Winemaker Notes
Raspberry, meyer lemon and pine: The 2013 Conifer is a forward, soaring wine. A piano composition played on the black keys, bright and alive. Amid vibrant fruit intensity, its plush shape is suggested rather than rigidly defined—a Pinot Noir from the impressionist school, a wine for a never-ending summer’s night. The cumulative effect is a balanced wine of juicy fruit, citrus zest, warm spice, and forest air.
Vegan
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2013 Zena Crown Conifer Pinot Noir, an unbelievable wine, strikes from all angles, this wine excels with its distinct aromas of pure red fruit, accents of chalk and stone, and forest floor accent. The wine is well-built and tight-knit on the palate. The laser beam finish makes it an elegant choice grilled lamb chops. Drinks nicely now. (Tasted: August 26, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
ight and expressive, with a steely edge to the cherry, blackberry and spice flavors. Hints at orange tea as the minerally finish lingers. Drink now through 2021.
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.