AEREA Vintners & Proteus Estate
Winemaker Ian Burrows, who is self-taught and has worked for 10 years as a Sommelier and Chef, started Aerea Vintners as a research-based project in 2016 to enhance his understanding of bio-cyclic farming and traditional cellar operations. Vineyards are selected for their outstanding reputations, for minimal environmental impact and an assurance of grape varietal character and harmony. The wines produced by Aerea (Latin for ethereal or aerial) are fermented using ambient yeast and traditional methods, before maturing for up to a year in neutral French oak puncheons; wines tend towards the savory side of the flavor spectrum, are dry, but with low to moderate alcohol. Bottling, labeling and stoppering of wines occurs manually without prior filtration or fining. Moderate levels of sulfites are added to all commercially-released wines to preserve freshness and ensure stability for extended cellar aging.
Wines are ready to enjoy upon release, but may also be cellared for several years. Ian states that although he has never had the intention to make wines for long-term cellaring, his first vintage in 2016 was tasting every bit as fresh and vibrant as the day it was released. During a recent vertical tasting of Aerea Gamay (December 2021); whether a guest decides to open a bottle immediately upon release or later, a brief careful decant is recommended to separate sediment and allow the character of each wine to fully express itself. Total annual production for Aerea ranges between 4000-7000 bottles.
Alongside Aerea Vintners, Ian is also winemaker and General Manager for Proteus Estate, a micro-producer of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris in the Laurelwood District of Chehalem Mountains AVA. Proteus is planted to 2-acres of 23 year old un-grafted vines. It’s owned by Peter Jacoby and together, he and Ian maintain the vineyard and create three traditional estate wines each year, including a unique still dry white wine made with Pinot Noir Clone 115. Similar traditional, manual wine-making techniques are employed for the wines of Proteus, with neutral 60 Gallon European cooperage, stainless steel and glass demijohns being used to mature the wines, the barrel format is commonly referred to by their French name barriques. Annual production varies from vintage to vintage, but hovers in the 4000-4500 bottles.
SELECTED BY NORTHWEST VINES
Aerea J53 Novo is a youthful, vibrant Pinot Noir which offers more than a passing resemblance to the famous wines of the Beaujolais region; Our wine was named to represent the word new in latin, and its code J53 denotes the average number of days the wine spends in cellar before being released for sale. J53 Novo is a medium bodied, multi-dimensional dry red wine that offers a rush of red and blue fruit, flowers, herbs, spices and earthy-mineral undertones representative of the beautifully farmed Gemini Vineyard in Willamette Valley’s Laurelwood AVA. The concept for J53 is deceptively simple; the result of a precocious, perfect harvest, and the contents of a single small closed concrete tank which completed its fermentations with spectacular efficiency and resulted in a wine of crackling beauty and intensity. This particular wine presents approximately 5% of total production for the 2021 Aerea vintage. 300 bottles produced.
The 2018 harvest was warm and sunny, so the resulting Gamay brims with generous, crackling red cranberry fruit, and a subtle savory quality that will serve it well at your table. Not much has changed in the approach since 2016—a little whole cluster fermentation here, a little dry ice in the vat there, pump overs in lieu of punchdowns: just simple, hands-off winemaking starting from the premise (and promise) of great fruit.
Proteus Estate Illusion is a semi-mature, savory dry white Pinot Noir exhibiting the versatility of the classic ruby-skinned varietal that comes from our vineyard and is pressed gently into neutral oak barrels, where fermentation occurs unaided and rests for approximately six months up to a single racking, settling and bottling in spring following the vintage. The initial pinkish hue of the carefully extracted Pinot Noir juice slowly recedes to a platinum or quartzite color over time and it represents perfectly, the precise, pristine saline snap, vibrant white fruit and citrus of the Illusions flavor. 1200 bottles produced.
