Wine Specs
Vintage
2017
Varietal
Pinot Noir
Appellation
Yamhill-Carlton, Willamette Valley
Pinot Noir, St. Innocent 'Shea Vineyard'
5 In Stock
The 2017 Shea has intense dark aromas of dried flowers, white pepper, dried blackberries and earth. Supple while pervasive flavors of raspberry, black cherry and dried strawberry are intertwined with cola, dark chocolate and ginger root. The ample tannins blend effortlessly with the sweet acidity, fading gently into the finish.
Shea Vineyard is located in the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA, 35 miles SW of Portland, Oregon. The grapes for this wine come from two blocks: Block 6, planted in 1998 with Dijon clone 115 and a small amount of Pommard (11 rows), faces SE slope on a hillside of shallow sedimentary soil at about 450-500' in elevation. The Terrace Block faces SW, planted in 2002 with the Pommard clone, and gets its name from the terraces carved into its steep slope.
The de-stemmed grapes were fermented in 4-8 ton stainless steel and oak fermenters with no SO2, allowing the fermentations to proceed naturally. After gentle pressing and settling, the wine aged in French oak barrels, 21% of which were new, for 16 months before bottling by gravity without fining.