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November 8, 2011
To the faithful,
It's late. Me, a little bleary-eyed at the kitchen counter, my hands purple, my short-pour a little empty. Snow in the mountains and elk hunting are out of reach this year, for I've got a job and the harvest has been late, late. Just dragged my ass back from the winery all covered in grapes after a sixteen of winemaking. I like what I do, but at this stage of the crush the romance of this job feels sticky and in need of a shower. Work, sleep, work, work, sleep, the cellar maintains its own heartbeat.
And a slow deep breath. The fermenters are warm and bulging. Ample red and black is the year, with just enough ripening and yield from the marbles. Elegance, acid and picking days in November outweighed birds, early and overripe in September. I'm excited by the nuance, balance and lower alcohols (±12.5%) accorded from a year that moves decidedly toward our style of classic Pinot Noir. Oregon it is, Merlot noir it is not, and that should warm the hearts of J.K. Carriere fans.
As should the 2009 vintage Pinots (though frankly that harvest seems an eternity ago), now fully released with the advent of our Limited Bottlings here. Different year, different story, with the relatively warm vintage pushing the power side of the Pinot equation. The wines are plush and available, and we wrangled all the tools in our kit to achieve balance. Black-dress beautiful, can't help but thinking.
If you can join us for our Thanksgiving festivities, we'll taste 2009 and talk 2011. In the event we don't get this vintage put to barrel before then, we are advising water wings or similar personal floatation devices, or at the very least, your wellies.
Na zdravi,
Jim Prosser
Owner/winemaker/swimmer
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New releases: 2009 Limited Bottlings
Anderson Family, Antoinette, Gemini and Shea: Our Limited Bottlings represent the very best barrels from the J.K. Carriere cellar. The single-vineyard offerings from the sumptuous 2009 vintage offer up hedonistic pleasure, no matter which one is your favorite. The 2008s were gone in 15 days last year, so don't wait:
2009 Anderson Family WV Pinot Noir
One of the most seamless of the JKC offerings, '09 Anderson brings pretty, super-smooth and savory to the table, this time in a form-fitting velvet dress. Acid and grip are there and persistent, but integrated and likely to remain so as it whiles away the years. Read the full tasting notes. $65 order
2009 Antoinette WV Pinot Noir
My Canadian grandmother Antoinette Carriere knew her way around both a team of horses and the fire of a stove. When the horses ran too fast or the fire got too hot, she knew how to rein it in or pull it back, so that neither horse nor meal got too cooked. It was good for her grandson to heed that advice during the very warm 2009 growing year. 2009 Antoinette, from Temperence Hill's 30-year-old high-elevation site, balances between sweet and sour, showing flavors of strawberry taffy, PEZ and cherry pompote with nice grip. Read the full tasting notes. $65 ea ($57.50 case price) order
2009 Gemini Vineyard WV Pinot Noir
In a phrase, Geminit is red-car dining on a train headed down a brown-vntage track. The key to Gemini Vineyard is that the fruit always stays in the red spectrum of flavor, never moving towards black as in nearly every other vineyard we know. The resulting wine is rich garnet in color, smelling of cherry reduction sauce, with a palate that is perfectly ripe Bing cherry, mouthwatering melon, and slight graham. Read the full tasting notes. $65 ($57.50 case & club price) order
2009 Shea Vineyard WV Pinot Noir
We're said it before but it remains true: Shea Vineyard is the booming bass note out of the JKC cellar. Deep, deep red in color, the wine roams the palate like a sweet, plush, late summer blue-blackberry pie, with savory cracklings on the side. The perpetual crowd pleaser needs a bit of air, but then delivers lush/lusher, plush/plusher -- its classic one-two punch of sweet and ripe fruit. Read the full tasting notes. $65 ($57.50 case and club) order
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12, J.K. Carriere's wine club
Membership in 12, our wine club, is a great way to ensure you receive your favorite J.K. Carriere wines without missing a step. You'll receive one mixed case per year (three bottles of our four main offerings -- Glass rose of Pinot, Provocateur Pinot, Vespidae WV Pinot, and Limited Bottling Pinot), divided into two shipments (April and November). Benefits include best pricing, first access to all bottlings (including special offers and wines not automatic for the club), additional discounts, wine club only events, and complimentary visits to the tasting room. $398/year (plus applicable shipping and taxes), billed only at the time the wine ships. Click here for more information, or contact Linda, 503-554-0721, ext 2.
A one-year subscription makes a great gift!
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After a long fall full of work, we're looking forward to catching up with you!
Jim Prosser
and the J.K. Carriere crew
J.K. Carriere
9995 NE Parrett Mtn Rd
Newberg, OR 97132 directions
503-554-0721
www.jkcarriere.com
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Winter wine tasting