THE HEART OF BETHEL HEIGHTS VINEYARD IS PINOT NOIR. Thirty of the forty-nine acres planted are Pinot noir, including five different clones on seven different slopes. Over the years certain blocks have given us wines of distinctive character deserving special designation, most notably the Southeast Block and the Flat Block. Wines from the Southeast Block have been bottled as separate reserves since 1991.

The Southeast Block is a six-acre section planted in 1979 on a south-facing slope that inclines about twenty degrees between 420 and 520 feet altitude. The vines are 100% Pommard clone, 540 vines per acre, spaced eight feet by ten feet. The vines are vertically trellised and the crop is held close to two tons per acre.

The red clay soils of the Southeast Block are volcanic in origin, about three feet deep and well drained. Burgundian soil consultants recently confirmed that the basalt rocks of the Southeast Block have a different mineral composition from the rocks underlying the neighboring Flat Block, which helps explain why these two blocks produce wines of such distinctly different character. The distinctions become increasingly apparent with age, both of the vines and the wines.

The Back Label
 Bethel Heights Estate Grown wines are certified Salmon Safe, recognizing our adherence to sustainable farming practices that restore and protect healthy streams and rivers. For details, go to salmonsafe.org

Contact us:
Winemaker: Terry Casteel
Vineyard Manager: Ted Casteel
Sales/Marketing: Pat Dudley

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1999 PINOT NOIR - SOUTHEAST BLOCK RESERVE

Harvest date: October 17, 1999
Grapes at harvest: Brix : 24.2, pH: 3.45, TA: 7.0 gr/liter
Finished wine: Alcohol 13.6 %, pH: 3.58, TA: 5.8 gr/liter
Barrel aged 11 months in Center of France oak, 60% new
501 Cases produced
Bottled unfiltered, September 20, 2000
Suggested Retail $40

The 1999 vintage: Cold rainy weather throughout the spring and early summer left the vineyards a whole month behind their normal timetable. The southeast block was thinned to one cluster per shoot (less than 2 tons/acre) in early August to give it the best possible chance to ripen in what would presumably be a short season, then an unprecedented stretch of warm sunny weather that lasted through the end of October brought the fruit to peak maturity under optimal conditions.

Vinification: The fruit was destemmed without crushing. About half was fermented in one-ton open bins with native yeast, the other half in a stainless steel tank with a proprietary yeast from Burgundy. The wine was barreled in French oak (60% new barrels), finished malolactic the following Spring, was racked once, and bottled unfiltered.

Winemaker notes: The Southeast Block is our most complex wine, with more layers, more spice, more earth, more forest floor character than other lots.
"The medium to dark ruby-colored 1999 Pinot Noir Southeast Block Reserve is the finest wine I have tasted from this excellent winery. Spicy dark fruits can be discerned in its aromatics. On the palate, it is broad, ample, and hugely expansive. Copious quantities of red and black cherries are intermingled with candied raspberries and currants in the dense, satin-textured, and deep wine. Its exceptionally long finish reveals loads of prodigiously ripe tannin." Score 92+, The Wine Advocate.