King Estate, Brut Cuvée, Willamette Valley, OR

This full-bodied Traditional Method sparkling has fine bubbles with a medium to full body and aromas of apples, lemons, flowers, and toasted brioche.

COUNTRY: USA

STATE: OR

APPELLATION: Willamette Valley

VINEYARD(S): King Estate

VINTAGE: 2017

GRAPES: 61% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay

PRACTICE: Biodynamic

SOIL: Bellpine, Jory

VINIFICATION: Fermented dry in stainless steel. Second fermentation in bottle, aged on the lees for 36 months.

METHOD: Traditional Method

STYLE: Sparkling

COLOR: Golden straw

BODY: Medium to full

BUBBLES: Fine

TASTE: Dry (Brut)

PRIMARY AROMAS: baked apple, lemon zest, white flowers, minerality, lemon skin, fresh bread, biscuit

FLAVOR: apple skin, white peach, hazelnut, brioche, lemon oil 

FORMAT: 750 ml

ALCOHOL: 12.5%

SERVICE AND FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTION: Serve chilled. Pair with lemon roast chicken and toasted sourdough.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:

“An appreciation of risk and adventure runs through the King family lineage. The family patriarch, Ed King Jr., began his career as a designer of Navy aircraft electronics during World War II, later starting his own company, King Radio Corporation. He imparted a love for wine and enterprise to his son, also named Ed King. Together they envisioned the possibilities of producing premium wine in an untapped viticultural region.

In 1990, the younger Ed King owned two small vineyards as part of his timberland and farmland properties. Ed’s passion for wine grew alongside his vision for a premium Oregon winery. His aspirations came to fruition when, while purchasing hay for his horses, he discovered an ideal parcel, a 600-acre cattle ranch near Lorane, Oregon.

Looking over the misty ranch lands, Ed envisioned what would become the 1,033 acres of rolling vineyards of King Estate. Ed and his father purchased the land and the first grapes were planted in 1992 on just 16.5 acres. By 1994, more than 100 acres had been planted, creating the most clonally diverse soil and climate-matched vineyard in Oregon at the time. The first vintage of estate-grown grapes was harvested in 1995.

Over the next few years, the company acquired two adjoining properties — the Springhill Ranch and the Doughty Ranch, to the north and east, respectively — bringing the  acreage to its current substantial size.

In 2006, the highly acclaimed King Estate Restaurant opened, adjoining the winery, to serve visitors with world-class dining and fine wine pairings. That same year, the company launched its North by Northwest label to honor the high quality and bright future of the wine industry in the inland regions of Washington and Oregon. North by Northwest focuses on the Columbia Valley and Walla Walla AVAs.” (kingestate.com)

ABOUT THE VINEYARD: King Estate

“The unique characteristics of King Estate, especially soil, climate and terrain, contribute to the complex fruit flavors of our organically grown estate grapes.

Soil. King Estate is situated on primarily two kinds of soil: Bellpine, a marine sedimentary soil formed when Oregon was under the sea more than 12 million years ago; and Jory, a volcanic soil created from lava flows that also date back millions of years. Both Bellpine and Jory soils provide excellent drainage with good moisture retention, and are not especially fertile — exactly what grapevines like. Our soil characteristics also allow us to dry farm (without irrigation), resulting in smaller cluster weights and more concentrated flavors.

Climate. The large daily temperature swings of up to 35 degrees for which western Oregon is known serve to enhance flavor development in grapes and balance acidity levels. A cool-climate grape, pinot noir tends to ripen early and thrives in our shorter growing season.

Terrain. With elevations ranging from 740 to just under 1,200 feet and varying slope facings, the intense summer heat we experience during the day cools more rapidly at night at higher elevations, allowing grapes to pack in the flavor without losing too much acidity.” (kingestate.com)