Riesling

2022 Holloran Presse de Plus is a classic sweet dessert Riesling. This wine's name comes from its incredibly long extraction process where we gently and patiently press every last drop from the grapes, allowing access to the berries affected by botrytis which hold concentrated and quite unique flavors. We bottled them in half (375 ml) bottles in February and it is now ready to share.

Our 2022 Holloran Riesling ‘Nous Persistons’ is a blend of 50 year old vines from the Dundee Hills (Geisenheim 110 and Colmar 813 clones), and our La Chenaie Riesling block (Geisenheim 239) planted 2005.

We employ biodynamic farming techniques in both sites. We perform crop estimates and then drop significant amounts of fruit to reduce crop and ensure ripe and complex Riesling fruit flavors.

The soils in both sites are from volcanic parent material. The Dundee site is Jory, the La Chenaie Riesling is on Ritner, a shallower soil from the Jory series on rockier ridges. They are classified as silty clay loam soils, and are distinctively red. The color comes from iron, the only residual mineral after 15 million years of rainfall has leached out the other metals.

‘Nous Persistons’ (we persist) refers to our perseverance in growing & producing Riesling, despite continued marketplace misunderstanding of this amazing varietal. 

Our 2021 “Le Pavillon” Riesling is crafted from some of the oldest own-rooted vines in the Willamette Valley. It was planted in 1972 in what is now our 10 acre Le Pavillon site in the Red Hills of Dundee, alongside Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It extends from 480’ to 680’, with the average elevation being at 617’. The 9.70% slopes are mainly south facing. 

The 2021 growing season was warmer than the 20-year average. The ‘heat dome’ experienced in late June (temps over 115 for a couple days) did not have a significant effect as the berries had just set. The fruit was hand sorted before pressing.

The 2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is blended from carefully selected barrels from our best blocks in the Dundee Hills, the EolaAmity Hills, and our other Willamette Valley sites. These sites are a mix of volcanic-based sites, and vineyards planted on sedimentary soils.