Proud to share our reserve-tier Pinot Noir - a small lot wine made to honour our winemaking philosophy, our historic estate vineyard and the special relationship between Tantalus and Tahltan-Tlingit artist Dempsey Bob.
A rich cherry in colour, the nose of this is wine is at once concentrated yet nuanced. Perfumed aromas of violets, anise and currants are complemented with warmer notes of baking spice and nut, hinting at the gentle oak integration.
The palate is lush and full with a caress of well-resolved tannins. Dark red fruits, licorice, cedar and an earthy minerality support the lingering, silky finish. The 667 showcases a slightly savoury note and unveils a hint of forest floor. Although very elegant, the structure is framed by firm tannins. Brown sugar, cherry, tobacco all their part in the long finish.
Year-to-year, our reserve Pinot Noir is based on a small mid-slope block of Dijon Clone 667. These 18 rows easily contain some of the prettiest parcels of fruit off of our single-vineyard estate. In addition to this backbone of 667, a small selection of stand-out Clone 37 and 777 wine in barrel was chosen to enhance the nose and nuance of the “blend”.
These handful of rows were picked at the perfect ripeness and were fermented with wild yeast, and incorporating 50% whole bunches. Cap management in cellar consisted of only one foot treading per day to maintain finesse. Following primary fermentation, it was racked to barriques of which 40% were new for malolactic fermentation. After 15 months and a gentle racking, our Reserve Pinot was bottled unfined and unfiltered and spent another year in bottle before release.
100 cases made.
Learn more about our connection to artist Dempsey Bob.
92 points - Treve Ring, Gismondi On Wine, July 2022
"Perfumed dark plum, black cherry, dusky wild blackberry, tobacco, and dark florals fill a structural palate, textured and framed with finely grippy tannins that stretch to the cedar spiced finish. Under a Diam10 closure, so the winery has clear intent on the ageability of this wine. I concur. Drinking well now (with grilled pork / mushrooms) but will reward with a couple of years in the cellar."
TECHNICAL INFO
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 13.2%
Residual Sweetness: 1.49 g/L
pH: 3.78
Total Acidity: 5.5 g/L
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VINTAGE NOTES
Our 2019 growing season was not without its challenges. Winter started unusually warm and dry but took a turn late in the season with sustained temperatures below -20 C arriving in February. Vines suffered from a range of winter damage. As a result, drawn out and uneven bud break was evident in several of our vineyard pockets. Conditions turned more favourable in May allowing delayed shoots to catch up. However, rain set in towards the end of June and periods in July, keeping the vineyard team on their toes regarding crop protection and canopy work. A warm and dry August gave us ideal ripening conditions and set us up for harvest to begin on schedule.
Dodging rain showers throughout the rest of September, harvest continued until early October when the first frost caused the vine canopy to drop and us to bring in the remaining parcels of fruit. Although yields are shy from 2019, the wines have so far emerged as beautifully nuanced with restrained alcohols and purity of fruit.
