Tropical aromas of underripe pineapple, green papaya and star fruit mingle with white flowers on the nose. The palate is bright with flavors of pineapple, green citrus and ripe kiwi, finishing with smooth and bright acidity and flavors lingering on the palate. This wine is bright and lively enough to pour as an aperitif, and full-bodied enough to enjoy with salmon or grilled chicken. The 2021 vintage brought everything hoped for by Willamette Valley area growers and winemakers, even though a few searing hot days in late June brought growers a certain sense of foreboding. Luckily, no grapes suffered from this and continued to ripen at a normal pace. The weather leading up to picking time was perfect. The fruit was allowed to fully develop in flavor and ripen slowly. The significant heat events only pushed the harvest dates up by about four days over last year, with the first Pinot Noir from Yamhela Vineyard coing in on September 20. The last load of grapes arrived on October 9 from our Howell Prairie site. Despite a relatively condensed 19-day harvest window, operations ran smoothly. Primarius is produced in Dundee, Oregon, considered to be a cooler climate wine growing region, boasting a long, gentle growing season. With warm summers, mild winters and a long, often rainy spring, the Oregon's climate is particularly well matched to the early ripening Pinot Noir grape. The grapes in Oregon benefit from growing on a variety of hillside slopes and on a range of soils, created by volcanic activity and sedimentary rock.
