The plantings of the late Jim Witte live on in this bottling from A Blooming Hill Vineyard fruit by longtime Willamette Valley winemaker Jason Bull. Ruth and Skip Tarr recently took over the 20-year-old site just south of Cornelius, Ore., and have relaunched the brand as Sidereus – Latin for stellar. Their site in the Chehalem Mountains made up most of this bottling. It’s a fun and balanced Pinot Gris that opens with aromas of jackfruit, rosewater, facial powder and cotton seed. Those lead into flavors of lemon curd and honeydew melon as the barely perceptible drop of residual sugar (0.6%) is handled by a finishing squirt of lime juice. Its acclaim includes a gold medal at the prestigious Sunset International Wine Competition.
Rating: Outstanding! Gold medal – 91 points
Production: 237 cases
Alcohol: 13.3%
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