Trisaetum Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA

卓斯頓酒莊黑皮諾干紅葡萄酒

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：5580

The 2012 Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge comes from vines planted in 2007 (Pommard and Dijon clones). It offers darker, broodier fruit on the nose compared to the Wichmann or the Coast Range '12: bilberry, boysenberry and subtle seaweed/marine notes that surface with time. The palate is medium-bodied with more tannic backbone, although it does not possess the same finesse as the Coast Range. This will need one or two years in bottle. There is certainly impressive substance here and firm grip, but patience will be required.

Trisaetum’s 2011 Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge Estate marries deeply savory roasted red meat juices with brightly-fresh plum and sour cherry. There is a significant overlay of tannin including from barrel, but fortunately the retention of primary juiciness and savory carnal as well as saline mineral elements that jump-start the salivary glands help one overlook any roughness. I would anticipate improvement and high performance through at least 2018. James Frey’s Tristaetum – whose highly-sophisticated Ribbon Ridge facility (including an “air knife” on their extra-wide sorting belt for instantly removing water, not to mention bugs) will now host Louis Jadot’s new project with Resonance Vineyard – continues, entering their seventh vintage in 2013, to display considerable promise with both Pinot and Riesling, now from three distinctive sites, since the diminutive Wichmann Vineyard in Dundee (next to Archery Summit’s Red Hills Estate) has now joined their Ribbon Ridge and Coast Range estate vineyards. (The latter is dramatically-situated in an extreme southwestern appendage of the Yamhill-Carlton A.V.A, whose borders were reputedly drawn so as not to exclude such a promising slope. For more on Frey’s sites and methodology, consult my introduction to this winery in issue 202.) Surprisingly given vintage norms, Frey claims not to have needed to drop significant Pinot crop from his Ribbon Ridge vineyard in 2011 and to still have come in under two tons per acre. (His other two vineyards regularly produce slightly more.) “We had big bunches,” relates co-winemaker Greg McClellan, “but there wasn’t much consistency, and there weren’t overly many of them.” The 2011 Pinot harvest was finished on November 2, eight days before the ten of Riesling-picking even began, because – much as in 2010 – while must weights were already high enough in early November, pHs remained extremely low and malic acid was stubbornly persistent. Despite that chemistry, Riesling was once again bottled already in February. Frey and McClellan claim to have had more than 80 different fermenting lots from 50 tons of 2011 Riesling alone (in tanks, casks, and even one concrete egg), which suggests abundant data-points and opportunities to experiment with and improve their regimen of fermentation and elevage. The promisingly straggly and small-berried bunches I saw on their vines this year, as well as what they oxymoronically describe as their “retentive” scrupulousness in sorting, should also help advance quality going forward. No stems were retained in 2011 for the Pinot ferments, and those musts were at most minimally chaptalized, with bottled wines hovering around 12.5% alcohol. Tel. (503) 538-9898

Fresh, juicy cherry with pronounced piquancy of its pit and stimulating accents of fresh ginger and black pepper dominate the Trisaetum 2010 Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge Estate, a texturally polished yet tight, bright, enervating Pinot that finishes with vibrancy and panache. This ought not to significantly let-up for at least half a dozen years. Tristaetum is the 2003 creation of photographer, painter, and one-time California home winemaker James Frey. Portland- and Beaune-trained Greg McClellan has been the other half of Trisaetum’s vineyard and cellar team since the first commercially significant vintage, 2007. The estate vineyards are two: Ribbon Ridge Estate – where winemaking facilities are located – in the eponymous A.V.A.; and Coast Range Estate, on a mix of sedimentary and volcanic-based soils at the western edge of the Yamhill-Carlton A.V.A. Both the Frey family’s Alsace origins and taste preferences led to Riesling playing nearly as important a part at Trisaetum as Pinot Noir, and those are the sole grapes grown. Huge importance is placed on fruit selection including vacuuming of detritus and two sophisticated sorting tables. Riesling is fermented in both stainless steel “barrels” and actual ones, as well as in vineyard-designated; dry and off dry; two-vineyard reserve blend; and, frequently too, in late-harvested versions. As with their Rieslings, Frey and McClellan employ for the sake of complexity a variety of yeast cultures to – following extended cold soak – ferment their Pinots in a mixture of stainless steel tanks and oak uprights, with three or more punch-downs a day the norm, and pressing at or within 2-3 days after achieving dryness. Production is in the 300 case range for these wines, the notable exceptions among those I most recently tasted being the “Estates Reserve” bottlings (combining fruit from both Ribbon Ridge and Yamhill-Carlton branches) which represented half that amount of 2011 Riesling and double that amount of 2010 Pinot Noir. (Note that while Trisaetum identifies their wines with the name of the relevant branch of their estate, they have not chosen to explicitly indicate the relevant official Willamette sub-A.V.A.s on their labels.) Tel. (503) 538-9898

The 2009 Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge sports a nose of earthy minerals, underbrush, cedar, spice box, and assorted red fruits along with a hint of balsamic. In the glass it exhibits a bit of ripe tannin, spicy flavors, a smooth texture, and moderate length. It is likely to evolve for 1-2 years and provide enjoyment through 2019. Trisaetum is owned by James and Andrea Frey with James and Greg McClellan serving as winemakers. Aside from Pinot Noir, the winery has a strong focus on Riesling as the following reviews will attest. Trisaetum’s most recent Riesling releases are all from the 2010 vintage. It was marked by a cool summer which ultimately resulted in very long hang-times for the grapes. They came in with the highest acids Trisaetum has ever achieved with the pHs in all 5 Rieslings under 3.0. They were all fermented and aged in 85% stainless steel and 15% neutral 600-liter French oak and sourced from the estate’s two vineyards (Coast Range Estate and Ribbon Ridge Estate). Trisaetum’s Pinot Noirs are aged in 33% new oak, 33% once used, and the balance older barrels. The exception is the Estates Reserve which sees 45% new oak. Time in barrel for all of the Pinots is 11 months. James Frey was happy with what was achieved in 2009 describing the wines as “?warm, lush, big wines with expressive fruit.”Tel. (503) 538-9898; www.trisaetum.com

The winery flagship, the 2008 Pinot Noir Trisaetum raises the bar to an even higher level. It is a selection of the most complex and age-worthy barrels in the cellar according to James Frey. Although lighter in color than its siblings, it offers considerably more aromatic complexity with its aromas of pain grille, smoke, floral notes, Asian spices, incense, and amalgam of red and black fruits. Satin-textured, graceful, yet remarkably concentrated, its precision and balance should allow it to age for 6-8 years if not longer. It is one of the stars of a great vintage.Trisaetum is owned by James and Andrea Frey with James and Greg McClellan serving as winemakers with consultation from Josh Bergstrom. Aside from Pinot Noir, the winery has a strong focus on Riesling. Beginning in 2008, all of Trisaetum's Pinot Noirs are produced from estate-grown fruit.Tel. (503) 538-9898; www.trisaetum.com