Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A bolder style of pinot here with lots of blackberry and bark character. Full body, firm tannins and a fresh finish. Tight and structured. Try in 2019 when the tannins soften.
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Wine Spectator
Firm and focused, with powdery tannins surrounding a sleek core of guava-accented cherry, rose petal and spice flavors that glide into a long, vivid and mineral-marked finish. Has presence and elegance. Best from 2017 through 2024. 1,200 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Pinot Noir Mount Richmond comes from a vineyard bought by Adam and his parents in 1995, although apparently the site continues to be planted with Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. It has a fresh and lively bouquet with ebullient red cherry and redcurrant fruit (similar to a Shea Vineyard). The palate is very smooth with supple ripe tannin, well-judged acidity, harmonious and seductive with a touch of undergrowth on the finish. This is a very well-crafted Pinot Noir with pedigree and I can see this ageing with panache.
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Wine Enthusiast
This deeply flavored wine bursts forth with ripe blueberry, plum and cherry fruit. The mouthfeel is silky and succulent, wrapping the forward fruit into darker flavors laced with minty cacao, licorice and espresso. Drink now through 2026.
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.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.