“Precise, taut, lifted, and balletlike on the palate. Delicious cooling flavors of fresh pomegranates and cranberries interwoven with citrus and spice notes. One of the best Elk Cove Pinots in years. The steeply sloped vineyard has a view of five volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain Range.” – Karen Macneil
A dynamic red, with vivacious cherry and cranberry flavors highlighted by rose petal, orange peel and forest floor accents, which glide on the long, sleek finish.
Elk Cove winemaker Adam Campbell, son of founders Pat and Joe Campbell, makes a range of Pinot Noirs, but his dynamic Willamette Valley bottling is the most accessible in terms of price, case production and taste. It offers vivacious cranberry flavors with floral and citrus highlights. Campbell used grapes only from Elk Cove’s six estate vineyards and fermented the 2021 in small, open-top steel tanks before aging it for ten months in French oak.
Savory and lean, this leads with zesty lemon-lime scents lined with savory breadcrust notes. The flavors are all apple pulp and dusty minerals, grippy and firm. A pork wine. —Patrick J. Comiskey
“The 2021 Pinot Noir, made with about 15% whole clusters, has a medium ruby-purple color and pure scents of cranberries, baked rhubarb and allspice with wafts of forest floor, charcuterie and orange zest. The palate is light on its feet with generous, floral fruit, refreshing acidity and a soft, approachable frame, and it has a satisfying, spicy finish.” -Erin Brooks
“The 2021 Pinot Noir Roosevelt is intense and expressive this vintage. Medium ruby-purple, it opens with streaks of graphite and pipe tobacco accenting a core of crushed cherries and smoked meats. The medium-bodied palate is impressively concentrated yet offers soft, silky tannins and seamless acidity. It’s full of fragrant fruit and has a layered, spicy finish. It’s a touch more coiled than the other 2021s in this lineup and will benefit from 3-5 years in bottle.” -Erin Brooks
“The 2021 Pinot Noir Reserve is a barrel selection from several of Elk Cove’s vineyards. It has a medium ruby-purple color and savory aromas of red and black cherries, aniseed, pipe tobacco, flint and Christmas spice, continuing to unfurl aromatically as it airs in the glass. The light-bodied palate is chalky and refreshing with fragrant fruit and a long, latent finish. It feels particularly coiled and will benefit from 3-5 years in bottle.” -Erin Brooks
“The 2021 Pinot Noir Mount Richmond has a medium ruby-purple color and is scented of black cherry and plum, tobacco leaves, smoked meats and orange peel. The medium-bodied palate is silky and refreshing, with generous, perfumed fruit and spicy accents driving the long finish.” -Erin Brooks
“The 2021 Pinot Noir Goodrich was grown on marine sediment and made using 50% whole clusters. It has a medium ruby-purple color and layered aromas that disperse slowly from the glass: black cherries, prosciutto, aniseed, fir and Angostura bitters. The medium-bodied palate is savory and generous with concentrated, nuanced fruit, abundant, grainy tannins and loads of spicy accents that fan pleasurably across the finish. It’s a great candidate for 7-10 years in the cellar.” -Erin Brooks
“Medium ruby-purple, the 2021 Pinot Noir Clay Court has scents of wild berries, orange peel, charcuterie and forest floor with streaks of Christmas spice. The medium-bodied palate offers concentrated, layered fruit on a soft, juicy frame, and it has a long, spicy finish. It’s easy to drink now, but it will benefit from another 2-3 years in the bottle.” -Erin Brooks
“The 2021 Pinot Noir La Bohème has a medium ruby-purple color and deep scents of red and black cherries, forest floor, pipe tobacco and burnt citrus peel. The medium-bodied palate is surprisingly layered and nuanced, with loads of spicy accents and alluring floral perfume. It has a silky texture, energetic acidity and a very long, spicy finish. Offer it another 2-3 years in the bottle.” -Erin Brooks
“Medium ruby-purple, the 2021 Pinot Noir Five Mountain has deep aromas of cranberries, red cherries, black tea leaves, charcuterie and bitters. The medium-bodied palate explodes with concentrated, perfumed fruits. All that generosity is supported by silky tannins and bright, mouthwatering acidity that calls you in for another sip on the long, layered, spicy finish. What a lovely expression this vintage!” -Erin Brooks
“The 2021 Pinot Gris is highly perfumed, with scents of lemon verbena, lemongrass, green pear and peach with honey-nut undertones. The light-bodied palate is fresh and inviting, with gregarious fruit enhanced by four grams of residual sugar, and it has a long, gently leesy finish. This is so easy to drink!” -Erin Brooks
“The 2021 Pinot Blanc is bursting with aromas of white peach, quince, honeycomb and flint with spicy undertones. The palate’s broad, savory mouthfeel is countered by mouthwatering freshness, and it has a long, textural finish.” -Erin Brooks
An opulent texture and plush tannins pave the way for a pleasurable pinot experience. Aromatically, the Mount Richmond is a blackberry perfume mixed with violets and earthy forest floor characteristics. Flavors of boysenberry sorbet, Bing cherries, spearmint and a touch of cedar linger on a long finish.