Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Roserock Zéphirine Pinot Noir gets right to the point: it is a fragrant, complex, exuberant expression of their vineyard, and its potential longevity is inspiring. On the nose, black currants, violet and lavender invite exploration. On the palate, juicy blue/black notes of wild berries and subtle earthiness wrap around a touch of spice. The tannins are firm yet elegant, providing a smooth mouthfeel and a long, satisfying finish. In short, the 2021 Zéphirine is special!
Roserock is LIVE-certified sustainable.Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Beautifully fragrant notes of cocoa-dusted raspberries and crushed blueberries with dried rose petals, sencha tea, cherry chocolate and crushed rocks. Ground spices, too. It shows both delicacy and power, with a compact and silky feeling to the tannin structure and impressive acidity which carries the freshness and tone through to the finish. Attractive tension of crunchy blue fruit and spices.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Taking on more complexity, the 2021 Pinot Noir Rose Rock Zephirine was bottled unfined and unfiltered with 22 months of élevage. Ripe ruby-red, it offer layers of spice and ripe fruit, with loads of framboise, fresh pine needles, and toasted cardamom spice. On the palate. It’s full-bodied and refined with sweet tannins, balanced ripe fruit, and a soft, stony mouthfeel. Drink 2023-2033.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Zéphirine offers kaleidoscopic scents of raspberry and strawberry jam, fennel and sage, blood orange and lavender. The light-bodied palate has impressive layers of spice, earth, flowers and fruit. It’s structured by silky tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity and has a long, nuanced finish.
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Wine Spectator
Graceful and seductive, this Pinot is seamlessly structured, with rich raspberry and blueberry flavors and forest floor and violet accents all gliding on the polished, lingering finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Beautiful blackberry and crunchy dried maple leaf aromas provide an excellent introduction to a jangly texture and flavors like tart black cherries, cranberries and a saline note similar to Marcona almonds. Balanced, with silky tannins and crisp acidity backing all of that fruit.
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.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.