2020 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
With generous cherry fruit, dry leaves and five spice on the nose, this wine is bright and earthy, its flavors of raspberry and black currant layered with dusty, almost gritty tannins and notes of rhubarb and black pepper.
Wine of the Week
“a juicy mash-up of ripe summer berries that makes me think of summer pudding, but it comes with wonderfully fragrant black-pepper fragrance and cardamom spice, a little mycorrhizal-mushroom under-earth earthiness. The sweetness of dark cherries swirls through the mid palate, picking up the furl of driftwood texture, and then slides into a silky finish.”
– Jancis Robinson (April, 2023)
93 Points
“…this wine is lovely: great fruit (black cherry), floral (red rose), floral (violet), and earthy (well, earth). Incredibly balanced on the palate, this is a deliciously affordable Pinot. Whoa.”
– The Drunken Cyclist (May, 2022)
Best Bargain Oregon Pinot Noir
“The 2020 Elk Cove Vineyards Estate Willamette Valley is a very well-balanced, full-body pinot with lots of red fruits and violet notes.”
– VinePair (May, 2022)
91 Points
“The 2020 vintage yielded a smaller than normal crop, and it was also a vintage that was threatened by smoke from wildfires. A melange of the winery’s 6 estate vineyards, this Estate Pinot apparently escaped all damage and in fact exudes nothing but charm and elegance.The wine is immediately appealing with its lovely aromas of cherry, raspberry and cloves. On the palate it is smooth, delicate and velvety, and the flavors emphasize youthful cherry fruit and lead to an intriguing earthy, oaky background. The finish is savory and juicy.”
– Norm Roby (April, 2022)
