Abbott Claim Pinot Noir 2018
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The grapes from Abbott Claim are harvested by hand at sunrise and immediately brought to the winery, where we weigh, sort and partially destem them. Fermentation is carried by native yeasts in oak, concrete and stainless steel vessels, where Abbott Claim only encourages the most delicate, hands-off extractions. When fermentation is complete and the wine's geometry finds balance, it is drained from the vat and the fruit pressed in a basket press. Free run, press wine and lees marry together in barrel, where malolactic fermentation spontaneously starts, often the following Spring.
This bottling brings to life the story of the estate vineyard, with a density and vibrancy characteristic of the site.
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This is the first estate bottling from this acclaimed (pun intended) vineyard since new owner Antony Beck and his team took over. The vineyard is being managed organically with some biodynamic practices. Wild yeasts are used for fermentation, which brings some unusual floral and textural components. The wine is lightly ripened, with cranberry, raspberry and mineral highlights. It was aged for about a year in one-third new oak
This is a place that has been both claimed and left native. At times thriving as fertile farmland, in others enveloped by brambly wildness. The story of Abbott Claim is one of discovery, of the ebb and flow of time, and ultimately of reclamation and renewal.
A New Yorker named John F. Abbott pioneered west to Oregon one hundred and seventy years ago to settle on this hillside ridge and plow its ancient grounds. Cultivated to many crops throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the land was eventually abandoned before it was brought back to life by another pioneer named Antony Beck. A curator and collector at heart, Antony saw the potential of this storied place and set out to restore much of the original 1855 land claim, where vines have proven to thrive.
Today, they are in the midst of a revival, nurturing and regenerating the ancient sedimentary soils with fervent devotion to not only the vineyard but the entire ecosystem. They enrich the biodiversity and nourish the soils. In turn, the land provides us with grapes and wine. We are its witnesses and what we share reflects its story.
Abbott Claim is cultivating a relationship. One of reciprocity between land and man, a silent and age-old agreement of interdependence. Where an enduring commitment and obsession is rewarded in time. With patient observation, endless curiosity and attentive stewardship, the connection deepens.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Yamhill-Carlton, characterized by pastoral, rolling hills composed of shallow, quick-draining, ancient marine soil, is ideal for Pinot noir and other cool-climate-loving varieties. It is in the rain shadow of the Coast Range to its west, whose highest point climbs to an altitude of 3,500 feet. Yamhill-Carlton is actually surrounded by mountains on three sides: Chehalem Mountains to the north, the Dundee Hills to the east and the western Coast Range to its west, which, when it lets Pacific air through, serves to cool the region.
Vineyards grow on the ridges surrounding the two small communities of Yamhill and Carlton and cover about 1,200 acres of this 60,000 acre region, which roughly makes a horse-shoe shape on a map.