The WINES

A bit of history first….

Resonance Vineyard fruit (formerly Reed & Reynolds) has been sold to several wineries over the last 18 years. You may find older bottlings of the vineyard designated wine made by Sineann, Walnut City Wineworks, LaBete or Lemelson Vineyards. Starting with the 2006 vintage, the Chambers will sell about half of their Pinot Noir fruit to winemaker Peter Rosback with Sineann. The remainder will be kept under their own Resonance Vineyard label.

The Chambers produced their first vintage of Pinot noir at the Carlton Winemaker’s Studio, a winery in Carlton, Oregon. The processing of fruit also required review and approval by Demeter, the biodynamic ® certification agency (ensuring there was no mixing of equipment or products that were not organically certified).

2006 Resonance Vineyard Estate Bottled Pinot Noir
All the fruit for this wine was harvested on two days. The 777 clone, which constitutes about 30% of the final blend, was harvested on September 30th at about 26.5°Brix. The Wadensvil (30%) and Pommard (32%) clones and Gewurztraminer (8%) were all harvested on October 1st at about 25.5°Brix. The Gewurztraminer was blended into the Wadensvil and Pommard and co-fermented to heighten aroma and spicy complexity. All blocks were picked early in the day and transported to the Carlton Winemakers’ Studio for processing while the fruit was still very cool (about 50°F). All the fruit was sorted and destemmed directly into fermentors. We used two 4-ton fermentors and five 1.5 ton fermentors.

All ferments were allowed to cold soak for 7-8 days before spontaneous fermentation initiated; no yeast was added to any fermentors. Natural grape sugars were so high (one fermentor was at 27.5° Brix during cold soak) we added purified, filtered and dynamized (passed through a flowform) water to reduce potential alcohol to about 14%. We also added two grams/liter of tartaric acid. The weather in late September was extremely hot (approaching 100°F), so the fruit actually got riper than we’d intended. But we were waiting for the ‘best’ astronomically appropriate days (according to the Biodynamic Calendar as prepared by Maria and Mathias Thun). In retrospect, we probably should have picked five days earlier, but hindsight is always so clear.

Alcohol fermentation lasted about 8 days before all lots were pressed off and allowed to settle for 24 hours before racking to barrel. Two-thirds new French oak and one-third neutral French oak were used for barrel aging. All the new barrels were produced by Taransaud Beaune and consisted of “Center of France” selected oaks with various toasting levels (medium to heavy toast). No sulfites were added until the wine completed spontaneous malolactic fermentation about the end of March. At that point, we added 30 ppm of free sulfur dioxide and the wine was allowed to rest for exactly 10 months. Only the 777 lot was racked prior to final racking in mid-August.
 

Our goal was to produce a Demeter-certified Biodynamic wine that effectively communicated the terroir that is Resonance Vineyard. The resulting wine is highly aromatic, suggesting pomegranate and fresh raspberry fruit with a delightful clove-like spice. The acidity leaves the wine bright and lively; not heavy and cloying. In typical Resonance Vineyard fashion the tannins are polymerized leaving a silky, immediately enjoyable wine. We believe the wine will improve in the bottle for four to seven years (depending on cellar temperature) and then hold for up to 15 years.

No fining agents where used to make this wine. But we did employ state-of-the-art cross-flow filtration to assure biological stability of the finished wine. We’ve chosen to bottle the wine with the glass “Vino-Seal” stopper produced by Alcoa. We prefer this closure to cork because the glass seal will never taint the wine in any way. You can be assured of a fine vinous experience in every bottle of Resonance Vineyard Pinot Noir. The entire package is recyclable—please do so.

2007 vintage
Harvest occurred on 9-29-07 and 10-12-07. At 2176 degree days, 2007 was the coolest year since 1995. But still slightly above the 30-year average of about 2100 degree days. The resulting wines are very aromatic and lively, but the Pinot noir is lighter in color and alcohol than any since 1997.

The g³ is a unique mélange of 75% Gewurztraminer, 20% Pinot gris and 5% Muller-Thurgau. All the fruit was hand-harvested on October 12th. The entire lot was whole-cluster pressed together and allowed to settle for 24 hours. Must sugar content was 22.8º Brix. No enzymes, nutrients, yeast, bacteria or sulfites were added at crush. The pure grape juice was racked to a stainless-steel fermentation tank and chilled to 34ºF. The tank was then gassed with argon to evacuate free-oxygen, sealed and the refrigeration turned off.

The wine (without any yeast inoculation) slowly started to ferment once the temperature had risen above 55ºF. in order to retain the natural fruit esters, fermentation never exceeded 60º F. Fermentation lasted almost 30 days, and once the wine had reached dryness (no remaining fermentable sugars) the wine was gently suflited (to about 50 ppm) and Bentonine (a Montmorillonite clay) was added to help clarify the wine and remove excess protein. AT this point, the wine was chilled once again to help settle. Prior to bottling on January 17th, the wine was racked twice and cross-flow filtered (a state of the art process). Sulfites were adjusted to 20 ppm free and the wine was sterile bottled.

The g³ wine carries the rare Demeter certification mark of “Biodynamic® Wine” which is the most rigorous designation offered by Demeter USA. This mark requires virtually no adulteration of the fruit or wine. As mentioned above, there was nothing added to the wine except Bentonite clay (for clarification and stability) and a total of 93 ppm of sulfites.

We’re very proud of this rich, aromatic white wine. The light golden color belies the uniquely-colored Gewürztraminer skins. The aromas suggest pineapple, coconut, clove, roasted hazelnuts and forest humus. The palate is soft and creamy, leaving an impression of richness. We find the wine to be an excellent foil for mild curries or Asian spiced dishes; an excellent choice for vegetarian foods, chicken, fish, shellfish or pork. Or, as the label states, simply enjoy g³ as a salacious sipper amidst scintillating discourse.

Vital Stats:
Titratable acidity: 5 grams/liter
pH: 3.65
Unfermentable sugars: 4 grams/liter (dry)
Alcohol: 13.4% by volume
Free SO2 at bottling: 20 ppm
Total SO2 at bottling: 93 ppm
Total production: 280 cases of 12/750 ml bottles
Vine age: 26 years



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