Yet by the late 1960s, the potential to produce life-changing Pinot Noir had lured a handful of winemakers to the remote Willamette Valley. Emboldened by their early successes, vintners from California to the Côte d’Or took notice, and a wave of interest and investment ensued in the following years. A burst of expansion occurred in the early 2000s, when many of the last, best hillside sites were claimed and planted. Premier Pacific Vineyards developed prime vineyard land just as the valley’s vibrant styles of Pinot Noir achieved international renown. One such site, positioned on a southwest-facing slope of weathered volcanic soils, clustered amidst the most historic vineyards of the Eola-Amity Hills, is Zena Crown Vineyard.
Since its third leaf, Zena Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir has been subject to multiple interpretations; it became a sought-after single-vineyard designate for top producers like Beaux Frères, Soter, and Penner-Ash. With the 2013 harvest, however, Zena Crown emerged as a true Oregon domaine. As Shane adapts to its rhythms and natural oscillations, he seeks to explore and manifest the singular voice of this special plot of land, in accordance with the remote and rugged beauty of the Eola-Amity Hills.
Jackson Family Wines purchased the Zena Crown Vineyard just west of Salem in 2013, marking their first foray into Oregon. With cautious optimism, the desire to remain a harmonious neighbor, and the patience to watch this vineyard's story slowly unfold, they engaged Willamette Valley winemaker and passionate Pacific Northwest native SHANE MOORE to bring Zena Crown Vineyard to life.
Proximity to the Pacific, rather than the extreme seasonal flux of the continental interior, allows the Willamette Valley to accumulate annual temperature and degree-day averages similar to those in Burgundy. Yet these summations are achieved differently—in the Willamette Valley, the growing season is longer and drier, with fewer summer heat spikes and only rare episodes of hail. In July and August, the Willamette Valley experiences only moderate heat, with temperatures seldom surpassing 90° F. But despite a longer, even growing season and the gift of summer sunshine, Willamette Valley’s winemakers, like those in the Côte d’Or, endure sleepless nights as fall weather approaches with its attendant fog, capricious rains, and the specter of frost threatening a year’s work. Adaptation, and a little luck, are key to navigating the valley’s climate and preserving its promise of lithe and luminous Pinot Noir.
Burgundy’s famed limestone is absent in Oregon. Here, the ground below was forged through seafloor upheaval, volcanic power, and catastrophic floods at the close of the last ice age. The Willamette Valley’s best Pinot Noir is grown on slopes of windblown loess, uplifted marine sediment, and reddish volcanic soils. Formed from weathered basalt and younger than the marine sedimentary layers underneath, the volcanic series are associated with some of the most classic examples of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Volcanic soils color the Dundee Hills red and characterize many of Eola-Amity Hills’ most important sites, including Zena Crown. The nutrient-poor, well-drained Jory series is the most abundant volcanic type throughout the valley, as well as the state’s official soil. Along with the shallower basaltic series Nekia and Witzel, Jory sculpts wines of lighter color and more expressive red fruit aromas—a stark contrast to the darker fruit flavors and heft conjured from marine-derived soil series elsewhere in Willamette Valley.
In the Eola-Amity Hills, our volcanic soils help maintain aromatic lift, our climate keeps acidity buoyant, and the punishing winds piping through the Van Duzer Corridor add an overcoat of structured tannin.
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Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Farmed with a unique precision to match the unparalleled terroir of this historic Oakville site, this vintage is ethereal, delicate, and nuanced. An attractive deep garnet in appearance, this wine expresses soft red cherry, strawberry, floral, and graphite. The palate is full and lively with flavors of blueberry, blackberry, sandalwood, and dried herbs, supported by a lovely grip of tannins and well-tensioned texture that leads to a long, refined finish.
Review:
More expressive and open-knit, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard sports a similar ruby/purple to go with an incredible array of black raspberry, cassis, flowery incense, orange blossom, smoked tobacco, and exotic spice. As are all To Kolans, it's incredibly perfumed and complex aromatically, and it's one of those wines that changes every time you come back to the glass. Full-bodied on the palate, it offers beautiful richness and depth, a light, graceful mouthfeel, silky tannins, and a heavenly finish. It's another magical wine from this talented winemaker that readers will absolutely love.
-Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points
Crianza is the essential wine. Balance and integrity. It displays the fine manners of experience and the grace of plethoric vine. Juicy black fruit on the palate inviting you to eat well and feel good.
But there is more. Crianza maintains an invisible pact with the landscape. An imperceptible force that brings us closer to the truth of the place. And instantly turns extreme climate vineyards into the most welcoming place in the world.
Prepared with Tempranillo grapes (100%), this wine has a very bright, intense maraschino cherry colour that fades to a Cardinal red rim.
It has a very marked aroma with a good balance of fruit and wood, where tones of vanilla intermingle with well-ripened fruit, black berries and wild fruits. There are also noticeable hints of leather and liquorice, resulting from the mingling of the French oak and the aromas inherent in this variety of grape.
In the mouth, the wine has a smooth texture but fills the palate with balanced flavours, including fine tannins, which help extend the life of the wine. The finish and aftertaste are both long and elegant.
Vineyard:
Pago de los Capellanes, Pedrosa de Duero.
Variety composition:
100% Tempranillo.
Type of soil:
Clayey and chalky.
Aging:
12 months in barrel and remainder on rack.
Type of oak:
100% French oak, medium toast.
Serving:
Uncork and decant one hour before serving at a temperature of 16-18 ºC.
Selected harvest with yields limited to 5000 kg per hectare. The harvest begins in early October, starting with the most mature parcels. Once the grapes are brought into the winery, the tanks are seeded with indigenous yeast (start culture) and the alcoholic fermentation begins. During the barrelling period, which lasts 30 days, the wine is crushed and pumped over daily, all the while controlling the density, temperature and evolution of the yeast. At the end of this fermentation, the tanks are emptied and the wine taken for malolactic fermentation.
The malolactic fermentation begins without the addition of bacteria. The temperature is held steady at 20ºC for period of 22 days, during which we monitor the levels of malic and lactic acids. When the malic acid content is less than 0.1 grams per litre, the wine is decanted to separate the lees and is transferred directly to the barrels without undergoing any type of filtration, clarification or cold treatment.
The wine is aged for twelve months in new and semi-new French oak barrels (no more than three years old). At the end of this period, it is taken to the tank for homogenisation, where it undergoes light filtration through cartridges (open pore) and is then bottled.