2023 Duck Pond Rose - "Willamette Valley Legacy Wines"

12.0

Our 2023 rosé displays a pale pink color with salmon hues and brilliant clarity. Vivid aromas of alpine strawberry, watermelon and tangerine mingle with hints of thistle blossom and sweet pea. Upon tasting, notes of white tea, hibiscus, goji berry, and hints of fines herbes add complexity. This rosé is dry with fresh acidity and a smooth texture. Enjoy on it’s own or paired with your favorite dishes well-chilled

A carefully selected blend from quality sites throughout the Willamette Valley offers aromatic complexity and finesse. This wine is crafted from thoughtfully chosen vineyards that highlight the beauty of Oregon, we blend individually fermented lots to craft a wine of beauty and grace.

Pinot Noir and aromatic white grapes were pressed and fermented separately at low temperatures to ensure freshness and aromatic intensity. Fermentation was halted to retain floral notes and fresh fruit character. Brief lees contact contributed richness and mouthfeel, helping build complexity and balance. This wine is blended with a slightly different mix of varieties after fermentation each year, with the goal of best expressing the character of the vintage and achieving a bright, aromatic, balanced wine.

The 2023 vintage began with a cool, wet early spring, which delayed bud break until the end of April. After bud break, the weather quickly warmed, and the combination of favorable weather and good soil moisture supported rapid canopy growth in May and June. Despite one of the latest bud breaks on record, bloom took place almost a week ahead of average timing in early to mid June, with vines
at full trellis height. The weather during bloom was fair, leading to strong and even fruit set. Warm and temperate weather continued in June and July, and a brief heat spell in mid-August quickly gave way to more dry, moderate weather again until harvest began in mid-September. Brief rain showers towards the end of harvest extended the growing season for our later sites, and the maturity and integrity of the fruit across the board was excellent. The result was a vintage with fantastic balance and ethereal yet vivid flavors, embodying the tensions of a classic Willamette Valley growing season in which the weather seemed to deliver exactly what we needed just in time at every corner. The wines are at once serious and age-worthy yet, also precocious and easy to love in their youth–this vintage, which kept us guessing about what it might become all spring, is destined to be a classic.