{"product_id":"special-projects-sun-stone-pinot-noir-willamette-valley-or-2025","title":"Special Projects - 'Sun \u0026 Stone' - Pinot Noir - Willamette Valley, OR - 2025","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWINE MAKER: Dan Rinke\nVINTAGE: 2025\nLOCATION: McMinnville, Willamette Valley\nVINEYARD: Morning Mist\nASPECT: Gentle hills\nALTITUDE: 700 feet\nVINE AGE: 2012\nSOIL COMPOSITION: Mixed volcanic\nCLIMATE: Mediterranean, cold winters\nFARMING: Organic \/ biodynamic\nGRAPE COMPOSITION: Pinot Noir\nHARVEST: By hand, 3rd week of September\nMACERATION: 5 days, 10% whole cluster\nFERMENTATION: Fast, hot and in tank\nAGING: Tank\nFINING \u0026amp; FILTRATION: None\nSO2: 15 ppm\nALCOHOL: 13%\nBOTTLED: 2\/24\/2026\nBOTTLES PRODUCED: 1,100\nSun and Stone is a low-extract, barely red Pinot Noir: 80% direct press, 20% whole cluster, fast fermentation, short maceration, pressed, settled and bottled.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlack Lamb Imports\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCultural exchange is the essence of Black Lamb, more than alcohol, culture is what we deal in. This makes the ‘laundromat shakedown’ style tariffs an especially hot pile of shit; and then there is how they spend our extorted monies. We can take some small relief in that history is on the side of wine. Nations are young, wine culture is old. Any border where there is viticultural history establishes that the culture of wine came before the border. The adaptive abilities of those who tend the vine are the source of wine’s persistence. So, we too can adapt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn November of 24’, we visited Dan Rinke and his partner Kim Hamblin at Art + Science to drink a little cider, and such, and to see the many foraged fruits collected in their cooler that would soon be crushed. Dan shared some wines that were not part of their production. He explained they were made from unsold fruit destined to be sold to a distillery to recoup some of the vineyard costs. We tasted Pinot Noir, Grüner Veltliner, and Zweigelt. Each wine was a feather, super light and gentle, as light wine is better for distillation. We liked the lot so much that we made plans to bottle a mixed barrel for our own drinking. During a subsequent visit we were playing around with the various components and Ryšák appeared. Combine this with our fear of unpredictable tariff costs and the 1 barrel became 8 barrels.Tomorrow we bottle and quickly it will be available.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn of angst, a fledgling love of North West wine, and a compulsion towards cultural play, meet THUNDER EGG! This is the first bottling from SPECIAL PROJECTS; a collaboration between Oregon’s finest fruit, Black Lamb, and Dan Rinke (Art + Science). A thunderegg (or thunder egg) is a nodule-like rock, similar to a filled geode, that is formed within rhyolitic volcanic ash layers. It is the state rock of Oregon, representative of the region’s volcanic geology and now the inaugural SPECIAL PROJECT.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to sourcing grapes from them, A university trained viticulturalist and expert in conscientious farming, Dan works with both vineyards as an organic\/biodynamic viticultural consultant. This puts him in contact with growers who may have fruit for us to utilize for future SPECIAL PROJECTS.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are grateful to be working with Dan and Kim on this project. We hope to continue as long as we can serve as an outlet to such high quality underutilized fruit. Perhaps in time the circumstances we are collectively suffering under will change and we will be a more diverse enterprise for it. We hope…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePinot Noir\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir is one of the old noble red grapes of Burgundy, and still the variety most associated with the Côte d’Or’s ability to translate small differences in site into meaningfully different wines. It’s been known under older names like Morillon, Noirien, and Auvernat, and its history reaches back to medieval northern France. Over time, the Pinot family produced or revealed a whole set of mutations — Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Teinturier, Pinot Noir Précoce — but Pinot Noir remains the central red expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, it’s famously sensitive. It buds early, so spring frost can be a real issue, and it ripens early enough that warm climates can push it too fast, leaving thin-skinned berries prone to shrivel and sunburn. It prefers temperate climates, calcareous-clay soils, and careful yield control. It’s also susceptible to mildew, botrytis, virus pressure, and plenty of other vineyard headaches, which is part of why great Pinot has such a fragile, hard-won quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Pinot Noir is rarely about sheer power. At its best, it’s relatively pale, aromatic, and finely structured, with red-fruit notes like cherry and raspberry when young, often moving toward more savory, autumnal, earthy, mushroomy, or truffle-like tones with age. The better examples are compelling because they carry delicacy without feeling thin — fruit, perfume, texture, and place all held in a lighter frame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49120367411451,"sku":"00077870","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/747d4b84328370d724d2845764433c14.jpg?v=1785524981","url":"https:\/\/satellitesb.com\/products\/special-projects-sun-stone-pinot-noir-willamette-valley-or-2025","provider":"Satellite SB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}