SSA Bottlings
Each year, barrels are selected from our classic line and bottled without any added sulfur. These bottlings are designated by color wax that is stamp-marked “SSA”. Maloof SSA bottlings are available for consumption only at our estate vineyard and winery home, No Clos Radio.
CLASSIC
Nemarniki Vineyard
Dynamite with a laser-beam. Bracing acid and powerful aromatics deliver this stone-fruit moon juice to you with balance and poise.
Consistently lower in alcohol, you can practically pour this over your head while playing basketball like in those old Zima commercials. Made for your cabinets.
Approach:
Grapes are whole-cluster pressed. The wine is fermented in 500L neutral oak puncheons, as well as stainless steel drums. Bottled in the spring.
VintAGES:
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
No Clos Radio
Here’s another cold cup of coffee from The Clash.
A weightier riesling from our estate vineyard. Lots of savory aromatics. Grassy, chamomile tea, and green apple fruit cocktail.
Approach:
Grapes are foot trodden in their picking bins, before being pressed for an extended period of time. The wine is fermented in 500L neutral oak puncheons, as well as stainless steel drums. Bottled in the spring.
VintAGES:
2020, 2021
Oak Ridge Vineyard
Black tea, rose petals, and sea salt.
Serve chilled or at cellar temp with bitter greens and alpine cheeses. Or with pizza, serve all our wines with pizza.
Approach:
Crushed and destemmed, fermented in open top bins with daily pigéage. Fermented on the skins until dry before being pressed off into neutral French oak barrels to rest through the winter. Aged for 9-10 months and then bottled without any fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2016, 2017*, 2018*, 2019*, 2020*, 2021
*In vintages 2017-2020, we produced this wine from a different site, Beckenridge Vineyard.
No Clos Radio
A more delicate and tame Gewürztraminer from an old vine planting in our estate vineyard. Made from plant material of unconfirmed origin, planted in 1974 which is distinctively different from the currently identified clones of Gewürztraminer in the US. Whatever type of Traminer this actually is, we’re in love.
Grilled peaches and basil.
I could eat a peach for hours.
Approach:
Crushed and destemmed, fermented in open top bins with daily pigéage. Fermented on the skins until dry before being pressed off into neutral French oak barrels to rest through the winter. Aged for 10-12 months and then bottled without any fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2020, 2021
'Thistle'
Know what I mean? Peaches and cream. Clear cut pithy citrus flavors, supported by a custardy mouth feel and Jurançon Sec-esque aromatics. A fun and invigorating white with nervy acids that will make you want to set up a kiddy pool in your front yard post-haste. Ooh girl I need it.
Serve chilled with summertime seafood dishes or white za. Better yet, serve chilled with white za that has seafood on it.
Approach:
Direct press, fermented in neutral oak barrels. Aged on the lees with no bâtonnage for 9 to 10 months and then bottled without any fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
No Clos Radio
A delicate and oxidative Pinot Gris from the original old vine planting of our estate vineyard. Planted in 1973 on the highest slope of the property.
Serve chilled or at cellar temp with sourdough bread and soft cheese. Delice de Bourgogne should do it.
Approach:
Direct pressed and fermented in neutral oak barrels. Aged on the lees with no bâtonnage for 10 to 12 months and then bottled without any fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2020, 2021
Temperance Hill Vineyard
Badda big boom! Anyone for piña coladas? This tropical gris is weighty and ripened, yet maintains some ripping acidity that will slap you ‘til Friday (It’s only Wednesday). Drink while en route to Fhloston Paradise. Corbin my man!
Temperance Hill is a cooler site, consisting of varying slopes and exposures. The vineyard looks straight out over the Van Duzer corridor, the large break in the Oregon coast line, receiving the full effects of the famed afternoon winds that pull in cooler air from the Pacific ocean, allowing extended ripening capabilities in the area. Because of this, every year, we split the Gris from this special site into two picks almost a full two weeks apart. The added airflow from the coastal winds allows us to hang the fruit of the 2nd pick for quite some time, making a richer, fuller showing of gris. The earlier pick allows us to capture more acidity and balance in the final wine.
Approach:
Direct pressed and fermented in neutral oak barrels. Aged on the lees for 10 to 12 months with no bâtonnage until bottling.
VintAGES:
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
Johan Vineyard
A fully macerated, light red wine made from Pinot Gris. Warm aromatics of fall spices, and crunchy flavors of cranberry and cherry.
