Teutonic "Bergspitze" Pinot Noir 2023

100% Alsatian Coury Pinot Noir clones brought to the United States in a suitcase by Charles Coury and planted in Oregon in 1965. The wine delivers the typical characteristics of this vineyard, lighter colored but deep in aromatics of bright fruit notes of cherry and white raspberry with a slight dusting of chalkiness. The finish is long and keeps your palate reminded of what you just sipped until the next taste.

"Bergspitze" means "mountain top" in German, and the fruit for this wine is in fact grown on the top of Bald Peak in the Chehalem Mountains at 1250 feet elevation. This cooler site gives the grapes a chance to hang on the vines longer without over-ripening. This is truly an Alpine wine!

Laurel Vineyard represents the perfect expression of what Teutonic looks for -- while many of these grapes are used for sparkling wine, Barnaby loves crafting still red wine, allowing him to make Pinot Noir in his signature style. The vines are also dry-farmed, encouraging deep rooting to showcase earth and minerality on the palate. Barnaby strives to create delicious, lower alcohol, higher acid, food friendly wines, and this Pinot Noir does not disappoint.

Teutonic Wine Company was founded by Barnaby and Olga Tuttle in 2005. While their wines are inspired by the wines of the Middle-Mosel Valley in Germany and Alsace in France, they are a celebration of Oregon. Barnaby and Olga work with cool climate growing sites and are focused on quality farming as well as minimal intervention in both the vineyard and winery.

In the cellar, they embrace a minimalist intervention philosophy and ferment strictly with indigenous yeast native to each vineyard. The wines can be summed up by: "Old & Cold, High & Dry, Wood & Wild" - Old vine and cold climate, High elevation and Dry farmed, Neutral oak and Wild fermentation.