Maresh Vineyard is in the Dundee Hills AVA. Jim Maresh is producing a wonderful Maresh Vineyard cuvee sourced from 40+ year old vines.
Freedom Hill Vineyard (originally planted circa 1982) is a bit further to the south in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Mark Vlossak produces his version of the Freedom Hill cuvee at St. Innocent.
While the Freedom Hill is very tasty right out of gate, it is the Maresh vineyard bottling that begins to rivet attention over the course of dinner and the evening. Freedom Hill has exuberant up front fruit and minerally underpinnings, but is not the last word in complexity (at least in this early stage of development).
The Maresh Vineyard bottling unfurls slowly, more lightweight at first on the palate but gaining serious complexity. It becomes the clear favorite with food. Highly savory character, distinctive fruit (whole cluster?) ... and a nose to die for. It echoes the depth and lovely framework of the 2014 Kelley Fox Maresh Vineyard bottling.
Oregon winemakers are just killing it with uniquely original interpretations of great pinot noir.
Oregon is putting together a great run of vintages in 2014, 15 and 16...
Maresh vineyard is comprised of Jory soil.... here are interesting notes from the USDA NRCS website...
"...The Jory soil is recognizable by its red coloring and can be found in nine western Oregon counties on over 300,000 acres. Throughout the Interstate-5 corridor, a variety of crops and forests supported by Jory soil are visible on the foothills to the east and west of the valley...."
"...Although the Jory soil is found only in western Oregon, the soil developed mainly on Columbia River Basalt bedrock, originating from eastern Oregon lava flows. The weathering of these basalt uplands produced the deep, well-drained, rich, red characteristics of the Jory soil. These soil properties give the Jory soil a high productivity and capability for producing a wide variety of crops, orchards, vineyards, and high forest productivity...."
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