As mentioned before, we started sourcing Pommard and Wadenswil heritage clones of Pinot Noir from Diane Nemarnik of Nemarniki Vineyard—who also makes wines under the same label—back in 2016. Like us, Diane’s vineyard is located in the Chehalem Mountains AVA, about four miles away from our estate vineyard.
Diane’s acreage sits on Laurelwood soil which is brown loess, a windblown, silty loam that is extremely fertile and drains well. Pinots from this soil type tend to have brighter red fruit and express more earthiness.
And that’s exactly what we found when we were sampling from the barrels.
The Wadenswil, which is often called a “spicebox” clone, was our showstopper barrel in the 2016 vintage, which is why Dave decided to put it with Diane’s extremely tasty Pommard in a 75/25 blend. It’s so spectacular, special and in such limited quantities (33 cases total!) that we have given it a new label name and designated it as our newest Fanfare Club Exclusive Release. (The rest of the Pommard is included in our 2016 Titan Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, which we anticipate releasing around Labor Day 2018.)
As always, we’ve drawn our wine tasting notes from a group of trusted industry friends who have amazing noses and palates, as well as enormous breadth and depth of experience sampling Willamette Valley AVA Pinots. Our favorite quote among all the feedback?
“2016 Candide is what you dream about for a wine to be.”
Named for Leonard Bernstein’s operetta of the same name (which was based on the 1759 novella by Voltaire), Candide is currently showing aromas of bright red fruits including cherry, fresh herbs, eucalyptus, tobacco and chocolate (one taster said it reminded them of Spumoni ice cream!) on the nose. On its velvety, chewy palate, Candide offers hints of blueberry, cherry, red currant, toasty marshmallow, baking spices and woodsy earth.
Like 2014’s The Soloist, our previous Fanfare Club Exclusive release, we will not be pouring samples of this wine prior to purchase—you just have to take our word that it’s delicious. Candide and several other wines are available for pre-orders today and will be included in Spring 2018 shipments as weather conditions permit. Contact us to join Fanfare Club and reserve your bottles.
