2020 Brut
With tiny, assertive bubbles and yellow apple, citrus-peel and pie crust on the nose, this finely integrated sparkling opens with Meyer lemon and apple cider leading into a slight river gravel texture with notes of shaved fennel and peppercorn on the finish.
Part of our 2020 Trio of Méthode Traditionelle Single Vineyard Sparkling Wines. Three distinctive expressions of Oregon Sparkling Wine: Blanc de Blancs, Brut Rosé & Brut.
Vintage
Vintage 2020 was a challenging vintage with nicely concentrated wines. The COVID-19 outbreak brought labor and safety challenges that we overcame in step with increased seasonal demands in the vineyard and cellar. Luckily our vines are 6 feet apart and well suited for social-distancing, but creative solutions saved the day – we even recruited our sales team for our harvest crew.
Cool, wet conditions in spring led to a 25% lighter than average fruit set with small clusters and berries, ideal conditions for flavor intensity. Summer brought steady heat and cool nights, increasing our expectations for a fantastic vintage across the board here in the Willamette Valley. Then, in August and September, Oregon experienced one of its worst wildfire seasons in history, bringing with it worries of smoke-affected fruit. Ripening slowed until the winds shifted eastward and the skies cleared in mid-September.
The silver lining for Elk Cove is that our vines are located in the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley, where smoke effects were minimal. We will not release any wines that exhibit smoke taint, and have aggressively tested for it. We sent a great many samples to the laboratory in 2020. We’re confident that we made some fantastic wines from intensely concentrated fruit.
Vineyard
We chose our Mount Richmond Vineyard for this wine because the site is well suited to both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Mount Richmond Vineyard sits on Willakenzie soils in the heart of the Yamhill Carlton AVA. This site sits at 300-500 feet elevation, lower than the vineyards planted at the winery, which allows for earlier ripening. Fruit for this Brut sparkling wine was sourced from our young Chardonnay Vines at Mount Richmond East and older vines at Mount Richmond West.
Winemaking
50% PINOT NOIR 50% CHARDONNAY
Brut sparkling wines are often a traditional blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir finished in barrel for richness. Elk Cove was one of the first Oregon wineries to make a Brut sparkling wine in 1996.
Our Mount Richmond Brut is cool-fermented in neutral French oak puncheons using a traditional Champagne yeast. We put 40% of this wine through malolactic fermentation to lessen acidity and lend a creamy texture to the wine. Residual sugar 2.7 g/L.
Viticultural & Enological Data
- Vine Age 18, 5
- Harvest Sugars 20 Brix
- pH 2.95
- Cases Produced 278
