“Fruit from estate hillside vineyards is whole-cluster pressed and cold-fermented in small, stainless-steel tanks. The freshness is apparent starting with a complex, voluptuous nose of green apple and just-squeezed oranges. Racy acidity works with hints of cashew, green tea, and pineapple.”
“I’ve been a fan of Elk Cove’s Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley for years, and the 2019 is one of winemaker Adam Campbell’s best, with bold honeysuckle and apricot aromas and a luscious yet snappy texture.” – Tim Fish
Deep, brilliant ruby-red. Powerful, spice-accented cherry cola, boysenberry and black raspberry aromas show fine definition and take on vanilla and candied violet nuances with aeration. Conveys a suave blend of power and finesse to the sweet red and blue fruit preserve, mocha and floral pastille flavors, which firm up steadily through the back half. Polished, even tannins lend shape to a strikingly long, smooth finish that echoes the floral and spice notes. One-third new French oak.
Deep magenta. Vibrant, spice- and mineral-accented mulberry and raspberry scents show fine clarity and pick up hints of incense, topsoil and cola with air. Juicy and penetrating on the palate, offering intense red and blue fruit, candied lavender and spicecake flavors that smoothly meld depth and vivacity. Fine-grained, even tannins lend gentle grip to an impressively long, smooth finish that echoes the blue fruit and floral notes with authority.
“…bold scents of aniseed, earth, blackberries and blueberries with touches of bergamot. The medium-bodied palate is firm and juicy with pleasantly earthy fruits and a spicy finish.”
Josh Raynolds of Antonio Galloni’s Vinous gave our 2019 La Bohème Pinot Noir a 93 point score in his review of Oregon Wines entitled…
2019 is an excellent vintage for Elk Cove, despite whatever fire-related weather and smoke issues the Willamette Valley was suffering. Perhaps the northwest corner location was spared the smoke; in any event the estate-grown Pinots are fruit-driven, beautifully ripened, clean and textured and immediately delicious. The Mount Richmond adds a touch of leather to its blackberry fruit, along with refreshing minerality and a neat streak of espresso. Trailing out the finish is a note of clean straw. Drink now and through the middle of the decade.
Intensely perfumed aromas of red fruit preserves, cherry cola, candied rose and baking spices carry a smoky mineral overtone. Concentrated yet lively on the palate, offering appealingly sweet, smoke-tinged raspberry, cherry liqueur, floral pastille and spicecake flavors that spread out slowly with air. Conveys an appealing blend of power and finesse and finishes with steadily building tannins and floral-driven persistence.
Lively, mineral-laced red fruit, floral and cola scents are complemented by vanilla and woodsmoke nuances. Juicy and focused on the palate, offering bitter cherry and raspberry flavors that deepen and become sweeter as the wine opens up. Shows very good depth as well as energy and closes with solid, red-fruit-driven persistence and fine-grained tannins that add gentle grip.
Sleek and vibrant, with crisp cherry and pomegranate flavors that are laced with orange peel and dusky spice notes as this zooms toward the snappy finish.
Sleek and vibrant, with crisp cherry and pomegranate flavors that are laced with orange peel and dusky spice notes as this zooms toward the snappy finish.
Cranberry, blackberry and black cherry ring loud and clear, with appealing wet-stone minerality in the background. The fruit flavors are so front loaded and intense that it’s easy to miss the inherent angularity and overall finesse of the wine. It’s structured and fine-tuned for aging.
“The Clay Court Vineyard sits atop Parrett Mountain and offers up pie cherry fruit with a backing of tart orange. At first it seems a little thinner than the other 2019 single vineyard selections from Elk Cove, with more lemony citrus flavors. With ample aeration the aromas build and the palate expands nicely with balanced acidity. Some wines need a bit of extra time after bottling and this seems to be one of them.”
2019 is an excellent vintage for Elk Cove, despite whatever fire-related weather and smoke issues the Willamette Valley was suffering. Perhaps the northwest corner location was spared the smoke; in any event the estate-grown Pinots are fruit-driven, beautifully ripened, clean and textured and immediately delicious. The Mount Richmond adds a touch of leather to its blackberry fruit, along with refreshing minerality and a neat streak of espresso. Trailing out the finish is a note of clean straw. Drink now and through the middle of the decade.
Fresh and fragrant in blueberry and blackberry fruit, it’s nicely layered and balanced across the palate. Along with the fresh berries are touches of savory Italian herbs and even a hint of dill. The tannins, though earthy and firm, are ripe and proportionate. This wine is sure to please immediately.