Torii Mor Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains Select 2021

Tasting notes

The 2021 “Chehalem Mountains Select” aroma is forward, rich and sweet with floral notes of roses and a mix of cherries and blackberries, framed by light old-world complexity and earth and oak notes. The flavors display sweetness, richness, with full and ripe black cherry -blackberry fruit, complexity and light oak toast. The texture is rich, thick and elegant, great concentration and intensity, medium acids, and sweet rich-spicy tannins. The finish is long, and rich with intense sweet tannins, and a long complex-fruit-spices-earth aftertaste. This wine will benefit from extended cellaring and can be enjoyed today with or without decanting!

Terroir

Two vineyards are represented in this Chehalem Mountains appellation Pinot Noir: Alloro Vineyard at 33%, picked September 16th (alluvial-Loess on top of volcanic) Hawks View Vineyard at 67%, picked September 22nd (alluvial-Loess on top of volcanic)

Vintage Notes

The 2021 growing season was hot and dry with wide swings in weather conditions. An abnormally cold period at the end of May and a relatively cool wet period around bloom resulted in lower yields. The heat in the summer included a 5-day stretch that averaged 103F highs and 92-day span with only .02 inches of rain. Through the dry vintage emerged fruit with very little disease pressure, full ripeness, deep concentration while retaining good acidity. All these factors culminated to produce wines that are exceptionally balanced exhibiting flavors of intense dark fruit, earthiness and minerality paired with floral and red fruit aromatics. Torii Mor’s harvest started on September 13th and finished on September 29th.

Vinification

The grapes were picked from September 16th to 22nd; were fermented with RB2, BRG and RC212 yeasts in small fermenters for 17 to 20 days. They were punched down three times daily, pressed very gently, and racked to a variety of French oak barrels: 15% new, 25% 2years old, the rest neutral. The barrels were racked in August when the blend was put together before returning to barrels for a total of 17 months and is bottled.

Winery Description

The name ‘Torii Mor’ is an integration of the Japanese the word for a gate to sacred place and the ancient Scandinavian word ‘Mor’ which means: "earth."  By integrating these two distinct languages, the metaphor of the vine as a sacred gate to the earth through which beautiful things come is formed.  Perhaps no other varietal expresses the sense of place from which it comes more elegantly than Pinot Noir, and Torrii Mor’s Pinot Noirs are carefully crafted with minimal handling and native yeast fermentation to express what the earth offers in the most nonintrusive and purest style possible.
Torii Mor views wine, especially Pinot noir, is a priceless, non-reproducible work of art created by the cooperation of people with nature and people with each other.  It is both art and a story to be enjoyed with family and friends.  We think that you will agree.