Elk Cove 2022 Old School Pinot Noir – This cuvée blends estate grown fruit from the Mount Richmond and Roosevelt vineyards. It’s full and balanced, with peppery tartness, firm acids, brambly berries and a big core of strawberry and red currant fruit. It builds to a full throttle mid-palate and holds tight, moving into a blocky, powerful, steady-state finish. It trails out with astringent touches of caramel and mocha coffee.
Elk Cove 2022 Clay Court Pinot Noir – Aromas of plum and chocolate pop up from the glass, leading into a focused, detailed young Pinot with tart raspberry and blood orange fruit. Moderate (usually 20%) new French oak puts a lightly toasty frame around it, perfectly balanced against the fruit and acid. This has the precision and depth to age well, as shown by the 2017 which I opened as a comparison.
Elk Cove 2022 Mount Richmond Pinot Noir – The estate’s largest vineyard is also the most early ripening. Spicy and a bit earthy, this is a full-bodied blast of black fruits. It grabs hold in the mid-palate with good grip and lightly gritty tannins, settling in to those black fruit flavors with sandalwood highlights and a hint of licorice.
The 2022 Pinot Noir Goodrich comes from marine sedimentary soils and was crafted with around 40% whole clusters. It has powerful, broody scents of red and black cherries, iron, mushroom powder and violet. The medium-bodied palate has a finely chalky texture and explosive, juicy fruit that lures you in for another taste. It becomes more complex and detailed as it opens in the glass and will benefit from 2-3 years in bottle.
The 2023 Elk Cove Vineyards Five Mountain Pinot Noir is drawn from old vines rooted in Laurelwood soils, then shaped over 10 months in 20% new French oak, resulting in a wine that feels both expansive and finely controlled. Aromatically, it lifts from the glass with crushed boysenberry, red raspberry preserves, and vivid blood orange peel, followed by savory notes of forest floor, hoisin, and a faint floral lift that adds elegance. The palate carries a broad, full-bodied presence, delivering layers of spiced berry fruit, subtle anise tones, and earthy complexity that unfold gradually rather than all at once. Texture plays a central role here, with supple, satin-like tannins providing structure without weight. Bright, mouthwatering acidity keeps the wine energized and prevents the richness from tipping too far. As it fades, the finish stretches long and multi-dimensional, revealing lingering spice, soil-driven nuance, and a quiet echo of citrus zest. 729 cases were made. Highly recommended.
Elk Cove 2022 La Bohème Pinot Noir – This old vine gem is from a vineyard planted in the mid-1980s with Pommard cuttings taken from the estate’s original vines. It has the sleek elegance and lightly savory details that old vines often reveal, scented with a weave of dried straw, blackberry jam and moist soils. It drinks and tastes like a mature wine from mature vines, and will reward decanting to completely unwrap the details. Better than ever on day three!
Elk Cove 2022 Roosevelt Pinot Noir – Estate grown, 30-year-old vines are the exclusive source for this reserve. Named for the Roosevelt elk that also gave the winery its moniker, this is deeply flavorful and grounded in blackberries and black cherries with highlights of dark chocolate. The tannins are ripe and polished, more evident here than in the other cuvées. Having waited an extra year to review these wines I am more convinced than ever that they need that time; earlier assessments may be premature and incomplete.
“This is Elk Cove’s largest estate vineyard with over 150 acres in vine. Now fully mature it presents a complex, multi-layered wine that sets the lush Pommard fruit against the more precise and deep flavors of the Dijon clones. A mix of blackberries, marionberries and blueberries, backed with juicy acids, this rolls into a juicy finish with black cherry, tobacco and a hint of licorice.”
“This draws from all six estate vineyards, and one sniff erases all the smoke and angst of the 2020 vintage. It’s fresh and fragrant with mixed berries, particularly flavors of just-picked marionberries, and lively with minerally acids. It spent 10 months in barrel, just long enough to pull itself together and add a gentle touch of caramel to the finish.”