2022 La Bohème

Lush and open with fresh raspberry, nutmeg and rose petal aromatics, this wine is juicy and supple with flavors of mixed berry pie, black cherry, cedar and mulling spices.

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The 2022 Elk Cove ‘La Boheme’ comes from their estate La Boheme Vineyard. Vines at this site are nearly 40 years old. This is is a total knockout wine that has so much cellaring potential. On the nose this takes on red rose petals with linzer torte, white pepper and wafts of salty/rocky soils. The palate is plush and refined with a smooth texture and great sense of mouthfeel. Very salty and savory, with a gorgeous core of red and dark fruits, enjoy now and over the next fifteen to twenty years. Drink 2025-2042

– Owen Bargreen (June 2025)

Elk Cove 2022 La Bohème Pinot Noir – This old vine gem is from a vineyard planted in the mid-1980s with Pommard cuttings taken from the estate’s original vines. It has the sleek elegance and lightly savory details that old vines often reveal, scented with a weave of dried straw, blackberry jam and moist soils. It drinks and tastes like a mature wine from mature vines, and will reward decanting to completely unwrap the details. Better than ever on day three!
– Paul Gregutt (February 2026)

Fragrant and lilting, this vibrant Pinot offers raspberry and pomegranate flavors highlighted by rose petal, cinnamon, nutmeg and other dusky spices. Takes on richness and detail toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2032. 729 cases made.

– Wine Spectator (May 2025)

“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)

Vintage

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.

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 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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