By David Hill Winery
2014 Willamette Valley Reserve Pinot Noir

Wine Details
Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 14.10%
pH: 3.5
TA: .57 g/100ml.
Blend: Crafted from eight estate clones
Aging: 14 months in 10% new French oak

The Vintage
The 2014 vintage in Oregon may be remembered as the vintage of a lifetime. From bud break through harvest, growers and winemakers throughout the state experienced an almost ideal growing season that delivered a record amount of exceptional, balanced fruit.

The vintage's milestones averaged two weeks early from bud break through harvest, with some sites and varieties maturing as much as three weeks early. Growing conditions were mostly dry and warmer than normal throughout the spring providing a great environment for flowering and fruit set. The result was large clusters that ripened evenly over the course of the warm, dry summer. The 2014 vintage broke the previous record for heat accumulation during the growing season, set in 2006.

This record was broken not by the daytime highs but rather the overnight lows being higher than normal for most of the year. This allowed the grapes to continue ripening through veraison without putting heat stress on the vines.

This is one of those rare vintages when you have high quality and high quantity simultaneously. From the standpoint of weighing quantity against quality, it was one of the best perhaps as the wines are very good and range from refreshing and vibrant to rich and ripe. The Pinot Noirs are deeper in color and range from the low 13s to lower 14s in alcohol percent. I believe the consumer will love these wines as they will be similar to the 2009 vintage. - Joe Dobbes, Dobbes Family Estate
[Information provided by Matador Wines]