This wine is intensely concentrated and fruit-forward, with blackberry and black pepper on the nose and pie cherry and pomegranate on the palate. It’s intensely juicy and full with a long finish.
In VINTAGE 2022 Mother Nature kept us on our toes with unusual weather at each end of the growing season. A wet, cold spring led into a long, temperate summer followed by a very sunny fall that brought us much-needed ripening.
What a surprise to have snowfall on April 11th, our region’s latest significant snow since 1942! Most of our vines had not yet leafed out and their tight woolly buds were well-protected. However, frost damage did mean a smaller crop at our Clay Court Vineyard. Other vineyard sites set a healthy crop, which we thinned heavily to increase intensity and encourage ripening. August and September were unseasonably warm, but the nights remained cool, helping us retain varietal character. Worries of late-season botrytis (rot) meant extra passes of hand-work in the vineyard pulling leaves to improve sunlight penetration and airflow. Thankfully, October welcomed a long string of sunny days and just exactly the hang-time and ripening we needed to bring grape sugar (brix) to ideal levels.
Harvest began in late September, with most fruit harvested during two very intense mid-October weeks. Many of our blocks achieved peak ripeness at the same time, so we are very thankful for our incredible crew for all of the early morning picking sessions in the vineyard and long days in the cellar. Expect complex, fruit-forward wines from this vintage.
Condor is sourced from Elk Cove Vineyards’ esteemed La Bohème Vineyard West Block’s 35-year-old vines. In 2022 we used traditional methods and included some whole cluster fermentation for spice and structure. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak. It’s ready to drink now, but will improve with additional time in bottle.
In 2007 Elk Cove co-founder Joe H. Campbell M.D. volunteered in a small medical clinic in Arequipa, Peru. Before returning home to Oregon, he asked his colleagues how he could continue to help. They told him the most critical health need was for food assistance.
The community had a kitchen that provided a meal to 600 of the neediest, but an additional 4000 often went without a daily meal. Because of Joe’s experience as a winemaker, he came up with a plan to produce a limited production wine each year, all proceeds of which would contribute to the hunger relief program.
Cheryl and I have been buying Condor since Joe and Pat first started producing it. First we gave the wine to my clients, and when I retired, we gave it to very grateful friends. There hasn’t been a bad vintage in the bunch and we have kept at least one bottle of each vintage to sample with the Campbells and Fr. Alex the next time he is in Portland. Extraordinarily good Pinot Noir for an extraordinarily important cease.
Enjoyed this 2019 Pinot Noir. It had a little sweetness on the palette and was very smooth.
I’ve been sending Condor, along with its story, to my clients for several years. It gives them the opportunity to enjoy a glass of wine for good! Of course, we also order a case for ourselves. It is consistently excellent and we look forward to purchasing it every year.
Join our mailing list for the latest updates & special offers from Elk Cove. We send around 1-2 emails/week.
You may unsubscribe at any time.
Review Condor.