Purple Hands - Pinot Noir - Shea Vineyard 2022

Tasting notes

A great rendition spotlighting this iconic vineyard, it's loaded with ripe black fruits, espresso, cola and clean earth flavors. The barrel spices, the balance, even the gentle sniff of leather, all work in concert to create a most pleasurable, lingering and complex tasting experience.

Ageing

12 Months in Barrel
65% Neutral Oak
35% New Oak

Vineyard

Shea Vineyard drapes over 140 acres of rolling hills in the Willamette Valley’s Yamhill-Carlton AVA, stretching from 450 to 630 feet elevation. The vineyard is planted in sedimentary soils atop fractured sandstone derived from an ancient seabed. Dick Shea first planted the Back Block in 1989 and then replanted it in the mid-90s to eliminate the problem of phylloxera, a microscopic insect that feeds on grapevine roots. Since then, it’s been a simple story of amazing wines. Visitors to the Willamette Valley quickly recognize the respect commanded by wines made from Shea Vineyard grapes. This fruit is some of the most coveted in the state, as it consistently inspires critically acclaimed bottlings.

Vinification

Native Fermentation
Small Open Top Fermenters
Hand Plunged & Macerated
Unfined & Unfiltered

Vintage

The vintage had a warm spring with record-breaking heat units in April and May. This transitioned us into the earliest harvest date on record. Lower elevation Dundee Hills started to pick the end of the second week of August, and our last fruit was in the door September 16th. The summer wasn’t overly warm, though just warm enough to keep the vines moving forward, developing into a beautiful growing season and harvest. I think you will see the wines balanced and rich in a traditional Purple Hands Style.

USA

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Yamhill-Carlton