Sean Minor Pinot Noir Point North 2018, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Point North is an Oregon Pinot Noir project from Sean Minor. Sean has a lot of history with the wine industry in Oregon having run both Benton Lane and King Estate. He always felt that at some point he would return to the unique and special growing region that Oregon offers. The Pinot Noir fruit for this wine is a blend from carefully selected vineyards in the Willamette Valley. All grapes are hand-picked at optimal ripeness level. Once the fruit is de-stemmed into bins, a portion is placed into open-top fermenters, while the remaining is placed into temperature controlled stainless steel fermenters. The fruit is cold-soaked for 48 hours prior to initiating fermentation. Once fermentation begins, each open top tank is punched down 2-3 times per day. Once the wine is fermented dry, it is racked to barrels for completion of malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged 6 months in 100% French oak. This Oregon Pinot Noir is deep garnet in color with complex aromas of raspberry, violet, black cherry and black tea. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied with dark fruit flavors, raspberries and earthy spice notes. The wine has a bright mouth feel integrated with soft round tannins for a lengthy and complex finish.