Other Vintages
- 2017
- 2014
2017 Mount Richmond East Library Release
2017 vintage.
2017 vintage.
Less than 2% of wines blind-tasted by the 60 wine experts were awarded a Platinum award at the 2020 TEXSOM awards, including our Mount Richmond Pinot Noir.
– TEXSOM Awards (August, 2019)
“Offers grace and presence, with layered cherry and pomegranate flavors, accented by sassafras tea and spice notes, building tension toward refined tannins.”
– Wine Spectator (November, 2019)
“The 2017 Pinot Noir Mount Richmond has a medium ruby-purple color with aromas of cranberry sauce, Italian plum, crushed black cherries, vanilla and touches of charcuterie, dried earth and potpourri. It’s light to medium-bodied and silky with a good core of spicy fruits, a firm, grainy frame and good freshness, finishing long and spicy. 1,000 cases produced.”
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (April 23, 2020))
“All of Adam Campbell’s 2017 Pinots are fine-tuned and elegant. Not as ripe as the 2015s, nor as sturdy as the 2016s, they perfectly express the character of this vintage. This vineyard selection offers tight raspberry limned with citrus. Flavors are sharp, and the tannins polished.”
– Wine Enthusiast (October 2019)
“There’s a deep-set, dark-cherry core that delivers on the nose and palate here with a sleek, fine-boned feel to the tannins that carry very even and long. Neatly detailed. Plenty of fresh and vibrant red cherries. Drink or hold.”
– James Suckling (May, 2019)
VINTAGE 2017 was a classic Oregon vintage with plenty of sunny days and refreshingly cool nights. It was also the first year since our wines were 100% estate grown, created entirely from grapes we own and farm. We now have full control as we care for our vineyards and soils for generations to come. “Estate Grown” is now proudly displayed on each of our labels.
After three early harvests in a row, 2017 brought us back to what many consider “classic Oregon weather.” A wet, cool spring led to a late start to the growing season with an early June bloom. Dry, hot weather in July and August meant great ripening as we thinned clusters to protect quality. Worries of smoke taint during the Columbia Gorge fires proved unfounded in our area, but hazy skies slowed September ripening slightly.
We began bringing in fruit in mid-September, but were interrupted by rain a few times in late September and mid-October. With 40+ vintages under our belts and hillside vineyards at diverse elevations we were able to choose the right windows to pick beautifully ripe fruit from each block. Sometimes this meant pulling long hours: in fact October 9th was our biggest day on record, with 110 tons landing on the crush-pad. Expect ripe tannins, fully developed flavors and classic cool climate freshness in these 2017 vintage wines.
Mount Richmond Vineyard sits on Willakenzie soils in the heart of the Yamhill Carlton AVA. The site was purchased in 1996 as a partnership between winemaker Adam Campbell, his wife Carrie, and Elk Cove founders Pat and Joe Campbell. The motivation for planting Mount Richmond was to emulate the wine quality from sites such as our esteemed Roosevelt vineyard. The vineyard now holds the honor as the largest vineyard holding of Elk Cove, totaling 105 planted acres. Mount Richmond sits at 300-500 feet elevation, lower than the vineyards planted at the winery, which allows for earlier ripening. Planted in a high-density format (2100 vines/acre), similar to Roosevelt, Mount Richmond sits in rolling hills just outside the town of Yamhill just East of the Coast Range Mountains. In addition to the old vine pommard selection, planted from select cuttings off of Roosevelt Vineyard, the blend now also includes equal parts of Dijon clones 115 and 777.
Fruit from Mount Richmond is fermented in small, temperature controlled steel tanks, hand punched down twice daily, and barreled in 22% new french oak barrels. After 10 months of aging in barrels, only the barrels that are most representative of the Mount Richmond profile are carefully blended to create a big, luscious Oregon Pinot Noir.
Review Mount Richmond East Library Release.