Notes from the producer:
"Located near Salem, Oregon, in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, Le Chenaie is a 103 acre site with 18 acres producing, and 8 more in the process of being planted. Here we grow Pinot noir, Riesling, and Tempranillo, all on resistant rootstocks. The rows are 6' wide, so each acre contains between 1400 and 2200 plants. We planted this vineyard beginning in 2001, and the soils are volcanic—Jory, Gelderman, and Ritner. Because the AVA is Eola-Amity Hills, the site is influenced by the afternoon breezes from the Van Duzer corridor in the Coastal Range, as with much of the western portion of the Eola-Amity Hills.
This wine comes from our La Chenaie vineyard site in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, located west of Salem near Rickreall Oregon. It is a 104 acre site, planted starting in 2001, with 27.4 acres under vine of Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling. There are currently 4 acres of Tempranillo planted with 5 different Tempranillo clones - Valdepenas, Tempranillo Clone 1, Clone 2, ‘Duero’ (Clone 12) and ‘Tinta de Toro’ (Clone 11).
We drop a substantial amount of fruit every year at this site in order to ripen the grapes fully for harvest. The average elevation is 507 feet, with south and east facing slopes.
The soils are a mix of clay silt and loam known as Jory, Gelderman, and Ritner, with Ritner being the shallow more rocky soils where the hills crest, Gelderman just below, and Jory deeper and farther down the slopes. It farmed organic and biodynamic.