Explore Oregon Wines: Wineries | Varietals | AVAs | Cellar 503 Selections
Compton Family Wines 2023 Pinot Gris
AKA Grauburgunder
Compton Family Wines® is a family-owned winery located in Philomath, Oregon, owned and operated by Matthew and Tabitha Compton. From the first vintage of 2003 the Comptons have dedicated their careers to producing sustainable Oregon Pinot Noir, Oregon Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc. They make wines that are true to the varietal character of the grape, made with fruit from vineyards they manage, using sustainable wine grape growing practices.
Compton wines have garnered many awards and recognitions, including ratings of 93 and above; selection as Best Buy and Top 100 Wines of the World by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazines; and Best of Show and many gold medals at Oregon wine festivals.
Matt Compton recently celebrated his 20th grape harvest since moving to Oregon. At the age of 22, Matt arrived in Corvallis and went to work for Oregon State University, managing a research farm for wine grapes. The New Jersey native and father of three then launched his vineyard management company, WestVine Farms, which led to the creation of Small World Wine Company, Matt’s winery and distribution company. He created his first vintage in 2003 and moved into their current facility a year later.
Matt and Tabitha have approached building their winery business with passion and intelligence. They started small, focusing on producing crisp, quality wines that display the true varietal characteristics of the grape. A great bottle of wine starts with great grapes, and Matt brings many years of experience and expertise to the husbandry of the vineyards in his care. Using Sustainable practices he strives to produce fine wines that are sustainable from vine to bottle.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Compton Family Wines, Philomath, Oregon
2023 Pinot Gris
"Catches the hint of blush that characterizes this grape. It’s in a fine drinking window, with citrus and pear and table grapefruit flavors. Almost fleshy, nicely balanced and textural..." -92 points Paul Gregutt
"Varietal purity is on display here, offering classic Pinot Gris flavors with hints of citrus. pear, peach, and a touch of almond. Elegant texture on a broad mid-palate is set off by crisp natural acids. A lovely hint of lemon oil accents both the scent and the flavor. Creamy toasted lees and soft honey notes lead to lingering flavors, mouth filling – this one is something special.
The 2023 growing season had a late start with a cool April that prevented bud break, which we welcomed after last year’s spring frost. Vines across the state started bud break with the abrupt warm temperatures in late April to May. The warm May led to some of the most rapid grapevine growth that I have seen in my 16 years in Oregon. As a result, most of the state’s growing regions started bloom by early June, as sufficient heat units were reached. The warm summer rewarded us with great fruit quality and higher-than-expected yields at harvest time and an early harvest in mid-September. The quality of the fruit in 2023 was outstanding." - Matt Compton, Winemaker
Technical Notes
Our 2023 vintage of Compton Pinot Gris was all stainless steel fermented. Compton Pinot Gris is made with 100% Willamette Valley dry farmed grapes from Compton Family Farms, Newton Creek Vineyard, Hoot & Howl Vineyard, Lodsdon Ridge, and Mary’s Peak Vineyard.
Winemaking Varietal purity is on display, as it offers hints citrus. pear, peach, and a touch of almond. Texture to spare on a broad mid-palate and crisp natural acids. A lovely hint of lemon oil accents both scent and avor with toasted lees and soft honey leading to lingering avors lling your palate.
2023 Growing Season The 2023 growing season had a late start with a cool April that prevented bud break, which we welcomed after last year’s spring frost. Vines across the state started bud break with the abrupt warm temperatures in late April to May. The warm May led to some of the most rapid grapevine growth that I have seen in my 16 years in Oregon. As a result, most of the state’s growing regions started bloom by early June, as sufcient heat units were reached. The warm summer rewarded us with great fruit quality and higher-than-expected yields at harvest time and an early harvest in mid-September. The quality of the fruit in 2023 was outstanding.
Appellation: Willamette Valley, Oregon Alcohol: 13% T.A.: 5.6 grams per liter pH: 3.24 RS: 0.23%
Back to School
Pinot Gris AKA Pinot Grigio or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis Vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but the colors can vary from blue-gray to pinkish-brown. The word Pinot could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters. The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink and it is one of the more popular grapes for skin-contact wine.
Pinot Gris is grown around the globe, with the "spicy" full-bodied Alsatian and lighter-bodied, more acidic Italian styles being most widely recognized. The Alsatian style, often duplicated in New World wine regions such as Marlborough, Tasmania, South Australia, Washington, Oregon, and South Africa, tend to have moderate to low acidity, higher alcohol levels, and an almost "oily" texture that contributes to the full-bodied nature of the wine. The flavors can range from ripe tropical fruit notes of melon and mango to some botrytis-influenced flavors. In Italy, Pinot Grigio grapes are often harvested early to retain the refreshing acidity and minimize some of the overt-fruitiness of the variety, creating a more neutral flavor profile. This style is often imitated in other Old World wine regions, such as Germany, where the grape is known as Ruländer, or more commonly, Grauburgunder.
A Cellar 503 selection in September 2024, Back to School Willamette Valley | Pinot Gris
