Adelsheim Pinot Noir Breaking Ground 2021

Tasting notes

 ‘What a lovely expression of Breaking Ground! This wine is sleek and elegant, redolent of hibiscus tea, fresh cherry, cinnamon bark, and nutmeg. These aromas are echoed on the palate and framed by finessed, fine-grained tannins. I will drink this wine with everything.’

Terroir

VINEYARD : Grapes for this wine come from 8 select hillside sites within the Chehalem Mountains AVA, 77% of which are estate. These vineyards showcase the complexity of this AVA, covering a diversity of clones and rootstocks, and are planted on all three major soil types found in this region: 27% loess, 26% sedimentary, and 47% volcanic.

Vintage Notes

The 2021 Vintage was one for the books, and not just because we were celebrating our 50th Anniversary! The growing season got an early jump start thanks to the warmer than normal temperatures and one of the driest March and April’s ever recorded. One of the only rain events we saw came right at bloom, with 1.5” of rain falling during flower pollination resulting in a reduced crop load, ideal for vine balance and optimal ripening. The end of June surprised us all with a recording breaking heat event; 3 consecutive days of over 115 degrees. Fortunately, the vineyards endured remarkably well and the developing clusters continued to show promise. After concerns of low soil moisture and high temperatures, mother nature graced us with quite literally a perfect harvest and truly incredible fruit quality that we are beyond excited about.

Vinification

FERMENTATION : The grapes were hand-harvested and destemmed into stainless steel tanks (around 4% were left as whole cluster) for 2-3 weeks of fermentation. Once fermentation was complete the grapes were gently pressed and settled, then racked to barrel.

AGING: This wine was aged for 10 months in French oak barrels, of which 30% were new.

Winery Description

Adelsheim Vineyard was founded with an optimistic spirit and a lofty dream: To create World-Class wines in an undiscovered wine region, the Chehalem Mountains of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Luck, fate, and a single-minded determination to make world-class wine in Oregon led David and Ginny Adelsheim to purchase their first 19 acres just outside Newberg, Oregon in 1971. Drawn to the uniqueness of the land and its proximity to Portland, it was here they decided to stake their claim, plant their first rows of Pinot noir along Quarter Mile Lane, and establish what would become the Chehalem Mountains’ first-ever winery in 1978—Adelsheim.