2019 Shea Vineyards ''Estate" Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

The best example of Shea Vineyard as a whole in any given vintage is the Estate Pinot Noir. Pulled from every block of the vineyard we use for our own production, the Estate embodies the intense yet complex nature of Pinot Noir in the 2016 vintage. Dark red fruit including raspberries, black tea, clove and rose aromatics define the nose. The palate has smooth tannins and bright acidity while still being rich and rounded. Aged in 48% new French oak.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Shea Vineyard, located in the Yamhill Foothills of Oregon's Willamette Valley, was first planted to wine grapes by Dick Shea in 1989 and 1990. Today the vineyard property consists of 200 hillside acres of which 140 are planted to wine grapes, largely Pinot Noir and a few acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. The south facing vineyard sits in a viticultural region called the Willakenzie District. The soil of the vineyard is shallow and very well draining with sandstone subsoil. The vineyard has never been irrigated.

Currently the winery supplies several top Pinot Noir producers in Oregon (Archery Summit, Beaux Freres, Ken Wright, Panther Creek, and St. Innocent) and one in California (Sine Qua Non). The Wine Enthusiast in its annual review of Oregon wines in December 2000, wrote, "It is no coincidence that our two top rated wines... were made from fruit from Richard Shea's perennially superb Willamette Valley vineyard."