Arborbrook Croft Vineyard Pinot Gris 2011

aborbrookpinotgrisThe 2011 Arborbrook Croft Vineyard Pinot Gris is sourced from the certified organically farmed, Croft Vineyards in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Arborbrook is a small, family owned winery, specializing mainly in Pinot Noir, this is a small production wine, only 609 cases were produced. The grapes in the 2011 vintage provided a little more residual sugar than usual, making this a very supple Pinot Gris. The wine was fermented and aged in stainless steel and the alcohol content is 13.9%.

The color is almost clear, there is just a hint of golden yellow. The nose is ripe stone fruit (apricot & peach) and flowers. This Pinot Gris has a rounded, silky mouthfeel. It tastes pears, apricots, lemon/lime and peach. The mid palate brings some rich smooth pineapple. The acidity allows the wine to be crisp and clean on the palate and the finish lingers for a very respectable length of time.

If your exposure to Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris begins and ends with the leading Pinot Grigio out of Italy, an acidic, extremely citrusy wine, you may have decided that Pinot Gris wines are not your cup of tea. But the Oregon Pinot Gris and the Arborbrook Croft Vineyard Pinot Gris in particular is everything the leading Italian Pinot Gris is not. Rich and delicious, rounded and balanced, delicate with layers of flavor, with the proper amount of acidity to be refreshing, but not going overboard. The small boutique production Arborbrook Croft Vineyard Pinot Gris should be available at about the same price as the mass produced leading Italian Pinot Grigio.

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