70 cases produced

Winemaker Notes

This was our first release from WildAire Cellars and I think we turned a lot of heads with this wine. When we first moved to Oregon Mark Eastburn was our mortgage broker and he mentioned that he was planting a vineyard and that maybe he could sell us some grapes when we get our wine business going. Four years later we started up WildAire and Mark sold us these luscious Pinot grapes and the rest is history. A super-low crop load of 1.1 tons per acre from this young vineyard really intensified the concentration and structure and turned this Pinot into a sexy beast.

Tasting Notes

The aromas are loaded with black cherry and bramble that mingle with cocoa and exotic spices and toast. The entry is extremely smooth and viscous with the mid palate showing intense body and a balanced structure that frames raspberry, black cherry, cloves, vanilla, and gives way to a long and effortless finish.

Vineyard

Eastburn Vineyard is owned by Mark and Terri Eastburn and is located in Sherwood, Oregon. The vineyard sits on the eastern side of Parrett Mountain in the Chehalem Mountains AVA and is planted to fifteen acres of Dijon Clones 777, 114, 115. All of which are grafted onto rootstock. The vineyard has a planting density of 1400 vines per acre and the elevation is 600’ with Laurelwood and Jory soils.

Aging

Aged for 13 months in 33% new French Oak

Vintage Notes

The 2005 Vintage in Oregon will be remembered as one of the best in a streak of good grape-growing years that stretches back to 1998. Although the vintage was also one of the coolest in the past ten years, the resulting fruit made incredible wines. In the spring we had and early bud-break, followed by a cool and wet bloom. This led to lighter than usual yields in the valley. Summer was very warm, which accelerated the ripening process. The ripening season brought sunny weather to the valley up until the last week in September. From there until October 14, we had a mix of sun and a few scattered and light showers. Then we had a break in the weather which let everything dry out before the main fall rains came in November. Overall, this was a great vintage with low yields, ripe fruit, and good acidity.

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