2023 Ponzi Aurora Pinot Noir

$115.00

2023 Ponzi Aurora Pinot Noir

Name: 2023 Ponzi Aurora Pinot Noir
Brand: Ponzi Vineyards
SKU: 23PN350BCW
Price: 115.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Hedonistic, layered, structured

"A Masterclass in Tension." — IWR, 98 Points

Aurora is the homesite of Dick and Nancy Ponzi — an east-facing, high-elevation vineyard shaped by decades of trial, dedication, and belief. The Pinot Noir it produces is hedonistic and layered, with a brightness that is entirely its own.

98International Wine Report
97James Suckling

Appellation: Laurelwood DistrictVineyard: AuroraTA: 5.9 g/LpH: 3.67Volume: 750 mLABV: 13.8

$115.00

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Winemaker Notes

Aurora opens with cedar box, potpourri, and sage — then blue and black fruit deepen beneath. On the palate, dark cherry and salted chocolate meet dried dates and a dusting of black pepper, richness and tension moving together in equal measure. The entry is firm and focused, just enough mid-palate sweetness creating lift before balanced acidity carries through to a structured finish.

Pairings

Black truffle pasta / Wagyu beef tataki with yuzu ponzu / Salmon with carrot puree

Occasions

When you want to impress a sommelier / The bottle that earns a second glass before anyone asks / A dinner where the wine does the talking

In the vineyard

The 2023 season moved at its own pace — a cool spring delayed budbreak, a warm May accelerated it, and a classic Oregon summer of warm days and cool nights brought everything back into balance. Aurora Vineyard, LIVE Certified Sustainable, planted on Laurelwood soils in the Laurelwood District AVA, was harvested September 11–19, 2023. The wines it produced are everything the vintage promised: bright energy, structure, spice, and fruit.

IN THE CELLAR

Fruit was hand sorted with 55% whole cluster, then fermented in small lots with five days of cold soak to build aroma and color. Fermenters were punched down twice daily across 14 to 20 days, with peak temperatures reaching 90°F, before pressing at dryness to preserve fresh fruit character. The wine aged in French oak — 50% new — for 16 months, then racked and bottled by gravity without filtration or fining. Ten months in bottle before release.