2016 Oregon Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
This juicy Oregon offering, the last of our 2016 vintage to be released, is ready for your palate!
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2016 Oregon Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
(not eligible for discounts)About The Vineyard...
Dick Shea planted his first vines in the late 80’s, just a few short years after Ken Bernards moved from his birthplace in the Willamette Valley to Napa to work his first harvest. The vineyards have grown, along with Shea’s reputation for quality, and today his vines produce a disproportionately large percentage of the most renowned Willamette Pinot Noirs. Good sedimentary soils, sitting on two well-drained hillsides, along with careful, sustainable farming practices, routinely yield quality, well-ripened fruit in a viticultural area known for wide vintage variation. Both wine makers and wine connoisseurs look to Shea for Pinot Noirs with density, structure, and intense, spicy fruit.
About The Vintage...
The warm, but not hot growing season of 2016 was as long or longer than previous vintages and began with an early bud break and ended by the beginning of October. With no pressure from the weather, growers were able to relax throughout the year and enjoy a warm, dry harvest. The vintage was ripe, aromatic, and showed more restraint than the previous more opulent vintages.
About The Wine...
Ken Bernards returns to the land of his youth, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Working with fruit grown this far from the winery produces special challenges and requires an extremely high element of trust between the wine maker and the grower. Dick Shea’s farming skills are up to this challenge. This was the last fruit that we harvested. It fermented traditionally in one ton, open top containers using hand punch downs to achieve optimal extraction. Gravity provided movement from reception through pressing with inert gas used from then on. It was aged in François Frères and Remond cooperage for sixteen months and racked once in the springtime. 203 cases produced.
Tasting Notes...
Another outstanding vintage from the revered Shea Vineyard! Earthy, organic aromas accompanied by a fruit kissed perfume tantalize you in for a taste. The rich, tilled earth is peppered with light toasty notes, dried floral perfumes, clover, rose petal and geranium flower. Lifted aromatics of huckleberry and wild strawberry give beautiful balance to characteristic notes of earthiness. The broad palate is generous with brambly plum and blueberry, which complement mouth-coating tannins. While the finesse of this vintage makes it enjoyable in its youth, you can also expect many years of cellar worthiness!
2015 Oregon Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
Another beautifully ripe vintage from this prestigious vineyard!
LAST CALL!
2015 Oregon Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
(not eligible for discounts)About The Vineyard...
Dick Shea planted his first vines in the late 80’s, just a few short years after Ken Bernards moved from his birthplace in the Willamette Valley to Napa to work his first harvest. The vineyards have grown, along with Shea’s reputation for quality, and today his vines produce a disproportionately large percentage of the most renowned Willamette Pinot Noirs. Good sedimentary soils, sitting on two well-drained hillsides, along with careful, sustainable farming practices, routinely yield quality, well-ripened fruit in a viticultural area known for wide vintage variation. Both wine makers and wine connoisseurs look to Shea for Pinot Noirs with density, structure, and intense, spicy fruit.
About The Vintage...
2015 mirrored the ideal growing conditions of the warm and dry 2014 vintage resulting in another earlier than normal bud break, bloom, and harvest. The heat of the growing season found balance with hydrating August rainstorms, followed by one of the coolest Septembers on record. The hedonism of the 2014 vintage showed up with greater intensity in the 2015 vintage and the cool weather into harvest resulted in even better fruit showing a firm, yet luxurious, structure in the resulting wine.
About The Wine...
Ken Bernards returns to the land of his youth, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Working with fruit grown this far from the winery produces special challenges and requires an extremely high element of trust between the wine maker and the grower. Dick Shea’s farming skills are up to this challenge. This was the last fruit that we harvested. It fermented traditionally in one ton, open top containers using hand punch downs to achieve optimal extraction. Gravity provided movement from reception through pressing with inert gas used from then on. It was aged in François Frères and Remond cooperage for sixteen months and racked once in the springtime. 224 cases produced.
Tasting Notes...
This wine gets better every vintage! Earthy, organic aromas accompanied by a fruit kissed perfume tantalize you in for a taste. The rich, tilled earth is peppered with light toasty notes, dried floral perfumes, clover, rose petal and geranium flower. Generous and ripe, the nose shows plenty of huckleberry and wild strawberry that give a beautiful balance to characteristic notes of earthiness. The broad palate is generous with brambly plum and blueberry, which complement mouth-coating tannins. While the dense flavor profile promises many cellar worthy years, this is another great vintage ready to drink now!
2014 Oregon Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
A generously hedonistic vintage from this distinguished most vineyard in Willamette Valley!
2014 Oregon Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
(not eligible for discounts)About The Vineyard...
Dick Shea planted his first vines in the late 80’s, just a few short years after Ken Bernards moved from his birthplace in the Willamette Valley to Napa to work his first harvest. The vineyards have grown, along with Shea’s reputation for quality, and today his vines produce a disproportionately large percentage of the most renowned Willamette Pinot Noirs. Good sedimentary soils, sitting on two well-drained hillsides, along with careful, sustainable farming practices, routinely yield quality, well-ripened fruit in a viticultural area known for wide vintage variation. Both wine makers and wine connoisseurs look to Shea for Pinot Noirs with density, structure, and intense, spicy fruit.
About The Vintage...
Nearly ideal growing conditions in the 2014 vintage culminated in an earlier than usual harvest. Spring was warm and was followed by continued warmth through the rest of the year. Higher than normal lows at night actually broke the record for heat accumulation that was previously set by 2006’s hot summer. The abundance of sun Oregon received throughout the majority of the year added a welcome hedonism to the earthy perfumed goodness we expect from Shea.
About The Wine...
Ken Bernards returns to the land of his youth, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Working with fruit grown this far from the winery produces special challenges and requires an extremely high element of trust between the wine maker and the grower. Dick Shea’s farming skills are up to this challenge. This was the last fruit that we harvested. It fermented traditionally in one ton, open top containers using hand punch downs to achieve optimal extraction. Gravity provided movement from reception through pressing with inert gas used from then on. It was aged in François Frères and Remond cooperage for sixteen months and racked once in the springtime. 290 cases produced.
Tasting Notes...
The best Shea yet! Earthy, organic aromas accompanied by a fruit kissed perfume tantalize you in for a taste. The rich, tilled earth is peppered with light toasty notes, dried floral perfumes, clover, rose petal and geranium flower. Generous and ripe, the nose shows plenty of huckleberry and wild strawberry. The broad palate is generous with plum and blueberry, which complement mouth-coating tannins. While this wine will cellar nicely for 5-10 years, this is a vintage ready to drink now so buy plenty to age some if you can keep your hands of it!