A nose of salt and oregano, roasted pear and orange blossoms. The palate is substantial, with plenty of lees-driven textural richness, defined by sharp edged minerality. Flavors are potent and lasting, with stone and apricot and pear and cherry blossom. Pear sauce finish.

Temperance Hill was planted in 1988 over the crest of the Eola Amity Hills, not far from Bethel Heights and Cristom Vineyards. In the beginning it was planted with Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Chardonnay vines, which the vineyard sells to 29 winery clients around the valley, a star-studded roster that includes nearly ever winery that matters in this part of the valley. As the trend pendulum swung away from Pinot Gris, vineyard manager Dai Crisp grafted over every single vine to Chardonnay, except for a single block that Ross and & Bee insisted they keep. Maloof is the only one of those 29 wineries buying Pinot Gris from Temperance Hill, and in order to seal the deal, they are paying “Chardonnay prices” for the fruit (essentially double the usual rate per ton of Pinot Gris). In order to help justify the cost, the Maloofs have made changes to the vinification. They pick the grapes twice: a first pick to ensure acidity and structure, followed two weeks later by a second pick with rich and ripe fruit. They leave the wine on the lees  in neutral oak for a full 16 months, a full year longer than normal and exactly the sort of treatment Chardonnay is so often given. The point of all this is to prove a simple thesis. The Maloofs believe (and have us generally convinced too) that if Pinot Gris is given the same consideration as Chardonnay and other more fashionable varieties, it actually makes a remarkable wine, one that the Willamette Valley should be famous for.