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Purple Hands - Pinot Noir - Shea Vineyard

2022
Blend
100% Pinot Noir
Country
USA
Region
Oregon
Appellation
Yamhill-Carlton
UPC
8 56750 00312 5
Red Wine
Verified Stock
71038-22
Product Ratings
Decanter 94pt

Undeniably Oregon Pinot Noir from the iconic Shea Vineayrds in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Classic red bramble aromatics along side gravelly dust and fresh thyme notes. The palate is fresh and lively. Bright red raspberry, tart cranberry and spiced blood orange alight the front palate. An array of fresh wild herbs, subtle clove spice, and a gorgeous fresh mint character frames a Burgundian-style finish.

by Decanter, 2024
Jeb Dunnuck 96pt

From one of the highest elevations in this vineyard, the 2022 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard is a transparent red hue and is aromatic of ripe cherries, spices, mossy earth, and a lightly gamey but clean earth note. It is an elegant and lifted expression of the Shea Vineyard, with bright acidity, fine tannins, and a more linear feel, and as it opens, it starts to show its broader shoulders and its deeper notes come through.

by Jeb Dunnuck, 2024
James Suckling 94pt

Very aromatic with notes of cherries, raspberries, dried blood oranges and hints of cocoa and licorice. Juicy and bright with a medium body, offering fine, silky tannins and delicious fruit with notes of crushed stones. Refreshing and long. Drink or hold.

by James Suckling, 2024
Wine Enthusiast 92pt

Talk about flower power! The Purple Hands Shea opens with aromas of fresh rose petals, lavender, red raspberries and a mild potting soil note. The garden party continues with flavors like blackberry, clove, wet slate and a cup of black tea. Lively acidity and fine-grained tannins hold it all together.

by Wine Enthusiast, 2024

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

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

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.