Notes from Bethel Heights:

The Flat Block is a three-acre section of our Estate vineyard planted in 1979 on a flat rocky bench in the center of a long, south-facing slope.. The soil is volcanic in origin, very shallow and gravelly. The vines are 100% own-rooted Pommard selection, some of the last own-rooted Pinot noir remaining in the Willamette Valley.

2017 was our sixth very warm vintage in a row. Fortunately we had quite a lot of rain in the winter and early spring; total rainfall for the year was almost 20 inches above normal. The summer overall was hot and dry, punctuated by a couple of significant hot spells in August and early September with consecutive days over 100 degrees, but September cooled down mercifully, with a few brief rain events that helped maintain freshness in the vineyard through the final ripening phase.