2019 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley
With ripe pear, honey and citrus on the nose, this wine opens lush and juicy with white peach, lemon curd and honeydew melon leading to an elegant finish of lemongrass and slate.
With ripe pear, honey and citrus on the nose, this wine opens lush and juicy with white peach, lemon curd and honeydew melon leading to an elegant finish of lemongrass and slate.
“Fresh, juicy pear, melon and crisp apple leap from the glass before landing playfully on the palate. Lively and refreshing, with a touch of orange peel on the endless finish. Textbook example of Oregon pinot gris. A gorgeous wine that would be welcome at any backyard barbeque.”
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (April 23, 2020)
“…bright and yeasty on the nose with notes of candied citrus and baked apples. The light-bodied palate is broad and flavorful with good uplift from its bright acidity and mineral tones.”
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (April 23, 2020)
Our Pinot Gris is #10 on the Top 100! Curated from over 25,000 different wines tested this year, The Enthusiast 100 is the best-of-the-best list for wines reviewed in 2020.
– Wine Enthusiast Magazine (November, 2019)
VINTAGE 2019 required experience and courage. After 45 years, we often say there isn’t a harvest we haven’t seen, but 2019 was an odd one. After a warm May and a healthy, early fruit-set, the summer ended cool with no threat of the sunburn or hazy, smoky skies seen in recent years. We expected to pick in early September, but weeks of unseasonably cool weather took us by surprise. Rather rushing to pick too early, we waited patiently for concentrations and sugar levels to rise, confident that our vineyard practices would protect the fruit.
According to Winemaker/Owner Adam Campbell “You pick your moments. If you’re 100% estate grown and you have impeccable timing – you can grow fantastic fruit in any year. It took months of preparation in the vineyard, and some very long days during crush, but we had a great crew in 2019 and managed to get sugar levels right where we want them.”
Our goal is a minimum 100 days from bloom to harvest; 2019 saw hang times as long as 125 days in some blocks. Expect wines with a big ripe core of concentrated fruit and a bright, fresh profile.
Our Pinot Gris is hand-harvested from select hillside vineyards in the northern Willamete Valley. Pinot Gris has long been a focus at Elk Cove – our Estate Vineyard boasts some of the oldest Pinot Gris vines in Oregon, dating back to 1985. Three of our other estate vineyard sites are also planted with Pinot Gris, including 50 acres on steep sloped Mount Richmond Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Planted in a high-density format, all our Pinot Gris undergoes shoot and crop thinning for low yields to maximize quality and concentration.
The Willamette Valley has the perfect climate for this delicate cool weather white wine. We have enough sunlight and warmth for ripening, but our cool evenings help retain varietal character and prevent over-ripening. We whole-cluster press our Pinot Gris grapes, then ferment the juice at very cool temperatures in small stainless steel tanks. This gentle treatment protects the aromatic qualities and enhances the natural richness of the Pinot Gris grapes, creating our most popular white wine.
Review Pinot Gris Willamette Valley.