This wine was very much born out of our yearly “PJs” blend, which is also predominantly skin contact Pinot Gris. As we honed in year to year on what works best for us in fermenting Pinot Gris as a light red wine, the Johan barrels really began to come into their own. In 2019 we began bottling the Johan as our 4th single vineyard designation of Gris, and the only to see any maceration.
Approach:
Destemmed and fermented on the skins in open top fermenters with daily pigéage until fully dry. 15 to 20% of the fruit is carbonically fermented separately for the same period. Both lots are then pressed off together, and moved to neutral Burgundy oak barrels to age for 9 to 10 months. Bottled without fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2019, 2020, 2021**
**SSA Bottling
Johan Vineyard
The Mighty Duck man, I swear to God, I was there.
I was the one who yelled the Breakfast Clubber's name. I was like “Ribolllaaaaaa”.
This is the result of a Fruilian plant material grafting project at Johan Vineyards back in 2016, and we couldn’t be more stoked to be splitting the fruit year to year with the Johan team. Passion fruit, orange peel, and celery. So anyways, you guys wanna make-out or what?
Drink aside a tomato pie with anchovies - Scalias if you got ‘em.
Approach:
Foot stomped in picking bins and left macerating for a short stint before being pressed. Fermented and aged on the lees in neutral oak puncheons with no bâtonnage for 10 to 12 months. Bottled without fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
COMIC
L'eau Epicée
Babbles.
A light and playful aromatic sparkler made from Riesling and Gewurztraminer. The rustic style is akin to Col Fondo Prosecco, where a small amount of sediment remains in the bottle. Store upright and chill before serving.
Approach:
Not quite sure what to call this method of achieving bubble. Ancestral? Taking suggestions for portmanteaus of Ancestral + Champenoise + Pet Nat. Maybe, Ancestropetnoise?
We essentially start by making three lots of still wine. Riesling from an unnamed home vineyard we refer to as Ony’s Roadside Attraction, is pressed and fermented in stainless steel. The Gewürztraminer from the same site is split into two treatments. Some of it is direct-pressed and fermented in stainless steel, while the remainder is destemmed and fermented on the skins until dry, and then pressed off and moved into neutral french oak barrels and stainless steel. Over the winter, once all three lots go dry, we assemble into a single tank, and add in some freshly thawed Riesling must that was held back and frozen from crush. We stir the whole thing up, and bottle. After a couple months of resting in tirage, et voila! Bubbs.
VintAGES:
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
"Where ya PJs at?"
This one goes out to two of our dearest friends Paul & Stina. A fun and energetic dichotomy of soft herbs and hard cherry candy aromas from skin contact pinot gris met by lots of high toned acid from barrel fermented, dry riesling. Rose-ish springtime blend to bring to your next slumber party.
Serve chilled or at cellar temp with white za pies or with a bowl of popcorn over your favorite John Lithgow movie. Ours is Ricochet. F**** yaself, cupcake.
Approach:
The gris is fermented on the skins until dry. Around 20% of the Gris is fermented via carbonic maceration in a separate bin. The two lots of gris are pressed off together and put into neutral oak. The Riesling is direct-pressed and fermented in neutral oak barrels. The wine is assembled into tank in spring, and bottled without fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
"Wax On, Wax Soif"
I smoke on the mic like “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier
The hell-raiser, raisin’ hell with the flavor.
Light bodied red for your late summer blues. Earthy and smooth, full of blue fruits and white pepper. Co-fermentation of Rhone varieties. Grenache Noir, Syrah, and Viognier are always in play, as well as Marsanne and Roussanne in certain vintages.
The two Soif wines are produced from grapes sourced in the Applegate Valley, about six hours south of our estate. The vineyards are overseen by our friend Herb Quady and Applegate Vineyard management. These wines provide us the opportunity to step outside the box of plant material the Willamette Valley’s climate has to offer.
Approach:
The fruit is destemmed and co-fermented with a small amount of whole cluster at the bottom of each bin. The ferments see daily pigéage for one week before being pressed off into stainless steel tank. From there, the fermentation finishes in stainless steel, and then is moved to neutral French oak for aging. Bottled without any fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
"Wax on, Wax Soif Blanche"
The white wine counterpart to the Soif red. A co-fermentation of white Rhone varieties. Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne from Herb Quady’s home vineyard, Eevee’s.
Ripe pear and golden apple aromatics, delivered in a lean bodied white with tropical island vibes and beaming acidity.
