Trisaetum Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2023
Trisaetum was founded in 2005 by artist and self-taught winemaker James Frey, whose dual career as an abstract expressionist painter and winemaker are inseparable in philosophy. Trained with the guidance of Josh Bergström in Oregon and Jacques Lardière in Burgundy, Frey built a 13,000-square-foot winery and barrel cave on Ribbon Ridge with the explicit goal of minimal intervention and maximum terroir expression. Trisaetum farms three estate vineyards across the Ribbon Ridge, Dundee Hills, and Yamhill-Carlton AVAs, and the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is the estate's introductory multi-AVA blend, assembled from all three sites.
- WINEMAKER: James Frey
- FARMING: Dry farmed. Native flora maximized within the vineyard. No enzymes, tannins, or other additives used.
- VARIETY: 100% Pinot Noir
- TERROIR: Fruit drawn from all three Trisaetum estate vineyards. The Coast Range Estate (Yamhill-Carlton AVA) sits on a steeply sloping hillside in the eastern foothills of the Oregon Coast Range at 300–600 ft, with diverse soils derived from sedimentary rock and intrusive volcanic basalts. The Wichmann Dundee Estate (Dundee Hills AVA) features iron-rich red volcanic basalt soils. Together the sites span distinct soil types and elevations across the northern Willamette Valley.
- VINIFICATION: Fruit chilled to 40–50°F prior to a six-stage sorting process. Fermented using a mix of whole-cluster and destemmed fruit in 2-ton Burgundian oak fermenters and stainless steel vats, using only indigenous yeasts with no heating or cooling. Foot pigeage only, to minimize extraction. Wines racked by gravity into barrels while still fermenting. The 2023 vintage employed 57% whole-cluster fermentation.
- AGING: Aged in French oak barrels in Trisaetum's subterranean barrel cave, which maintains constant temperature and humidity year-round. 10 months in 17% new French oak.
- TASTING NOTES: Fresh hay, black cherry, and cranberry on the nose. The palate delivers strawberry, white pepper, and blood orange zest with salty mineral undertones, silky tannins, and bright, juicy acidity.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Roasted duck, salmon with pinot reduction, mushroom risotto, charcuterie, soft-ripened cheeses.
Trisaetum Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2023
Trisaetum was founded in 2005 by artist and self-taught winemaker James Frey, whose dual career as an abstract expressionist painter and winemaker are inseparable in philosophy. Trained with the guidance of Josh Bergström in Oregon and Jacques Lardière in Burgundy, Frey built a 13,000-square-foot winery and barrel cave on Ribbon Ridge with the explicit goal of minimal intervention and maximum terroir expression. Trisaetum farms three estate vineyards across the Ribbon Ridge, Dundee Hills, and Yamhill-Carlton AVAs, and the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is the estate's introductory multi-AVA blend, assembled from all three sites.
- WINEMAKER: James Frey
- FARMING: Dry farmed. Native flora maximized within the vineyard. No enzymes, tannins, or other additives used.
- VARIETY: 100% Pinot Noir
- TERROIR: Fruit drawn from all three Trisaetum estate vineyards. The Coast Range Estate (Yamhill-Carlton AVA) sits on a steeply sloping hillside in the eastern foothills of the Oregon Coast Range at 300–600 ft, with diverse soils derived from sedimentary rock and intrusive volcanic basalts. The Wichmann Dundee Estate (Dundee Hills AVA) features iron-rich red volcanic basalt soils. Together the sites span distinct soil types and elevations across the northern Willamette Valley.
- VINIFICATION: Fruit chilled to 40–50°F prior to a six-stage sorting process. Fermented using a mix of whole-cluster and destemmed fruit in 2-ton Burgundian oak fermenters and stainless steel vats, using only indigenous yeasts with no heating or cooling. Foot pigeage only, to minimize extraction. Wines racked by gravity into barrels while still fermenting. The 2023 vintage employed 57% whole-cluster fermentation.
- AGING: Aged in French oak barrels in Trisaetum's subterranean barrel cave, which maintains constant temperature and humidity year-round. 10 months in 17% new French oak.
- TASTING NOTES: Fresh hay, black cherry, and cranberry on the nose. The palate delivers strawberry, white pepper, and blood orange zest with salty mineral undertones, silky tannins, and bright, juicy acidity.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Roasted duck, salmon with pinot reduction, mushroom risotto, charcuterie, soft-ripened cheeses.