2023 Ponzi Chehalem Crossing Pinot Noir

$75.00

2023 Ponzi Chehalem Crossing Pinot Noir

Name: 2023 Ponzi Chehalem Crossing Pinot Noir
Brand: Ponzi Vineyards
SKU: 23PN378BCW
Price: 75.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Savory, Dense, Textural

A rare Laurelwood site.

South-facing and windswept, Chehalem Crossing is a rare site in the Laurelwood District AVA where a landslide deposited Laurelwood soil on the southern slope of the Chehalem Ridge. The high elevation and constant wind produce thick-skinned fruit with bright acidity and layered concentration.

95Owen Bargreen

Appellation: Laurelwood DistrictVineyard: Chehalem CrossingTA: 6.8 g/LpH: 3.59Volume: 750 mLABV: 14.0

$75.00

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Winemaker Notes

Chehalem Crossing opens with black currant, plum, smoked meats, ancho powder, and amarena cherry — dark, savory, and immediately compelling. On the palate, plum sauce and sweet cherry reduction move alongside black caps and an umami saltiness, a whisper of mushroom grounding it beneath. The entry is bright, the mid-palate structured, the tannins powdery and precise. A wine shaped by wind and elevation — and it shows in every layer.

Pairings

Roast chicken with pan jus

Mole rojo with turkey

Lentil and mushroom ragù

Aged cheddar with apple and whole grain mustard

Pho with braised short rib

Occasions

Bright enough for the first course, structured enough for the last / For the dinner that goes long

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. Chehalem Crossing is a rare site — a south-facing slope at 800 feet in the Laurelwood District AVA where a landslide deposited Laurelwood soil on the southern face of the Chehalem Ridge. Constant wind and high elevation produce thick-skinned fruit with bright acidity and layered concentration. Ponzi selects Dijon clones 777 and 115 from this vineyard for their structure and depth. Harvested September 16, 2023.

IN THE CELLAR

Fruit was hand sorted with 36% whole cluster, then fermented in open-top stainless steel with a five-day cold soak to build aroma and color. Native yeast throughout. Punchdowns during cold soak, twice-daily pumpovers at peak fermentation, finishing with punchdowns after approximately 12 Brix. Malolactic fermentation completed in barrel, sulfured once dry. The wine aged in French oak — 50% new — for 16 months.