Roco Wine - The Stalker - Pinot Noir 2019 | Monsieur Touton Selection

Vintage

We had a great Spring, much more sunshine than '12, '11, or '10. All was pleasant until mid June, when cool, wet weather moved in. This caused our bloom to go on and on. It seemed like grape flowering would never end. And it was really difficult to determine when the midpoint of bloom occurred. Fruit set across the valley was all over the place, with differences showing in a very pronounced manner from clone to clone, low elevation vs. high elevation. The period of June to say, mid September was darn near record dry. We were set up with classic 3rd week of June (Solstice) fruit set, leading to end of October harvest, with no expense to drop green clusters in August. Things were dang chirpy. We got a normal shot of rain in early September, that actually helped dry vines get through Veraison. Then, September 21st the tables turned. A cold and windy weekend of the 22nd got snow to about 5000'. It stayed wet with monsoon-like conditions the weekend of 27th. Then rain burst after burst each day to the 2nd of October.
The Willamette Valley received almost 8" of RECORD rain from September 1 to October 2! For ROCO, we got white wines for still and sparkling in before the 22nd. Then, a majority in before the 27th. Waited out the wet, and chipped away picking the days after the 2nd. Fruit came in with surprising cleanliness. We were not complacent in our farming methods and had sprayed at correct intervals, with good coverage. We also kept the canopies especially open in Fall, with hand leaf pulling and cane positioning several times. "Riders of the Storm" Following such variable weather, the wines are a COMPLETE surprise and joy to us. Deep, inexplicable color; rich fruit depth; and lovely youthful minerality. The whites are true cool climate wines and convey a richness in palate even before Malo. Wine Pundits keep an open mind, because you are all going to enjoy the 2013's.

Tasting notes

Using a unique winemaking method developed by Rollin, the grapes are destemmed, the stems are then aged and added back to the fermanting wine. This makes the wine bright and pure fruit on the front palate and a richly defined tannic structure.

Technical data

Alcohol: 14%
Varietal: 100% Willamette Valley Pinot noir
Appellation: Chehalem Mtn./Yamhill-Carlton
Vineyards: Wits' End, Marsh Estate and Roserock Vineyard
Harvested: Sept. 27th - 30th and Oct. 1st, 2013
Clones: 48% Pommard, 33% Djion 828 and 19% Dijon 777

Vinification

There are a few ways that winemakers use grape stalks to flavor their wines… and then there's my way. While I've never been a fan of whole cluster fermentation for my wines, I am influenced by the way the Valpolicella region of Italy air-dry whole clusters. I also agree with the late winemaker, Aaron Hess' distaste for fresh stalks. And, I have an abiding love of whole berry fermentation. With these preferences in mind, I took a bit of a "walk on the wild side" to produce a unique Stalker Pinot noir. One of the tricks is to keep air flowing around the stalks and ensure that mold is held at bay. I also continued my commitment to whole berry fermentation. The rest of the process will remain a mystery. I can tell you that it takes a heck of a lot of manual work, but results in a wine with spice- laced tannin from the stalks, without the "greenness" of the fresh stalks. The unexpected surprise is an increased sense of middle palate juiciness. After fermentation, the pressing and barreling remains the same as for our other Pinot noirs. The wine is aged in a mix of new to three- year-old French oak barrels for at least 18 months.

USA Oregon Willamette V... Select an Ap...