We source our grapes from the far northern end of the Willamette Valley (in the newly recognized Chehalem Mountains Appellation) and this region tends to produce rather lean wines.

The Beran Vineyards is still a bit of a newcomer to us, but hardly new in the wine world. We have enjoyed Bill and Sharon's own wines for quite a few years so when the opportunity came up to get a small amount of fruit from the oldest section of the vineyard (planted in 1972) we certainly couldn't turn it down.

The 115 clone was entirely destemmed. However this year we decided to use 33% whole cliuster on the old Pommard. We also were very selective in which barrels made the cut for this wine with onlt 4 out of 19 making it into the final blend. The key to the Beran Vineyard Pinot Noir is texture. The wines from this vineyard show a mouthfeel and texture that reminds a taster of velvet. Wonderfully bright vibrant raspberry fruit, touch of dried herbs and earth and the beginnings of a creamy texture emerge until the wine begins to tighten up just a touch on the finish. Certainly drinkable now, this wine shows even better with an hour or so in a decanter, and should age well for at least 3 years.

Cases: 100
Released: 2009