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. |
 |
HARVEST & WINEMAKING
The stellar vintage began with a late bloom but was blessed with a dry, moderate October. The grapes were allowed to hang and soak up the cool days full with fall sun, allowing flavors to develop without sugars rising too quickly, and without the threat of rain forcing them in early. Our yields at Shea were even lower than usual, all of this resulting in a wine for the true pinot fanatic: concentrated and deeply intense, yet with focused acidity, elegance and balance, without any hint of over-ripeness. The Shea Back Block was hand harvested in the cold early morning. Beautiful small clusters supporting tiny berries were 90% destemmed into a 4 ton open-top fermenter. Cold soaking lasted ten days, when finally the fermentation began. Cap manipulation was kept to a minimum to avoid over extraction. As we came close to the end of ferment, the tank was sealed and allowed to macerate for an additional week and drained directly to new and one year old barrels.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
Deep ruby in color, true depth is revealed with a powerful nose of boysenberry, cocoa, blackberry, cherry, and lilac. The palate echoes these dark fruits with blueberry and dried cherry, along with cinnamon, cola, and violet notes. At first the tannins are firm, but with air they soften, resulting in a smooth, silky mouthfeel that seamlessly unfolds layer upon layer of flavor toward a long, dark-fruit finish. This is a wine that already seems complete; however, know you are only tasting a glimpse of its future. It should continue to evolve for years to come, and has the potential to develop into one of our finest Shea pinots to date.
TECHNICAL
DATA
Released February 2010
100% Wadenswil Clone
1 Ton per Acre
10% Whole Cluster
Native Yeast Fermentation
50% New French Cooperage
14.1 % Alc by Vol
225 Cases Produced |
|
