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Directly from the Tinhorn Creek Press Release:

The four-year wait is over Tinhorn Creek Vineyards releases 2008 Oldfield Series Pinot Noir

Oliver, BC – Tinhorn Creek Vineyards is excited to release their much-anticipated 2008 Oldfield Series Pinot Noir. After a year in French oak barrels followed by three years in the bottle, the very first release of this series is a limited production of about 250 cases and will only be available from the winery.

Who in their right mind would age a wine for four years before they decide to sell it? In Spain, to be classified as a Reserva the wines must be aged for a total of three years with at least one year in barrel. Spanish Grand Reserva wines are aged for a minimum of five years before release. Tinhorn Creek’s first Oldfield Series Pinot Noir lies somewhere between those two classification levels.

The 2008 was from 100% estate fruit grown on the most westerly lying Pinot Noir block on Tinhorn Creek’s Diamondback Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench. After a fruitful flowering period in early summer, clusters were thinned at two different times in the summer assuring a balanced crop that would ripen fully. The grapes were harvested on October 20 at a very ripe 24.4 Brix (% sugar). The grapes were destemmed only—no crushing—then sent to tank to ferment for 14 days. The wine was designated as Tinhorn Creek’s first Oldfield Series Pinot Noir soon after fermentation and was aged in 100% French oak barrels for just over nine months before being blended and bottled. For the next three years the wine aged in bottle at a constant temperature of 16C, developing additional layers of complexity on top of the already deep fruit flavours that were there from the start.

“We are proud of being one of the few wineries in British Columbia to have taken the time to age our Pinot Noir for a total of four years prior to release,” says Sandra Oldfield, President, CEO & Winemaker at Tinhorn Creek. “We believe this dedication to quality shows in the resulting wine as well as our commitment to offering the very best of what we do under our Oldfield Series selection of wines.”

The Oldfield Series Pinot Noir is available in limited quantities for $29.99 at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards www.tinhorn.com.