Spring 2008
I nostri amici i più cari (Our dearest friends),
As Springtime enters the vineyard, I was recently reminded of the excitement I get for the new growing season. Upon driving up our lane, observing the daffodils, clover and pea vines swaying in the gentile breeze, I got chills as my eyes fixated on the gentle sloped vineyard’s newly pruned vines as they lie gently atop their trellis eagerly awaiting budbreak and their journey into another growing season. The neatly manicured vineyard reminded me of how our son’s get their haircuts in anticipation of the summer swimming season. Similarly, as many of you who have children know, we take immense pride in our ‘other’ baby (our vineyard) and nurturing her not only for the current growing season, but those several years out as well as those that perhaps the next generation will someday tend. I’m often mesmerized when I think of the opportunity life has afforded us to farm. It is quite invigorating to wake up at sun break, toiling proudly amongst the many chores that need attention and feeling a sense of calm satisfaction of what has been accomplished after a long day come sundown ~ especially with a glass of Pinot Noir in hand. This in part is what it means “own” a vineyard and choose to farm sustainably. We take immense pride knowing we can control our practices not only for our generation, but for those that follow. It wasn’t until 2007’s harvest that I really was able to visibly see the results and appreciate this long, sustained dedication – we’ve talken since day one back in 1998. We hope to continue improving the quality of our wines at every available opportunity. Our commitment to you is to put the best quality in the bottle that hopefully someday will rival the best the world has to offer! It is important to us to control the planting, growing, sustainable farming and picking decisions 100%. We believe this has led to an increase in the quality of our wines over our short history and compliments our traditional and minimalistic vinification techniques in the cellar.
As many of you know, we focus on handcrafting extremely small lots of Pinot Noir; three of which are from our Estate vineyard. We continue to be very selective in bringing on additional fruit sources. As we enter the next phase of our winery’s lifeline, we will be bringing on 3-5 new vineyard-designate wines over the course of the next several years. Each of these vineyards has proven their merit, embodies our philosophy for sustainable farming and afford us to express our artistic interpretation of their unique terroirs, clonal & vintage compositions.
Marianne & I are pleased to offer our 2006 Lachini Family Estate & Cuvée Giselle Pinot Noirs, the 2007 Pinot Gris and our inaugural release of our first Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines – 2005 La Bestia (Beast) & il Mulinello (swirl) from Washington’s Klipsun Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA. We’re very excited about the quality of all of these wines as well as what we have in the cellar from our vineyard’s performance from the 2007 harvest! There has been much reference to the greatness of the 2006 vintage and at first blush, we couldn’t agree more! That said, a truly great vintage must endure the test of time and our belief is that one is more apt to benefit from finding and trusting the style and integrity of a producer as well as appreciating the nuances of each vintage’s character. As many of you can attest after ordering and tasting our Fall releases of the 2006 vintage, these are sultry wines of grand opulence and depth. The vintage blessed us in terms of both quality and quantity (a rare combination for Oregon and Pinot Noir in general), but also shows unparalleled potential for cellar aging. Ultimately, Mother Nature gave us wine of great balance, purity and presence.
| The Wine Spectator rates the 2006 OR vintage ~ 91 NYR Ripe flavors, but fruit character tastes fresh, not dried. |
| The Wine Spectator rates the 2005 WA vintage ~ 93 Drink or hold Ripe flavors, but not excessively heavy. |
2006 Lachini Cuvée Giselle Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley is a selection of the finest twelve barrels of our entire production and in 2006 consisted of % Dijon clones, % Wadenswil, % La Tache and the balance of 14% from our Pommard block. A reflection of the independence and beauty of our daughter, Giselle – essentially our ‘reserve’ Pinot Noir. 290 cases produced
Alcohol – 14.4% | pH – 3.65
Harvest began on October 6th and concluded on October 13, 2005
Aged for 12 months in 100% French Oak barrels (75% new and 25% one-year old)
Dark and rich in color, this wine offers an opulent bouquet of wild blackberries, cola, plums, truffle, rose petal, and toasty oak which immediately fills your senses. Ripe, full-bodied tannins accentuate layers of concentrated ripe cherries, pomegranate, cassis, cherry cola, plums, crème brûlée with a touch of mineral nuance – ultimately, opens up after 30-60 minutes of decanting to reveal notes of violets, smoked bacon, cassis and black cherries. On the mouth, a highly concentrated, full-bodied Pinot with loads of structured dark cherry and pomegranate fruit and subtle cinnamon flavors. Finishes with complex exotic spice notes with bold and lingering flavors. A wonderfully textured wine with great acid balance that will give this youthful wine life for many years to come.
The Wine Spectator, Dec. 31, 2007 – ‘05 Cuvée Giselle Pinot Noir 92 PTS
Wine Enthusiast, Feb. 2007 – ‘04 Cuvée Giselle Pinot Noir 90 PTS
The Wine Spectator, Dec. 31, 2006 – ‘04 Cuvée Giselle Pinot Noir 90 PTS
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, May/June 2006 – ‘04 Cuvée Giselle Pinot Noir 90 PTS –
2006 Lachini Family Estate Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley Laurent Montalieu again crafts a sexy, hedonistic blend from our three Estate blocks; each contributing unique expressions of their respective clones as well as subtle Willakenzie series soils differences. This is a wine for the discerning Pinot / Burgundy fan and will reward patience. Over the last 5 vintages, we’ve come to learn that the Estate PN, styled in traditional Burgundy expression seeking ‘classic balance’, often comes around 1-2 years after bottling and we project it will be enjoyed most after proper cellaring of 5-15 years. 100% Estate fruit from our vineyard on the footstep of the Chehalem Mountain range. 1099 cases produced
Alcohol – 14.3% | pH – 3.68
Harvest began on October 6th and concluded on October 13, 2005
53% Pommard clone, 26% Dijon clone 777, 17% Dijon clones 667, 113-115 and 4% Wadensvil from our Estate’s East, Middle and West Blocks.
