Wine: Domaine Serene: Pinot Noir “Evenstad Reserve”

Oregon

Oregon is a land of majestic mountains, undulating hillsides, fertile river valleys and spectacular seashores. The state straddles the temperate 45th North Latitude-as does the Burgundy region of France-offering conditions ideal for the production of world class grapes.

In Europe’s premium winegrowing regions, grape varieties are most valued when planted at the northern margin of suitability.
Oregon’s combination of northern latitude, occasional marine breezes and long hours of sunshine create warm summer days and a gently cooling autumn. Her noble grape varieties ripen gradually under moderate temperatures, leading to the production of memorable wines.  The slow progression to maturity allows the wine grapes to display their full character.

Rainfall in Oregon’s winegrowing areas occurs primarily in late fall and winter, with the Willamette Valley actually having less precipitation during the growing season than the Burgundy region of France. Southern Oregon will surprise many with its warmer climate varietals.

Unique growing conditions and favorable clay-loam soils have fostered Oregon’s rapid emergence as one of the world’s finest wine growing regions. Since Oregon’s wine renaissance in the 1960s, both the acreage of winegrapes and the renown of Oregon wines have grown meteorically.

Domaine Serene

Domaine Serene Vineyards and Winery produces exquisite estate grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay made atop the renowned Red Hills of Dundee, Oregon. Its vineyard management and winemaking practices are designed to ensure complex, concentrated and elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay year after year. 
The entire Domaine Serene team is committed to growing, producing and marketing consistently outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. All resources are focused on this goal.

Domaine Serene produces exquisite estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with the expertise of Winemaker Tony Rynders. Their vineyard management and winemaking practices are designed to ensure complex, concentrated and elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay year after year.  Domaine Serene’s farming practices are designed to produce very low crop level - about 2-tons per acre - for concentrated flavors. All of the grapes are handpicked and hand-sorted on a conveyer belt to remove all imperfect fruit and other matter.

The various small lots from each vineyard are kept separate in small open-top fermentors, and in small French cooperage selectively sourced from several French forests. There is minimal intervention and only gentle gravity flow movement of wine from beginning to end. Pinot Noir is in barrel about 14-18 months, is not fined or filtered, and is racked only at bottling. The Estate-grown Dijon clone Chardonnay is fermented in small, French cooperage and aged sur lies for 10-15 months. Bottled wines are aged about one year before release, often longer for single vineyard Pinot Noir. The 2000 harvest yielded approximately 9,500 cases of wine.

The powerful nose displays a complex array of blackberry, boysenberry, ripe blueberry, wild strawberry, caramel, pipe tobacco, black tea, and dried flowers. The rich and structured front palate show ripe blackberry, bing cherry, plum, cola, oak spice, and vanilla with fine-grained tannins and excellent length.

91 points Wine Advocate issue #179 2006 Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir

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