Vinous Obscura 'Ciliegia' Early Italian Blend

Vinous Obscura ‘Ciliegia’ Early Italian Blend

WHY WE LOVE IT

  •  “‘Ciliegia’ is a field blend of early ripening Italian grapes from the Columbia Gorge. The Columbia Gorge is mostly famous for its cherries.
  • Named ‘Ciliegia’, which is the Italian word for, yep, you guessed it….cherries.
  • Co-fermented the early ripening Italian grapes. Aged for 9 months in neutral French oak barrels and then bottled unfined (Vegan) and unfiltered.

Varietal: Aleatico, Brachetto, Ciliegiolo, Primitivo, Vernacchia

Elaboration:  Harvested together and co-fermented; Aleatico, Brachetto, Ciliegiolo, Primitivo, and Vernacchia. It fermented for 12 days, then was pressed and placed into a 320L neutral hogshead French oak barrel where it aged for 10 months. Bottled unfined (vegan) and unfiltered..

Tasting Notes: Explosion of bing cherries and roses!

PRESS

2021 – 91 Vinous

PRODUCER BACKGROUND

The Vinous Obscura brand from Golden Cluster is centered around grapes sourced from two experimental nurseries and vineyards. One is on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge and the other in Forest Grove in the Northern Willamette Valley.

There are over 200 different grape varietals between both vineyards. In some cases, these are the first ever plantings of these grapes in the USA, others are the first on the West Coast, some are rare clones. This grower has decades of grape growing and winemaking experience in New York state and belongs to a network of growers and academic organizations who work together to establish the viability of certain grapes in different soils, climates, and regions. Golden Cluster is making some of the first commercial wines from these rare grapes.

Golden Cluster, of Willamette Valley, Oregon is the vision of owner/winemaker Jeff Vejr. Established in 2013, all of Vejr’s wines are produced under the Golden Cluster umbrella, but Golden Cluster also represents some individual wineries throughout the area.

Today, Veijr produces his wines at the David Hill Winery, which was originally the Charles Coury Vineyard & Winery, one of the first vineyards planted in Willamette Valley after Prohibition. David Hill provides him with the “uncommon grapes” he sources and most of these were planted between 1966-72. The Golden Cluster name is a nod to the memory of Charles Coury and the Semillon grape variety.

Print Review Shelf Talker (2021 – 91 Vinous)