J.C. Somers Joie de Chien Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 2023

Abbey Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir

I have worked with Abbey Ridge since 1993 (while at Adelshiem) and in 1994 with Cameron Winery. In 2001, I was lucky to be offered a block of Pinot Noir at Abbey Ridge and have been working with the fruit ever since. Abbey Ridge is the cornerstone to our Pinot Noir program and I believe it to be the best Pinot Noir site in the Willamette Valley. Owned by my friends Bill and Julia Wayne, this vineyard is the platonic form of what the Dundee Hills AVA is all about – elegance. We have 2.5 acres of the Coury Clone Pinot Noir.

2023 gave us good yields in the Abbey Ridge Vineyard (the greatest vineyard in the Willamette Valley) so after I selected the best barrels for the Abbey Ridge single vineyard bottling I assembled the remaining 9 barrels to the 2023 Joie de Chien Pinot Noir.

100% destemmed, 20 days on the skins and aged for 20 months in French barrels before bottling.

• Aged in French barrels for 20 months before bottling

J.C. Somers is the collaboration between Jay Christopher Somers and his longtime part-ner and wife Ronda Newell-Somers. The label displays the New Moon which signifies a new phase in their winemaking adventures.

Owner and native Oregonian Jay Somers has been making wine in the Willamette Valley for more than 30 years, and established the J. Christopher brand in 1996. Working with great winemakers like his mentor John Paul of Cameron Winery and time spent at Ad-elsheim and Dry River in New Zealand Jay’s wines are hand-crafted in small lots and are sourced from some of the best vineyards in the Willamette Valley. The philosophy at J.C, Somers is to produce wines in an Old World style that emphasizes focus, length and Balance. As Jay puts it, “We do not make fruit bombs. We want wines that have a fine bal-ance of fruit, acidity and texture. We want wines that give you more than just a big mid-palate blast — wines that are complete.” The key to this, Jay firmly believes, is patient winemaking — it is vital not to rush things and allow the wines to develop naturally. The wines should evolve at their own pace, with a minimum of intervention. He is taking in-spiration from wines of the Old World and applying it to the terroir of the Willamette Val-ley. When Jay is not busy making wine he is usually playing guitar and composing new music for his band Portland Cement, check out their new album "The Road to El Groove" on your favorite streaming app.