After producing a more forward and immediate wine in 1999, the 2000 vintage marks a return to the weightier Siduri Archery Summit Pinot Noirs produced in 1998 and 1997. The 2000 vintage was the third in an unheard of string of fine Oregon vintages. This outstanding weather obviously benefited the grapes at Archery Summit and, combined with perfect picking weather on September 28, allowed us to bring in some fantastic fruit. We harvested 3.855 tons of fruit from five different sections of the Archery Summit Estate vineyard.
Getting fruit from so many different sections provided us with a great deal of raw material to work with. As is our practice, we fermented the different sections separately. In addition, we used three different yeasts for the fermentation process-Assmanhausen, Barolo, and the grapes' own indigenous yeast. We fermented the juice in both a small tank and also in 1 ton fermentation bins. In a (successful) attempt to extract more from the grapes we fermented the juice quite warm-up to 95 degrees. Upon the conclusion of fermentation we pressed the wine directly to barrel using approximately 60% new French oak.
The key to producing an outstanding Archery Summit Pinot Noir in 2000 was being especially selective in the barrels used in the final blend. With five different vineyard sections, three different yeast types, different fermentation vessels, and a myriad of barrel types you can imagine the great variety of Archery Summit Pinots we had to choose from. Ultimately, we chose what we believe to be the five best barrels for the 2000 Siduri Archery Summit Vineyard Pinot Noir.
The 2000 Siduri Archery Summit Vineyard Pinot Noir rivals the 1998 as the finest Siduri Archery Summit Pinot. The wine is rich, ripe and surprisingly round with dark plum fruit and a cream soda, cinnamon character. Although drinking well now, there is a good level of natural acidity promising even more development over the mid-term.
PRODUCTION: 120 cases
RELEASE DATE: March, 2002
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