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2009 Marine Sedimentary Pinot Noir

Marine Sedimentary Pinot Noir: Ribbon Ridge is a small hillside stretch winding up against a steep, narrow valley that essentially winds its way out to the Oregon Coast. This valley was created thousands of years ago when a huge flood rolled through leaving this area under water for a considerable period of time. The eastern-side of the valley’s hills generally face south and southwest at elevations of up to around 600 feet. With the Chehalem Mountains to our east, the Dundee Hills to the south and the Coast Range only a few miles to the west this is an isolated area where you can often times actually see the weather systems go around us in a variety of directions. This little area has its own microclimate. But what truly sets it apart is the soil. The years of being under water created a soil classification known as Marine Sedimentary of which there are several sub-classifications. This is a talc-y, dry soil set atop a sandstone sub-soil. Drainage is nearly instantaneous and special efforts have to be made to aerate, feed and nurture the soil so as to promote more moisture retention. Since we do not believe in irrigating our vineyards we have needed to be very proactive in addressing the relationship between soil management and vine health that is an everyday part of farming in Ribbon Ridge.

The one barrel Marine Sedimentary bottling takes wine from selected blocks and barrels from across our entire Estate Vineyard as well as from a couple of parts of Whistling Ridge Vineyard and the intent is to show off the minerally, dense, darkly fruited yet elegant traits that we believe to be the hallmarks of great wines from the Ribbon Ridge Appellation. The darkness and power of the Estate bottling, richness of the Bonshaw bottling, the minerally elegance of the Old Vine, and complexity of the Etzel and the extreme high-toned nature of Whistling Ridge are captured in this fantastic bottling. We will admit that this tends toward the wonky, dorky side of Pinot Noir making but look at what type of winery we are and what we do! This is a delicious, unique and captivating Pinot that encapsulates the distinct qualities that our small appellation brings to bear on our fruit and wines.