2019 Windhill
*SOLD OUT*
Known for its spicy character and herbal tones, Windhill is an Elk Cove classic and one of our favorite wines to age in the cellar.
Vintage
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 than 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.
Vineyard
Elk Cove has produced single vineyard pinots from this beautiful hillside vineyard in Banks, Oregon since 1979. Windhill Vineyard was planted near the Hartwick Resevoir in 1974 by the Reece family, Oregon winegrowing pioneers, and was purchased by Elk Cove in 1996. South-facing slopes, volcanic soils, mid-level elevation (500 feet) and low yields make Windhill a superior vineyard site. We have farmed this vineyard using completely organic practices since 1999. Our Windhill Pinot Noir is produced from 4 acres of the oldest Pommard clone Pinot Noir vines on the property.
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.
We produce this single vineyard wine using only pommard clone Pinot Noir grapes from our Windhill Vineyard. The wine is fermented in small, temperature controlled steel tanks, hand punched down twice daily then aged for ten months in French oak. Finally, our winemaking team blends only those barrels most representative of the spicy character and herbal tones of Windhill’s classic pinot noir fruit.
Viticultural & Enological Data
- Vine Age 45 years
- Harvest Sugars 24 brix
- pH 3.67
- Vatting Fermentation in small open top steel fermenters. 10 months in 11% new French oak.
- Cases Produced 154