The two Soif wines are produced from grapes sourced in the Applegate Valley, about six hours south of our estate. The vineyards are overseen by our friend Herb Quady and Applegate Vineyard management. These wines provide us the opportunity to step outside the box of plant material the Willamette Valley’s climate has to offer.
Approach:
Direct pressed and fermented in neutral oak barrels. Aged on the lees for 8 to 10 months with no bâtonnage until bottling. Bottled without any fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
WATERCOLOR
"By the Lapels"
Pinot Gris from the vines that started it all, the original vine 1966 planting of Pinot Gris at The Eyrie Vineyards. After long discussions about our shared love for pinot gris, its changing place in Oregon wine, and the fears that the future could hold, Jason Lett offered us the chance to work with some of the fruit from that original plot beginning in 2019, making us the first winery other than Eyrie themselves to produce wine from the oldest pinot gris planting in North America. The vineyard is a truly special place to us, to Jason, and most importantly to Oregon. We are beyond humbled, and truly terrified to have such an absurd opportunity.
This wine is only made in select vintages, and is always only a single barrel. Read more about this project, and our love affair with Pinot Gris in the culture section.
Approach:
Pressed, and then fermented and aged in a neutral BVurgundy oak barrel for 20 months, on the lees with no bâtonnage. Bottled without fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2019, 2020
"Scrambled Sticks"
This wine is the result of a happy accident and fun lesson in top grafting (turns out all sticks look the same), and is made from a special plot within Johan Vineyard where we have a number of Italian grape varieties interplanted. We utilize amphora made by Andrew Beckham for fermenting and aging portions of the wine.
Year to year, this is one of the more tannic and structured of the Maloof white wines. Oxidative and rich nose, lots of dried stone fruit vibes with chalky edges and lasting finish.
Approach:
We ferment Pinot Gris, Ribolla Gialla, and Tocai Friulano all separately, in three fashions for each grape. Some direct pressed, barrel fermented, some fermented on the skins in open fermenters until dry (30ish days), and some fermented and aged on the skins in Amphora for 10 months. On top of all that, we also ferment direct press Chardonnay in barrels. All of the lots are combined together in the summer.
VintAGES:
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
COLLABORATIONS
Beddia Bianco
One of our dearest pal’s from back east, Joe Beddia, tries to come out to spend some time with us around harvest each year. In 2017, while picking up some other fruit from Johan one morning as the sun was coming up, the Johan team offered up some Chardonnay that came in heavy and didn’t have a home. Joe made an impulse buy, and we collaborated to make some wine to bring back to his pizza joint in Phila (Pizzeria Beddia). Been collaborating on this wine every year since!
Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.”
-Ernest Hemingway
“It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine. It's summertime!”
-Kenny Chesney
Approach:
Pressed, and then fermented and aged in a neutral burgundy oak barrel for 20 months, on the lees with no bâtonnage. Bottled without fining or filtration.
VintAGES:
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
*2017 vintage was carbonic Chardonnay; *2018 had 15% Pinot Gris co-fermented into the wine.
Ardor x NCR Maceration
A collaboration with Victor Martinez of Ardor Natural wines. This is a fun 0/0 field blend of multiple varieties found within our estate vineyard.
Approach:
Whole cluster carbonic Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris, fermented for about 10 days. After opening the carbonic bin, grapes are then foot trod, and actively fermenting Riesling juice is pumped over the top. Aged in a neutral oak barrel. Bottled without fining, filtration, or any added sulfites.
VintAGES:
2021
Picnic Pet Nat
In the madness of the 2020 wildfire season, a lot of the farming community was left holding the bag, and took the brunt of monetary loss in the area. Two of our employees, Perry and Rosa, decided to take in some last minute fruit from Temperance Hill after hearing it had no home for the year, and made a light hearted sparkling rose of Pinot Noir.
Approach:
Direct press pinot noir. Fermented in various sized neutral oak barrels, and then bottled for tirage using the same “ancestropetnoise” method of achieving bubble as the l’eau epicée cuvée.
VintAGES:
2020
"DB Grigio"
This is a special collaboration between us and the staff of Di Bruno Brothers in Philadelphia. It is a 50cs staff selected barrel selection from our cellar of Pinot Gris.
Approach:
Direct pressed and fermented in neutral oak barrels. Aged on the lees for 10 months with no bâtonnage until bottling.
VintAGES:
2020