Our Old School is inspired by the early wines of Elk Cove co-founder Joe H Campbell, M.D. with a greater percentage of whole cluster Pinot Noir, giving it a robust palate and elevated spice and fruit character.
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.
Lots of Pinot Noir are selected for this wine based on the ripeness of the stems. We evaluate stem ripeness by watching for lignification, the transition from a green stem to a woody brown stem. When ripe, stems impart spice and structure and intensify fruit-forward aromatics.
2022 vineyard sources: Roosevelt Vineyard & Mount Richmond West Vineyard
Old School refers to the old way of doing things. Elk Cove co-founder Joe Campbell made many whole-cluster wines in the 1970s and 1980s, before we had a really good destemmer. Adam has recently adopted this “old school” method for some of our riper lots, notably Goodrich, but this Old School wine has an even greater percentage of whole-cluster Pinot Noir.
37% New Oak
62.5% Whole Cluster
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