Tunnell opened his 2001 Pinot Noir Cuvee du Tonnelier for me in the immediate aftermath of tasting his 2011s, because this was another year when nature was determined to set a big crop of large, thin-skinned bunches and berries. And in fact, he didn’t feel that his Dijon clones generated the requisite quality of tannin in 2001 to merit a dedicated bottling so they all went into that year’s “Select” cuvee. There is lovely spice and florality here from nose to tail: nutmeg and cardamom; almond and pistachio extracts; iris and rose petal. Utmost tenderness of texture may point toward lightness of tannin, but clearly the phenols that counted for aroma and flavor were present in spades! Marrow-rich beef and mushroom stock is mingled with intriguingly medicinal and mineral allusions to iron supplement, shrimp shell reduction, stone, and iodine. A wonderful sense of energy and lift; berry seed-crunching impingement highly reminiscent of 2011; retained primary juiciness; and mouthwatering salinity, make for a memorably and exhilaratingly long finish that compels the next sip. I imagine this will continue gloriously for at least another 3-4 years, but quite possibly longer. Incidentally, this beauty came in at a full degree brix more than the corresponding 2011, but Tunnell points out that in those days he was still concerned about grape sugars in a conventional way that he isn’t today; and he opines that this wine might have been every bit as wonderful if not more so with a touch less finished alcohol. Tunnell was utilizing whole clusters with stems already at this time though in the present instance just 4 out of 24 bins were left that way. He was not yet practicing post-fermentation maceration, though. A vacuum-bottling apparatus was already in place here by 2001. (Incidentally, re-tasting the corresponding 1998 alongside, that wine continued to show fine complexity, if a bit less mouthwatering savor than shown when I reviewed it for Issue 202.)
Willamette biodynamic pioneer Doug Tunnell – for much more about whom and about whose property and portfolio consult my Issue 202 introduction – brought in all of his 2011s in the last days of October and first days of November at close to 12.5% natural alcohol, and they were then chaptalized (in part simply to extend fermentation), but remain just under 13%. With the exception of his “Moe’s” bottling from Momtazi Vineyard in McMinnville, Tunnell utilized a higher share of whole clusters and stems in 2011 than he had in 2010. He claims that it’s critical to combine the use of stems with extended maceration even after reaching dryness, which supports a hypothesis I’ve developed since last year that the many vintners who refer to Ribbon Ridge Pinot as inherently tough are probably pulling their young wine off of the skins as it takes on obvious tannins rather than, as it were, letting it get over a hump. “It took me time to understand this,” says Tunnell. “You watch those tannins climb, and climb, and climb. But don’t pull the trigger; restrain yourself! Then they start coming together.” The chance to taste additional older wines with Tunnell on this recent occasion has enhanced my respect and admiration for his work as well as encouraged my belief that the wines he is crafting from recent vintages are going to number among those Ribbon Ridge Pinots that serve as future benchmarks for what is possible with this grape in the Willamette Valley. (Incidentally, Tunnel could not locate even a single bottle of his “basic” 2011 Pinot Noir Select for me to taste in July and I failed to subsequently connect with one.)
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