| Greetings
From The Willamette Valley
As with last year’s communiqué, we hope you are eagerly awaiting the release of our most recent vintage, the 2007 Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery Pinot Noir and our white table wine, “Cala d’Or.”
News from the Vineyard
First off, let us say thanks to all of you for your continuing support and for making last year’s vintage another huge success! The fact is that our entire production of all of our 2006s are again, TOTALLY SOLD OUT! That makes this the forth year in a row that the previous year’s vintage has sold out, before the release of the next one.
We, again, entered our Pinot Noir in a couple of major wine competitions, earning a “Bronze Medal” at the San Francisco International Wine Competition for our 2006 “Le Terre Foss” Pinot Noir.
What’s more, we were awarded “Platinum Medals” by the Northwest Wine Press as “The Best of the Best in the Great Northwest,” for both the 2006 “777” and 2006 “Le Terre Foss” Pinot Noirs. The plaque that hangs in my office is a real beauty!
And, our most recent accomplishments, awarded at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, involving more than 4,700 wines:
2007 “777” Pinot Noir Gold Medal
2007 “Le Terre Foss” Pinot Noir Bronze Medal
What these awards show is that all of the intense effort we have put into producing one of the top rated Pinot Noirs in the world continues to be internationally acclaimed!
Our philosophy of producing top rated Pinot Noirs, through meticulous vineyard and winery practices will only continue into the future, as we’ve promised all along!
Additionally, we just concluded yet another fabulous harvest, which was characterized by overall small yields and exceptional fruit, and went from near total disaster, to what might be the very best harvest in the history of Oregon winegrape growing! We picked fruit well into the end of October, didn’t panic the beginning of October, when things weren’t looking so good, and ended up with wines that will have lush fruit and the elegance of the 1999 vintage, the structure and concentration of the 2000 vintage, and the natural balance, acidity and sense of place, that so characterizes the 2002 vintage. We can’t wait for this one to be released, but that won’t be for a long while.
But, enough of things to come, lets get to our new releases, the 2007s.
The 2007 Vintage Wines
As has been proven, time and time again, the number one component from which all great wines are made, is fruit! If you don’t have great grapes, you can’t produce great wine! Fortunately, Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery has control of the raw material and is 100% Estate Bottled, which means that all of the grapes that go into our wines come from our own vineyard. Even though we sell fruit to several other highly rated wineries in Oregon for use in their own blends, and their “Elkhorn Ridge” designated bottlings, we get first pick of the vineyard blocks and clones from which our grapes come.
This year we are again releasing two distinct Pinot Noir bottlings. As in years past, we are producing our Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “Le Terre Foss” Pinot Noir and the Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “777” Pinot Noir.
And, once again, we will be making public the Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “Cala d’Or.” This white wine, produced in extremely small quantities, is a blend of 57% Pinot Blanc and 43% Pinot Gris, all from Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards estate grown fruit.
The 2007 Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “Le Terre Foss” Pinot Noir
The 2007 “Le Terre Foss” is a complex blend of 25% Dijon Clone 113, 114, 115 and Pommard, and 75% Dijon Clone 777. It exhibits a deep, dark burgundy color, a little more feminine in character than the “777,” it is marked with accents red cherry, strawberry and raspberry fruit. Medium bodied, with excellent mid-palate structure and a subtle white pepper and earthy note, this wine has a long and satiny finish, which goes on and on. Delicate and refined tannins with spice notes, round out its trade mark Pinot Noir character. The “Le Terre Foss” is quite approachable now, but will continue to reward those who can properly cellar it over the next four to five years. 375 cases were produced at an alcohol level of 13.7%.
The 2007 Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “777” Pinot Noir
Unlike the “Le Terre Foss,” the 2007 Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “777” Pinot Noir is noted for its deep black fruit and minerally undertones. Black cherries, blackberries, black currants and a plumy note, characterize this wine. The “777,” is a joyful mouthful of lovely Pinot Noir, which is further, distinguished with an extra long finish, a slight touch of chocolate and excellent balance throughout. Somewhat more full-bodied, but never heavy, and more fruit driven than the “Le Terre Foss,” this wine is vibrant and sophisticated and is turning out to be everything we had hoped it would be! Drink now through 2012. Alcohol 14.1%. 165 cases produced.
In summary, both the 2007 Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “777” and the “Le Terre Foss” Pinot Noir, share a commonality of 100% estate grown fruit, excellent acid balance and delicate tannins and a core of juicy fruit flavors. They are never manipulated and show elegance, finesse, beautiful structure and superb breeding! They were both aged for 12 and 14 months respectively, in equal amounts of new, one year and two year old French oak cooperage; the finest French oak barrels available.
We live in a world of mass production, but these wines are hand crafted, unique in character and are produced to the utmost of standards.
These are real winners, again, and we’re sure that even more accolades and awards will be forthcoming!
The 2007 Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “Cala d’Or”
The 2007 Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery “Cala d’Or,” as mentioned above, is a blend of 57% Pinot Blanc and a 43% Pinot Gris, all estate grown. 100% stainless steel fermented to dryness, this wine shows a very nice balance of fruit, with notes of pears, white peaches and tropical fruits, all showing through quite nicely. The “Cala d’Or” is a medium bodied wine with a supple structure and medium finish. This is a multi-purpose white wine, which will integrate extremely well with food, as well as being an excellent aperitif. Quantities of this wine are extremely limited as only 25 cases were produced! The alcohol level is 12.7%.
Other Items of Interest
As I’ve said before, Pinot Noir is a varietal of “place.” It doesn’t grow just anywhere, it’s a cool climate grape, it’s fragile and it responds best to a very non-interventionist approach to winemaking. No wine changes more from grape to bottle than Pinot Noir and it is sublime and sensuous when everything goes right and it’s best when made in frustratingly small quantities, from small plots of land. Sound familiar? Sounds like Elkhorn Ridge! The pleasures always seem to justify the search!
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Our current distribution has been expanded to include, not only some of the major destination resorts in the USA and Caribbean (Sun Valley, ID; Jackson Hole, WY; Antigua, WI), but to some of the preeminent capitals of gastronomy in the world, including restaurants in Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, and Toronto, not to mention Las Vegas, New York, Miami, Southern California and Chicago.
In Closing
Again, we thank you for your continued support and patronage and we’re confident that you’ll enjoy our 2007 vintage offerings.
Enclosed is our current offering circular and we encourage you to submit your orders on a timely basis to avoid being disappointed by the scarcity of our production. Remember, our wines are sold on a first come, first serve basis and after our distributors acquire their allocations, there’s not much left.
Do something good for yourself, drink more Elkhorn Ridge!
In Pinot veritas!
The Foss Family
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