EZY TGR Wines Pinot Noir 2021

Tart Red Cherry, Raspberry, Black Tea, Wet Leaves, Bergamot

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"EZY TGR (“Easy Tiger,” in case the label didn’t give it away) is another side project from our friend John House, a Winter Park native turned Willamette Valley winemaker. John and his wife Ksenija have carved a unique niche in the Willamette wine industry creating a white wine only brand called Ovum. Their focus is on Riesling, Muscat, and Gewurztraminer all fermented to complete dryness, often in large concrete eggs, hence the name. Thanks to their efforts many of the old vine plantings of these varieties, often from the 1970’s, have been preserved rather than converting to Pinot Noir. However, often the growers they work with also grow Pinot Noir, and right now there is a pretty large glut of that variety. Overproduction is a relatively new problem faced by the growers in the Willamette Valley as both quality and quantity have risen every vintage since 2016. Several of his growers offered John their grapes at a reduced rate, which gave him the idea of producing a varietally correct example of Willamette Pinot Noir at a price that works for by-the-glass placements.
Although the price point for this wine is not that high, John and Ksenija, who’s day job is assistant winemaker at Argyle, put some serious effort into the production. After harvest by hand, these grapes are brought from their respective vineyard sites to the winery, where about 80% of the fruit is destemmed. Spontaneous fermentation then occurs, using only native yeasts. Daily pump-overs are utilized in order to keep the cap submerged and to preserve aromatic structure. Post fermentation, the wine undergoes a traditional 18-month maturation in neutral French oak, to bring out more of the earthy, terroir-driven qualities of Pinot Noir." - JP Donnelly Davis