# Rose & Arrow Lafayette Heights (2021)

- **Producer:** Rose & Arrow Estate
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Pinot Noir
- **Region:** Oregon, United States
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 13.0%
- **Average price:** €160
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, raspberry, violet, rose, black pepper, herbaceous, vanilla, cloves, cedar, smoke, leather, forest floor, wet leaves, mushroom

## About this wine

Rose & Arrow Estate was founded in 2012 by the late Mark Tarlov, who envisioned decoding the complex volcanic terroirs of Oregon's Willamette Valley. To achieve this, he brought together Burgundy's legendary Comte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair and world-renowned Chilean soil scientist Dr. Pedro Parra. Lafayette Heights is a highly distinctive parcel in the Dundee Hills AVA. While the region is famous for deep Jory clay soils, this specific crest features shallow, fractured basalt rock. This unique geology forces the vines to struggle, yielding a Pinot Noir of unexpected sternness, iron-like structure, and deep volcanic complexity. Today, the estate's micro-cuvées are crafted by head winemaker Felipe Ramirez from less than four percent of their farmed acreage.

## Interesting facts

- The estate uses electroconductive mapping and has dug over 200 soil pits to map exact geological 'polygons' for precise farming.
- Lafayette Heights is a rare pocket in the Dundee Hills where vines root directly into fractured basalt rock instead of deep clay.
- Only 175 cases of the 2021 Lafayette Heights Pinot Noir were produced, making it an extremely rare and highly allocated bottling.
- The project was co-created by Comte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair of the iconic Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair in Vosne-Romanée.

## Food pairing

This structured, volcanic Pinot Noir pairs beautifully with rich, earthy, and gamey dishes. The wine's high acidity cuts through the fat of duck and pork, while its firm, medium-plus tannins complement the texture of roasted game birds and venison. The prominent mineral and savory undertones of the wine harmonize perfectly with wild mushrooms and truffle-accented dishes, enhancing the earthy complexity of both the food and the wine.

## Wine making process

The winemaking process for Lafayette Heights is guided by a passive, infusion-style approach rather than heavy mechanical extraction. Grapes are 100% destemmed and undergo a gentle fermentation in open-top fermenters using only indigenous yeasts. Regular, light pump-overs are performed in an oxygen-rich environment to coax out elegant tannins and complex aromatics. The wine is aged in premium French oak barrels, with approximately 20% new oak, sourced annually from top Burgundian cooperages. To preserve the pure expression of the micro-terroir, the wine is bottled without fining or filtration.