Aged for 12 months in 100% French Oak barrels (25% new and 75% one-year old)
Fragranced with gobs of ripe black cherries, blackberries and raspberries which intermingle dusty and subtle forest floor nuances. The nose is rounded out with mocha, white pepper and briar aromas. The round, rich and supple flavors reveal a freshness with lovely acid balance in which this full-bodied Pinot will again reward cellaring, yet opulence awaits those that enjoy now. It resonates on the palate and lasts on the finish. We suggest decanting in its youth or cellaring for3-5 years for increased nuances. Should age 5-15+ years.
Burghound, October 2007 – ‘04 Estate Pinot Noir 89PTS
Wine Enthusiast, February 2007 – ‘04 Estate Pinot Noir 91PTS (Cellar Selection)
San Francisco Chronicle, December 2006 – Top 100 Wines for 2006 (3 Stars)
2005 La Bestia, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (Puro Sangue) & 2005 il Mulinello, an International-styled Red ‘blend’ wine comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Both wines are from the Klipsun Vineyard in Washington’s heralded Red Mountain AVA (only 114 & 128 cases produced, respectively!). Arguably one of Washington’s top vineyards, we sourced fruit from Klipsun’s oldest block of Cabernet Sauvignon (planted in 1984) along with the 1990 Merlot block. We waited patiently to pick and were among the last to do so. Our patience and good fortune was rewarded with one of Washington’s finest vintages which yielded massive, extracted, high-octane reds that we still had in barrel at 24 months! Final blending revealed generous and huge structure and tannin. These will definitely reward the patient collector, yet will challenge you to drink young with their impressive fruit. We sold close to half of these wines as pre-release last Fall (without even the final blend and finished wine). These are two spectacular wines with rich concentration, tightly wound, offering layers of lengthy finishes with tell-tale Klipsun tannins making for very age-worthy wines.
We still have a very limited amount of our 2006 Pinot Port, Willamette Valley. This dessert-style wine was crafted by using very ripe Pinot Noir from our Estate vineyard and halting fermentation with an artisan made eau-de-vie. It is wonderfully aromatic, very rich and smooth, a truly remarkable wine. A favorite at our winemaker dinners around the country. Don’t miss out! 20% Alc. 49 cases (375ml)
2007 Lachini Vineyards Pinot Gris, Oregon is a blend from seven vineyards spanning 5 AVA’s throughout Oregon entailing: Croft (28%), Quail Run (24%), Stone Ridge (18%), Del Rio (13%) and Ana (6%) provide depth of fruit while retaining acidity and varietal character. Alcohol – 13.7% | pH – 3.65. Aged for 7 months in 100% stainless steel. 640 cases produced
Crisp and appealing it reveals aromas of pear, melon and citrus fruits with subtle floral nuances and flint. It is once again rich, seductive and full-bodied in style, with a velvety mouth feel of vivacious creamy flavors intertwining perfectly with the lively acidity. Concludes with a texture of ephemeral qualities and a tinge of a mineral note on the lingering and clean finish. Quoting Paul Gregutt from the Wine Enthusiast, Feb.’07 – “…showed excellent definition and is pure pleasure in the mouth.” 90 PTS
We’re opening exclusively for our mailing list customers and friends! Please join us at the vineyard on SATURDAY, May 17, 2008 ~ 18225 Calkins Lane, Newberg (11:00-5:00pm). There is no charge for you and your guests! However, kindly RSVP you & your guests by May 15th via your order form, email or phone or they will be charged. We’ll be pouring some of our library wines as well as our current releases. We’ll also have a limited number of large format bottles for sale. We look forward to visiting with you! Come enjoy some tasty foods, relax in the vineyard stone patio and spend some quality time without the crowds. WE WILL ALSO BE OPEN SAT & SUN OVER THE MEMORIAL WEEKEND from 10:30AM – 4:30PM with a nominal charge of $15/pp.
SHIPPING: Please mail us your order along with payment in full (including shipping), at your earliest convenience in order to secure your desired wines. Orders should be received no later than May 31, 2007. We cannot guarantee wines will still be available up to the deadline, as we will honor all requests on first-come, first-served basis. We will confirm your order with deposit of your check or processing of your credit card payment and enclose your receipt in your shipment due to ship the 1st week in June (weather permitting). If you live in a state listed below the shipping rates box as PROHIBITED, you will need to provide an acceptable alternative shipping address. Please call us if you would like us to arrange for special storage/shipping – there are several options, including: 55 DEGREES which provides temperature controlled wine storage in St. Helena, CA. Inquiries should be directed to Neil Aldoroty, Owner at 707.963.5513 or www.fiftyfivedegrees.com.
IMPORTANT: Those who purchased wines over the Thanksgiving Weekend 2007 – we will have your order available for pick up during either weekend’s open house events in May. Should you be unable to pick up, please notify us of alternative plans for shipping and provide means for payment (see grid on order form).You may call with your credit card number or kindly complete and return your order form with the additional amount for shipping.
NEWS: We’re still working on breaking ground with our winery this summer! As soon as we do, we’ll be announcing a new winemaker and accepting memberships to our exclusive LVIP club. We will have LCONNOUSOUR wine club membership forms at our upcoming open house events in May.
We are grateful for your support and are humbled by the overwhelming response we continue to receive for our wines. We leave you with toast, “Work like you don’t need money, love like you’ve never been hurt, and dance like to one is watching. Enjoy a glass of Pinot Noir each day! Anonymous
Saluté and God bless!Marianne, Ron, August, Gianluca and Giselle Lachini
