer the question “What do we have to offer that makes us special and worth joining?” What we decided on was The A-List. The A-List is our pre-release list. As you may have noticed from above, several of our wines are very limited in case production. These wines may not be easily attainable. We would like to give you an opportunity to change that. Put your name on The A-List and we will be sure you have access to our new releases before anyone else. When a wine is ready for pre-release, you will be notified by E-mail of the wine, the ship date and the charge amount. The initial shipment for each wine is 2 bottles, priced at a 10% discount, with the cost ranging from $40 to $90. You will also enjoy the following amenities: 1. All A-List shipments will be priced at 10% off the retail price. Normal ground shipping charges apply, or arrangements may be made for pick up at the winery. 2. Each wine will be accompanied by a wine discussion and recommended food pairings. 3. All follow-on orders of 12 bottles or more will be priced at 20% off the retail price. and will include free ground shipping. Orders for less than 12 bottles will receive a 10% discount. All follow-on orders will be fulfilled as case production allows. 4. Complimentary entry to our bi-annual open houses including 3 guests to accompany you.
For everyone who makes
The A-List before the end of this year (and our next release), you
will receive 2 bottles of
our 2005 Dijon Clones Pinot Noir. Future shipments will be
roughly 30 days prior to the release dates as indicated under the “Wines”
section.
As we come to a close, we are reminded of the holiday season and the opportunities that come with a new year. We wish you the best of the season and a fruitful 2008.
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
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