Minimus Wines - Origin Pinot Gouges 2016
Price: $39.96
| Producer | Minimus Wines |
| Country | United States |
| Region | Oregon |
| Varietal | Other White Grapes |
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Sku | 602221 |
| Size | 750ml |
In the 1970s, an Oregon wine trailblazer clandestinely sought cuttings from Gouges, leading to the sole known planting in the United States, a modest 1.25 acre. The Zivo Vineyard is collaboratively tended by Origin winemaker Chad Stock and two fellow winemakers, the vineyard fosters a shared commitment to quality. Enriched by sedimentary soils atop basalt parent material and kissed by eastern sun exposure, Zivo is farmed organically with touches of biodynamic methodology. Harvested by hand, the grapes undergo a meticulous process under Chad's stewardship. Eighty percent of the juice ferments alongside 20% whole berries in a spacious oak cask, undergoing an extended maceration spanning 180 days. Ambient fermentation with indigenous yeasts, sans additives, ensures authenticity. Following full malolactic conversion, the wine matures for seven months in five-year-old 600-liter French oak casks, receiving a subtle touch of sulfur prior to bottling.
If it’s not known yet Pinot Noir has a tendency to mutate. Pinot Gris/Grigio, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier are the most famous of the variants but there are others. One of the most dramatic mutations happened in the Premier Cru “La Perrière” of Domaine Henri Gouges. Planted initially to Pinot Noir, Henri discovered in the early 1930s that some of the vines planted had mutated into Pinot Blanc. Henri created a new bottling around this mutation which later became known as Pinot Gouges in Burgundy. If you hear of Pinot Gouges it’s a good bet that the material used was sourced from the Gouges’ vineyard. Origin, part of the Craft Wine Company is a unique winery that we’ve featured before. Origin’s mission is to make limited edition wines that ‘speak’ to their vineyard location. These bottlings are rarely repeated.
