2011 La Bohème
Both elegant and earthy, the 2011 La Bohème is aromatic with violets & plums on the nose and dark fruit and rich silky tones on the palate. Fresh truffles, raspberries, black licorice and blueberries comingle in this sultry wine.
Vintage
In 2011, sunny spring weather brought good fruit-set and large, compact clusters at Elk Cove. After a cool summer, late-season sun allowed the fruit to hang for 15 additional days compared to 2010. The fruit developed fantastic flavors with great pH and acid balance. Even after multiple rounds of thinning, yields were up in 2011 because of the great fruit-set and relatively few migratory birds consuming the crops. According to Elk Cove winemaker Adam Campbell “In 2011 we were still bringing in white wine grapes in early November. Although I expected more herbal notes in the wines due to the overall cool growing season, the wines came out of fermentation showing the classic flavors we love.” Vintage 2011 reminded Oregon winegrowers that patience is often richly rewarded in the wines.
Vineyard
We planted La Bohème Vineyard in 1985 by selecting the very best vines from our original Estate Pommard plantings. Pat and Joe Campbell named the vineyard after the family who sold them the property – and their favorite Puccini opera. This picturesque vineyard overlooks the winery and the coast range mountains and rises to 800 feet, making it one of the highest elevation vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley. La Bohème was planted using cuttings from vines selected for small cluster size and intense flavors, hallmarks of the world’s finest Pinot Noirs. We prune and cluster-thin La Bohème heavily to limit yields and to maximize ripening and flavor concentration.
Winemaking
All of Elk Cove’s delicate Pinot Noir fruit undergoes the same gentle handling through our gravity flow system. This allows us to achieve the elegance, texture and luscious quality that are the hallmarks of exquisite Pinot Noir.
Fruit from the La Bohème vineyard is fermented in small, temperature controlled steel tanks, hand punched down twice daily then aged for ten months in 50% new French oak. Our winemaking team then selects the very best barrels to represent the silky, lush flavor profile that exemplifies La Bohème pinot noir.
Viticultural & Enological Data
- Vine Age 26 years
- Yield 1.75 tons/acre
- Harvest Sugars 23 Brix
- pH 3.6
- Vatting 10 months in 50% new French Oak
- Cases Produced 402
