This reserve-level pinot noir is produced exclusively from grapes from our Roosevelt Vineyard. The wine is fermented in French oak and only the best barrels are selected to create what many consider Elk Cove’s finest Pinot Noir.
“The 2021 Pinot Noir Roosevelt is intense and expressive this vintage. Medium ruby-purple, it opens with streaks of graphite and pipe tobacco accenting a core of crushed cherries and smoked meats. The medium-bodied palate is impressively concentrated yet offers soft, silky tannins and seamless acidity. It’s full of fragrant fruit and has a layered, spicy finish. It’s a touch more coiled than the other 2021s in this lineup and will benefit from 3-5 years in bottle.”
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2023)
“The Roosevelt is as majestic as the elk it is named for. Aromas of blackberries, violets and seared steak are accented by notes of orange pith and leather. Silky tannins and elevated acidity support a set of flavors that range from ripe blackcap raspberry to tangy hibiscus tea. Drink 2025-2036. Cellar Selection.”
– Wine Enthusiast (February 2024)
“Plush and elegantly built, with dynamic raspberry and cranberry flavors highlighted by notes of green tea and orange peel as this zips along the vibrant finish. Drink now through 2032. 396 cases made.”
– Wine Spectator (January 2024)
“…The 2021 Roosevelt Pinot Noir reveals scents of pure ripe cherry, blackberry and raspberry fruits interwoven with floral, vanilla, herb, cocoa and spice nuances. On the palate, its impressive layers of cherry, blackberry, and raspberry fruits are enhanced by nuances of vanilla, cocoa, cinnamon and clove. It has a full texture and mouthfeel. This elegant and finely balanced Pinot Noir will provide great tasting pleasure for another 5 to 10 years.”
– Wine Review Online (November 2023)
“Elk Cove has really knocked it out of the park with its 2021 Pinot Noirs. The Roosevelt is another stunning example of Oregon Pinot at its best. This one spent 10 months in 38% new French oak barrels and showcases a lovely medium ruby-blue core with a fluorescent pink rim in the glass. It opens up to a very earthy and spicy nose – think notes of wet-tilled earth, tobacco leaves, dried lavender and crushed black peppercorns alongside those lovely blue-fruited aromas and flavors. Acidity is on point and integrates perfectly with the stratified structure, giving it lovely depth and presence. Highly recommended and editor’s choice.”
– International Wine Report (January 2024)
“Intensely ripe and opulent, this Pinot Noir from the estate Roosevelt Vineyard, which is about 1ha and planted to high density, is farmed to create wines of intensity. Aromas of Ripe boysenberry and rich cola spices jump forth from the glass. The palate continues with jammy blackberry fruits, cinnamon, clove and streaks of umami-based minerality.”
– Decanter (October, 2023)
“From a vineyard planted in 1993 behind the winery in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, the 2021 Pinot Noir Roosevelt is a nearly opaque ruby-red and slowly opens in the glass to reveal dark layers of lavender, kirsch, and undercurrents of graphite. Fleshy and full-bodied, it remains elegant and weightless, with velvety tannins and broad shoulders emerging through the mid-palate, as well as notes of rocky earth and good purity in its ripe frame. Drink 2025-2035.”
– Jeb Dunnuck (September, 2023)
VINTAGE 2021 was an outstanding year at Elk Cove. Cool weather during bloom and moderate temperatures during most of the growing season brought forth an ample harvest of intensely concentrated fruit.
The timing of weather events was key to our success in 2021. Rainfall during bloom raised expectations for a small, high-quality crop. Then a once-in-a millennium heat dome event brought worrying temperatures to the Pacific Northwest. This was thankfully during the most resilient stage of the growing season and our old vines survived without signs of serious stress or sunburn. Growth resumed normally once temperatures cooled with average heat from July through September bringing even ripening to the plentiful small, loose clusters. Our vines made it through the rain and the heat in fine condition with lots of variable-sized berries, known as hens and chicks.
Harvest 2021 was not only of high quality but also surprisingly bountiful. Low levels of dehydration combined with the numerous small clusters and several acres of young vines coming into maturity meant a record tonnage for Elk Cove. For red Pinot Noirs, expect intense color and flavors bursting out of the glass, while white wines and rosés are fruit-forward with great acidity and balance.
VINEYARD: Roosevelt Vineyard was planted in 1993 and has quickly become Elk Cove’s most prized vineyard site. A four-acre high-density (2100 vines per acre) planting situated just south of the winery on Willakenzie soils, Roosevelt’s south-facing hillside slopes to a steep precipice overlooking the magnificent Williams Canyon.
Roosevelt undergoes extensive pruning and cluster thinning to limit yields and maximize ripening to concentrate the fruit and is managed using completely organic practices. All of these elements combine to consistently produce one of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noirs.
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.
This reserve level pinot noir is produced exclusively from grapes from our Roosevelt Vineyard. The wine is fermented in French oak and only the best barrels are selected to create what many consider Elk Cove’s finest Pinot Noir.
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Review Roosevelt Magnum (1.5L).