Pike Road Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Pike Road Temperance Hill Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir

Tasting Notes

Bright, spicy cherry fruit is framed by beautiful floral and exotic spice tones. Don't be fooled by its bright red color, this is not a simple or wimpy wine. Lots of layers are woven into this beautifully exotic Pinot Noir with a silky, elegant finish.

About Temperance Hill Vineyard

This second-generation vineyard was first planted in 1981 on what is believed to be the remnants of an ancient volcano. Exposed to the cold Van Duzer winds at an elevation between 660 and 860 feet, Temperance Hill is one of the cooler sites in the Willamette Valley. Soil types are Nekia, Rittner, and Jory with varying slopes and exposures making it a very complex vineyard site. Temperance Hill is an organically farmed vineyard that uses certified Salmon-Safe methods.

The 2017 Vintage

2017 brought us back to what we consider a classic, cool-climate Oregon vintage, a year when our decades of experience paid off. Wet spring weather led to a more typical growing season compared with the past three vintages, all unusually hot. The summer of 2017 was warm and dry, leading to excellent flavor development in the fruit, but we thinned the crop considerably to ensure concentration and ripeness. Harvest was staggered because of the October rains, which meant long days for our crew during the windows of sun. 2017 wasn’t an easy year to farm, but the fresh, fully developed flavors of the vintage make it worth the hard work.

Review:

Pale ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Vineyard opens with charcuterie, cranberries, red currant and wild blackberries with accents of amaro, earth and potpourri. It’s light to medium-bodied with floral-tinged fruits, a firm frame and juicy freshness, finishing long and spiced. 200 cases produced.

-Wine Advocate 92 Points 

Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

Deep ruby red in color with scarlet highlights, Clark & Telephone opens with bountiful aromas of red fruits of cranberry and raspberry jam, laced with clove, cedar, and holiday baking spices. Bold and complex flavors of crushed ripe cherry, cranberry and blueberry pie linger on the palate. The texture is rich and lively, and leads into a warm and structured finish.

Review:

This is a very bold style of Pinot Noir, so much that it's not very reflective of the grape but would work well paired with a juicy grilled steak. Concentrated aromas of blackberry, maple syrup and hot pancakes lead into a viscous, thick palate of berry jam, clove and cardamom flavors. 

-Wine Enthusiast 91 Points

Dairyman Vineyard is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

Dark plum in color with abundant aromas of dark chocolate, black cherry, and sun-ripened blackberry with a hint of cedar. Layered flavors of blackberry and raspberry pie filling, accompanied by notes of cinnamon, chocolate, and nutmeg play on the palate. Smooth and focused with refined tannins and a medium finish.

Belle Glos Las Alturas Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

Deep garnet in color with an aromatic medley of black cherry, marionberry, ripe plum and a hint of anise. Dark fruit on the palate with flavors of wild berries, caramelized oak and cacao nibs complemented by subtle notes of vanilla, cedar and a hint of lavender and forest floor. Rich and unrestrained, this wine’s abundant fruit is beautifully balanced by firm acidity and layers of red and black fruit.

The Stone Corral Vineyard is planted on a southeast slope on the west side of the Edna Valley which has an east/west orientation opening up to the Pacific Ocean from Morro Bay and Pismo Beach. Approximately 120 to 300 feet above sea level, the climate is strongly influenced by the ocean providing ideal temperate growing conditions for Pinot Noir. Early spring warming, mild summer temperatures and late arriving cold fall temperatures and rain provide a long growing season for the development of rich color, concentrated and complex flavors. Soil profiles vary between blocks from sand, sandy loam, loamy sand, pebbly sandy clay loam, all fine angular blocky , including decomposing sandstone layers and numerous fossil rocks. The soils are well drained and marine in origin, resulting in an elegant Pinot Noir with extraordinary attributes.

This gem is a blend of a few precious, select barrels hailing from the finest blocks of Stone Corral Vineyard. Offers blue-toned fruit on the nose and a pretty bouquet of black raspberry, sandstone, marzipan and wild lupine flowers. Opulent, yet delicate on the palate, with velvety layers of cola nut, cherry, dried herbs and pecan sandie cookies.

Wine analysis – 13.7% Alcohol, .69 TA, 3.5pH

- A barrel select Stone Corral Vineyard bottling, utilizing the finest blocks and clones of the 2013 vintage
- Blend of clones 115, 777 and 667 on 101-14 and 3309 rootstalks
- Hand harvested, cold fruit from night picks during the month of September 2013
- Yield about 2 tons per acre between 23.8 and 24.5 ° Brix
- Destemmed with nearly 100 % whole berries remaining
- Fermented in small open top tanks
- 4 day cold soak, average 14 day fermentation, peak temperature 83°
- Hand punched down several times daily as needed
- Pressed off just dry, tank settled then racked to barrels
- Aged in small French oak barrels for 18 months
- Once the fresh wine is transferred from the press pan, all moving of the wine is done with inert gas pressure.
When handling the wine, care is taken at all opportunities to avoid shear.

"This bottling comes from the best blocks and barrels from this single vineyard, co-owned by a number of Edna Valley luminaries. The result is stunning, with baked raspberry, strawberry, maple, and peppery bacon aromas comprising a spicy, exotic nose. Black plum fruit melds with white pepper and crushed herbs, diving into tangy strawberry and sandalwood incense notes on the finish. - Matt Kettmann"
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine (April 1st 2017), 95 pts

Hamilton Russell Vineyards Bramble Hill Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.

Hamilton Russell Vineyards in South Africa has developed an international reputation over 40 vintages for unusually restrained, classically styled Pinot noir, with deep structure and spice balancing fruit opulence. Hamilton Russell Oregon aims to express this stylistic philosophy with the very best Willamette Valley fruit - showcasing the restrained, structured classicism of great European Pinot noir and the bright purity of Oregon fruit. The celebrated Bramble Hill vineyard in Ribbon Ridge, delivers a particularly bright, pure, lively minerality to complement the complex lifted fruit the best Oregon Pinot noir is known for.

Review:

Limpid ruby-red. Fresh red berries, blood orange, floral and baking spice qualities on the incisive nose. Juicy, focused and lithe on the palate, offering subtly sweet raspberry and cherry flavors and building spicecake and cola nuances. Closes long and nervy, with discreet tannins framing repeating floral and spice notes.

-Vinous 93 Points