"This vintage of Abbey Ridge Pinot comes from the oldest vines of Wadenswil and Pommard, planted starting in 1975. Steeped in the vineyard’s lavender, rose, and rosemary-tinged terroir is a heavenly swirling of wild raspberry,—first silken, then building gently with flavorful tannins, all with a sensual base note. It must be noted: the ’23 Abbey Ridge carries incredible flavor and feel for a wine with 12.6% abv. 11 barrels were selected for the blend." - Winery Notes
Their oldest vineyard is Abbey Ridge located high in the Dundee Hills at an elevation range of 500-700 feet. The first vines were planted here in 1976 and, as some of the oldest vines in Oregon, they produce some of Cameron’s finest wines. A slightly younger block of Pinot noir was planted in 1990 on a hillside above the original vines. Known as Arley’s Leap, it is named after Bill & Julia’s dear, old departed dog, Arley, whose famous leap was from a second story balcony in Victoria when startled by a cat!
A second hillside at Abbey Ridge was planted to Chardonnay and Pinot noir in 1984 and it is these grapes which form the basis for Cameron’s Dundee Hills cuvées (along with additional fruit from other Dundee Hills locations). At the highest elevation on this estate one will find several acres of Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio and Auxerrois which go into Cameron’s Italian white blends (Giovanni and Giuliano).