“The 2022 Pinot Noir La Bohème, from grapes planted in 1985, has pure, alluring aromas of pomegranate, blueberry, mushroom powder, iron and desiccated flowers. The light-bodied palate is chalky and refreshing with understated yet complex flavors and a long, perfumed finish.”
– Robert Parker Wine Advocate (July 2024)
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.
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.
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 French oak. Our winemaking team then selects the very best barrels to represent the silky, lush flavor profile that exemplifies La Bohème pinot noir.
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