2021 Illahe Vineyards "Bon Sauvage" Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

Minimal intervention and historical winemaking techniques characterize our winemaking at Illahe. The grapes are loaded onto the sorting table where any unripe or damaged clusters are removed by hand. The grapes are cold soaked for 2 to 6 days before undergoing a fermentation by natural yeast. The cap is punched down by tool or on occasion foot. Our red wines ferment naturally. The finished product is drained and then scooped carefully down to the press level. We use a wooden basket press, only retaining enough tannin in pressing for aging.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

At Illahe, our goal is to make wine as naturally as possible from soil to bottle. We work by hand on small lots with age-old techniques and materials. Our focus is to grow and make quality Pinot Noir and white wines that express the vintage and their varietal characteristics. We don't use enzymes or additives. Some of our wines are made entirely by hand, with no electricity or modern mechanization. We use a gentle wooden basket press and age our Pinot Noir in French and Oregon oak.

Quality wine starts with quality fruit in the vineyard. Our 80-acre, south-facing vineyard lives in shallow clay soils. Like our friends in the Deep Roots Coalition, which is committed to dry agriculture and responsible water practices, we do not irrigate mature plants. As one of Oregon’s few horse-powered vineyards we utilize a team of Percheron draft horses to mow and deliver grapes to the winery at harvest.