VINTAGE 2015 brought ideal conditions, leading to generous yields and exceptionally concentrated fruit. An early spring and clear weather led to a solid bloom that was three weeks early. Thinning is such an important tool for us to influence the course of ripening, and due to large initial cropsets, one we fully utilized in 2015. We thinned in early summer at our higher elevation sites, but waited until veraison to thin our lower elevation sites to slow down ripening and add “hang-time,” an important factor in the development of complex flavors in Pinot Noir.

Harvest 2015 was the earliest on record for the Northern Willamette Valley and we were a little stunned when our first fruit hit the crushpad on September 8th. Autumn brought relief from the heat with mild evenings and cool rainless nights that allowed for slow, even ripening. We harvested fruit that was absolutely pristine and perfectly ripe, at a gradual pace that allowed us to give our full attention to each block.

We are hopeful that 2015 is equally as good as the spectacular 2012 and 2014 vintages, and early signs indicate just that, with the wines showing moderate alcohols, balanced acids and great concentration.

Elk Cove Vineyards purchased Goodrich Vineyard in 2014. A 69 acre property planted with 21 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Goodrich Road sits just outside the town of Yamhill, Oregon in the heart of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA.

Goodrich Vineyard was planted in 2007 with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in high-density a format. The property boasts the exact same marine sediment (Willakenzie) soil as our Mount Richmond property and lies just a few miles from our Estate Vineyard in Gaston.

This young vineyard has great promise and we were so impressed by the quality of the fruit we decided to make a Single Vineyard Pinot Noir in our very first year of farming the site.

Fruit from Goodrich is fermented in small, temperature controlled steel tanks with a portion of whole-cluster fruit, hand punched down twice daily, and barreled in 23% new French oak barrels. After 10 months of aging, only the barrels that are most representative of the Goodrich profile are carefully blended to create an elegant Oregon Pinot Noir.

• Vine Age
  8 years
• Harvest Sugars
  23 brix
• pH
  3.52
• Vatting
  Fermentation in small open top steel fermentors. 10 months in 23% French oak
• Cases Produced
  748