Solena:"Outstanding...One of the Finest"-Parker

 

 

Solena: “Outstanding…One of the Finest” –Parker

 

Robert Parker describes the Solena (“Sun and the Moon”) “Grand Cuvee” Willamette Valley as “One of the finest Pinot Noirs on the market at this price category”.  We have just received our allocation of the 2006 vintage of this delicious wine and are able to offer it to our clientele at $320.00/Case of 12.  Oregon Pinot of this quality generally retails for $40-$60/Bottle; at $26 and change this stuff is the bomb.

 

The French-Napa Connection…

 

Solena is a relatively new venture, founded by the husband and wife team of Laurent Montalieu and Danielle Andrus-Montalieu.    Laurent (a 1987 graduate of the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology) worked at Chateau La Tour Blanche before coming to the American west coast where he gained practical knowledge at Napa’s Domaine Mumm and Oregon’s Willakenzie prior to establishing Solena with his wife Danielle Andrus in 2003.  Danielle had been immersed in the wine business from the age of 10 when she worked at her family’s original Napa facility, Pine Ridge.  A native Oregonian, Danielle returned to her home state in 1996 to participate in her father’s new venture, Archery Summit.  After spending 6 years at that new (and very successful) enterprise, Danielle le! ft to join Laurent at Solena in 2002-03.

 

This beautiful 2006 PN was crafted from a variety of premium vineyard sites in OR’s Willamette Valley.  It has a deep ruby color with an aroma of fresh picked red fruits; specifically, cherry and strawberry with a touch of pastry spice.  The wine is lively, fresh and bright with perfect balance.  Typical of the 2006 vintage, the tannins are supple and complement the fruit/spice flavors with an extended finish.

 

*2006 in the Willamette Valley will be remembered as one of our finest vintages in terms of disease pressure and overall quality.  Favorable weather in April resulted in a generous crop set, and thinning was done throughout each of our selected vineyards.  Limited precipitation resulted in near zero need for adjustments during the growing season.  As harvest approached we were blessed with fully ripened fruit.  Overall, ’06 yields were slightly up from the two previous harvests with exceptional quality.

 

“91 points”…”The dark cherry-scented Solena “Grand Cuvee” is an outstanding wine as well as being one of the finest Pinots on the market at this price point.  Medium-to-full bodied, it delivers broad, intense layers of black cherries in its powerful, full-flavored and marvelously lengthy personality.  Drink it over the next 5-6 years” -Robert Parker, WA #165

 

The Grand Cuvee is made from combining grapes from several appellations including Dundee Hills, Yamhill-Carlton and Eola-Amity Hills.   In the Willamette grapes were harvested from Sunset Knoll, Nuestro Sueno, Vista Hills and our Estate Domaine Danielle Laurent property.  All fruit was hand-harvested under ideal conditions.

 

“90”/RC…”Dark, ruby/blue and purple color; nose of ripe blueberry, dark cherry, cola, vanilla and sandalwood; plush texture, fairly weighty on the tongue, creamy fruit flavors of dark-fleshed plum, Dr. Pepper, sweet blackberry jam, creamy oak and vanilla; the overall personality of this wine is a little forward and brazen…very confident while ignoring  its “commoner” price. No question this wine would hold its own in a single-blind tasting including a number of 2006 OR and CA Pinots twice its relatively modest tare.”

 

All grapes from the individual vineyard sites were hand sorted and de-stemmed prior to isolated fermentation.  Cold maceration preceded the fermentation to maximize color and flavor.  The majority of the fruit was processed in 2.5 ton, open-top stainless steel fermenters.  Punch-downs were done by hand for a total of three weeks of skin contact. 

 

“Light and polished, with high-toned plum and currant fruit floating on very fine tannins, persisting nicely on the finish.  Drink now through 2011” –Harvey Steiman/Wine Spectator

 

The fruit from Domaine Danielle Laurent Estate was fermented in special rotary oak barrels (?) providing gentle oak and fruit/tannin integration.  After primary fermentation the juice was gravity-fed directly to barrels.  100% ML occurred over a six-month period; the wine was aged for 9 months in French oak (from a variety of coopers) of which 25% was new.  The wine was bottled unfined/unfiltered.

 

Case of the 2006 Solena Grand Cuvee OR Pinot Noir $320.00

 

 

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