Vintage

At the close of harvest 2011, many winegrowers breathed a sigh of relief. Feelings of déjà vu from 2010 were evident as the picking pushed even later into the season, making it one of Oregon’s latest harvests on record. Yet, differences will mark them unique. Yields in 2011 were opposite of 2010, when production was down significantly due to poor fruit set and damage at harvest from migrating birds. This year, sunny weather brought good fruit-set and large compact clusters. The large crop had many growers thinning to one cluster per shoot. And the birds did not ‘help’ reduce yields as they did in 2010. Thus allowing normal yields compared to the dramatically reduced vintage in 2010. While
the heat index shows a warmer vintage in 2011 than 2010, most notable was when the heat came. This vintage brought the ‘nice weather’ late in the season allowing us to let the fruit hang 15 days longer for fantastic flavors and better pH and acid balance. Winemaker, Adam Campbell, comments, “the late and cool vintage really highlights why we choose to grow grapes on the viticultural edge. Extremely long hang time gave us wines with concentrated ripe fruit flavors, beautiful freshness and lower alcohol. These wines are why we love Oregon!” Reminding Oregon vintners, once again, those who held on patiently will be richly rewarded in the wines.

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.