Winemaker Notes
Amassed from multiple vineyard blocks and clones, this wine has turbulent and craggy texture like Craters of the Moon National Monument. It possesses round and rich but not sweet tannins that move diagonally before rolling into a slightly underripe blackberry bitterness on the finish. Expressing Autumn, the 2021 S (The Sum) leads with brown turkey figs, maple leaf sawdust, raspberries with penicillium, and marjoram on the nose, with incredible density of perfectly ripe red fruits on the finish. 50% whole-cluster fermentation bolsters the wine, sustaining the tannic imprint with wavy texture on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A jeweled ruby hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir The Sum takes on fantastic crystalline and pure aromas of wild strawberries, raspberries, dark stones, menthol, and cedar spice, but it’s not very oaky. Medium-bodied, it has ripe tannins, with ripe acidity and a bit more modest acidity compared to the other wines from Zena Crown, but it’s long on the palate, with a more autumnal sensibility, and it’s going to show its best over the next 12-15 years.
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Vinous
A pretty blend of dusty rose, ground cloves, sage and wild strawberries makes the 2021 Pinot Noir ? The Sum impossible to ignore. This is more savory than sweet and full of zesty character, with depths of saline minerals and exotic spices that cascade across the palate. Waves of tart blackberry slowly saturate. The 2021 leaves a web of fine tannins that flex upon the sense, finishing with medium length and a pleasantly bitter tinge that resonates. The Sun is produced using about 50% whole cluster fermentation.
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James Suckling
Very pretty and pure, sleek in raspberries and red and black cherries that integrate well with light oak spices. Moderate tannins, a good acid tension and a medium body support the focused and tangy fruit for a vibrant expression.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From grapes grown on volcanic soils and crafted mostly from whole clusters, the 2021 Pinot Noir The Sum has layered, spicy aromas of tar, licorice, forest floor, aniseed and wild berry fruit. The medium-bodied palate is concentrated but still youthfully wound and latent. It has chalky tannins and mouthwatering acidity and finishes long and spicy. It deserves several years in the cellar to unwind.
Rating: 93+
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.