Tasting Notes
The 2019 NYSA needs aeration to release its sweet, rich, bold and intense aroma, with layers of dark berries, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, followed by black floral notes, cooking herbs (thym?) and elegant-rich earth-oak complexity. The flavors are rich, sweet, juicy, bold, and bright, with a rich, concentrated, spicy dark fruit core, of blackberries, dark cherries, and rich concentrated tannins. The texture is medium sweet, rich and concentrated, with mouth filling rich-sweet tannins, bringing heat, power, grace and elegance to the wine. The mouthfeel is concentrated, rich and lasting, an intense mouthful of flavors. The finish is very long and intense with concentrated dark fruit flavors, rich tannins, spiciness and oak complexity.This wine can be enjoyed now with strong decanting and will benefit from a few years of cellaring.
Production Notes
The 2019 growing season started with a cold and dry November to January, then a cold and wet-snowy February-March. April started cold and turned warmer the last week of the month, reaching the low 70’s kicking off bud break about 10 days late. By early May the heat was turned on reaching the upper 80’s by the 13th. Bloom started on time mid-June with temperatures reaching the mid 90’s at the end of the month. July started cool 70’s to low 80’s until reaching 91 on the 21st. The summer was cool and dry, with only 9 days in the low to mid 90’s for the entire growing season. Summer came to an abrupt end the last days of August, followed by a very cool and wet September in the low 60’s. Summer fires in Southern Oregon/ Northern California brought negligible smoke to the Northern Willamette Valley. The grape yields were average to above average with no significant disease in most vineyards. Torii Mor’s harvest started on September 23rd and finished on October 9th.
Winemaker Notes
Harvested September 29, at 21.6 to 22.2 Brix, the fruit was handpicked, sorted, destemmed, then fermented without cold soak, in small 1.5 ton bins for 17 days, with RB2, and F15 yeasts, and punched down 3 times a day. The wine was aged for 22 months, the first 10 months in 23.08% new French oak, 15.38% second fill, the balance neutral oak. The barrels were racked in June, after Malo-Lactic fermentation then again in August when the blend was put together before returning to neutral barrels until bottling. The wine was un-fined and un-filtered.
This blend is made of 61.54% Pommard and 38.46% Wadensvil clones.