Profile of the Shea’s Willakenzie’s
Soil SHEA VINEYARD
Shea Vineyard is one of the most prestigious vineyards in New World Pinot Noir, placing it squarely among the elite terroirs. Shea Vineyards consists of 140 dry farmed hillside acres located in Oregon’s sub-appellation, Yamhill-Carlton. Yamhill-Carlton is situated in a rainshadow where storms often miss, leaving excellent dry conditions for Pinot Noir. Our Shea is harvested from the fabled Back Block of Shea Vineyard, the only other producer to get this fruit is the owner, Dick Shea. The soil is characterized by shallow sedimentary Willakenzie topsoil over fractured sandstone subsoil. These soils tend to display darker fruit with concentrated blackberry and plum highlighted with notes of earth, pepper and minerals. |
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HARVEST & WINEMAKING
2007 lead with a warm spring followed by a cool summer in the Willamette Valley, lending to a steady and consistent growing season, with heavy set making it a nail biter end. We thinned to one cluster per individual shoot to ensure ripening in what looked like a potentially difficult vintage. Our Back Block was hand harvested on a cold cloudy morning at the cusp of ripeness; finishing as the rains began to fall. The fruit came in beautifully with amazing freshness and aromatics. We decided to separate the North and South sides of the block fermenting the North side with whole clusters. The North and South were barrel aged separately until finally selecting the best ten barrels for our 2007 Shea.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
The 2007 Shea betrays its origins in Oregon immediately by its deep red, nearly purple color. The nose is equally dark at first, with fresh peppercorn, blackberry, and currant. A second pass lifts these flavors with lavender, truffle, perfectly ripe raspberry, and the slightest hint of vanilla. The palate provides a perfect example of the duality we strive for in our wines. It is rich, with ripe black fruit and raspberry, but also vibrant, with cranberry and crushed flower petal. It is expansive, with a massive finish dominated by dark fruit and cola, but avoids becoming too heavy thanks to a mineral streak and refreshing acidity. All of these flavors together result in a wine that is complex and intriguing, as well as delicious. While we expect this wine to be tight on release, decanted and given some cellar time, it has all the ingredients to develop into a classic example of our Shea pinot noir.
TECHNICAL
DATA
Released March 2009
100% Wadenswil Clone
1 Ton per Acre
11% Whole Cluster
Native Yeast Fermentation
60% New French Cooperage
13.9% Alc by Vol
313 Cases Produced |
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