Cuvée Ruth is the winery’s barrel selection Reserve label for Pinot Noir, and is also sourced from a who’s-who of Eola-Amity nobility: Bracken, Koosah, Sojeau, Temperance Hill and X Novo. Like the Cuvée Anne above, each of the vineyards is harvested and vinified separately. About 5% of the ferment consisted of whole clusters and no additional yeast was added to start the proceedings. The finished wines were aged in 228-liter barrels, 40% of which were new, for 10 months before the best barrels were chosen and married together. This is an Oregon Pinot all about precision. It gets its oomph from pure, clearly expressed fruit that leans towards the ripe red cherry, mulberry and red currant, and we love the lifted violet, cinnamon and mineral notes.
There’s no excess weight or alcohol here—just lovely, elegant, mineral-driven Pinot that shows that bigger is not always better with this variety, especially in the Willamette Valley. This will be lovely with grilled salmon, poultry or mushroom dishes. Save some to enjoy in a few years too. Only 650 cases were made and we only have a couple to share!
