The 2006 vintage in the Willamette
Valley is one of our favorite vintages in the dozen years we have been producing
Oregon Pinot Noirs. Recently, there has been some revisionist criticism with folks saying
that the wines are too big and too soft. And, while that may have been the case in some
parts of the Willamette, the vineyards at the northern end of the Valley where we purchase
our fruit, tend to do extremely well in cooler vintages.
The Hawk’s View Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Wadenswil clone planted on the site.
In 2006 we were able to pick these grapes at the end of September (which is early for this
site) but we still were able to get enough hang-time to let the stems ripen and utilize some
whole clusters in the fermentation. We believe this helped contribute to a more complex
wine. We were also able to reduce the amount of new oak from previous vintages as this
wine saw 45% new French wood.
The 2006 Siduri Hawk’s View Vineyard Pinot Noir shows a fresh fruit-filed palate with flavors
of currants and plums. The wine also exhibits hints of dried herbs (perhaps from the
whole clusters) and a touch of vanilla from the oak. The finish is long and crisp. As is
usually the case with our Oregon offerings, this wine really needs food to show its best (try
some grilled fish). We also believe it will improve substantially with a couple of years in
the bottle.
Production & Technical Data
Cases Produced: 270 cases
Release Date: August 2008
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