Sass Estate Pinot Noir 2019, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Sass Winery produces small amounts of handcrafted, super premium quality pinot noir, pinot gris, pinot blanc and chardonnay. The vineyard, first planted in 1989, is in the hills of South Salem, facing east and south, at a gently rolling elevation of 480-530 feet. The soils are well-drained red clay. The vines are closely spaced at 1,800 to the acre and are naturally farmed. The winery was built in 1995, sunk partly into the hillside so that the crush pad is 5 feet above the winery floor, allowing gravity, not pumps, to power the harvest. 2019 vintage – A beautiful vintage for complexity and delicacy, dark cherry and black raspberry aromas lead to ripe berry flavors and rich baking spices, with a touch of truffly earth. Fine tannins complement the silky texture. Grape were hand-harvested, de-stemmed, leaving 85 percent of the berries uncrushed, then dropped by gravity, not pumps, into 1.5-ton open-top fermenters for two weeks before a gentle press.