Winemaker Notes
Made from Pommard and Dijon vines set atop Parrett Mountain, this is a spicy wine with pinpoint flavors of mountain berries, backed with juicy citrus. A finesse wine, stylish and deep, the details remain in sharp focus through a mineral-backed finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Deep ruby, the 2021 Pinot Noir Clay Court is layered with floral and spice notes as well as black raspberry liqueur, anise, mossy earth, and cracked pepper. Medium to full-bodied, with an elegant mouthfeel and a beautiful texture, it offers fine tannins and a silky, clean, rounded palate of fruit. Long on the palate and very well-balanced.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This is a Clay Court performance worthy of Rafael Nadal. Dark strawberry and raspberry aromas are joined by the fresh smell of clean, lemony sheets hanging on the laundry line. Cranberry and raspberry flavors provide a nice sweet/tart combination to go along with the saline and crunch of Marcona almonds.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple, the 2021 Pinot Noir Clay Court has scents of wild berries, orange peel, charcuterie and forest floor with streaks of Christmas spice. The medium-bodied palate offers concentrated, layered fruit on a soft, juicy frame, and it has a long, spicy finish. It's easy to drink now, but it will benefit from another 2-3 years in the bottle.
-
Wine Spectator
Expressive and vibrant, with pretty rose petal and raspberry aromas that open to multilayered orange peel and stony mineral accents. Builds structure toward refined tannins.
-
James Suckling
Delicious sweet red berry fruit to this pinot with notes of strawberries, cinnamon stick, red tea, cherries and chocolate orange. It’s medium-bodied with supple tannins and a juicy, caressing finish.
One of the founding wineries of the Willamette Valley, family-owned and operated Elk Cove Vineyards was the first vineyard in what is now the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Second-generation Owner/Winemaker and fifth-generation Oregon farmer Adam Campbell sources fruit from Elk Cove's six 100% estate-grown, sustainably farmed vineyard sites located across the northern Willamette Valley, specializing in Pinot Noir and cool-climate white wines. Elk Cove is named for the local herd of Roosevelt elk and the protective bowl shape of the property. Its tasting room is tucked into the foothills of the Coast Range, with spectacular views of the surrounding vineyards and mountains.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
The Chehalem Mountains is a northwest-southeast span of several distinct mountains, ridges and peaks in the northern part of the Willamette Valley. Of all of Willamette Valley's smaller AVAs, it is closest to the city of Portland. Its highest summit, Bald Peak at an elevation of 1,633 feet, serves to generate cooler air for the rest of the AVA and its hillside vineyards. The region covers 70,000 acres but only 1,600 acres are planted to vines; soils of the Chehalem Mountains are a mix of basalt, ocean sediment and loess.