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2007 Shea Vineyard Tasting
Willamette Wine Storage - Portland, OR
Tasted January 20, 2011 by subtlet with 718 views
Introduction
Grant stepped up just in time to propose an ambitious tasting for January. There was some scrambling involved, but we were all able to gather up an impressive lineup of 11 wines from 2007 Shea Vineyard fruit. This was designed to be a great opportunity to taste wines across producers with the vintage and vineyard being held constant, and Shea fruit provided a great opportunity for this. It's amazing to see how the different styles played out in the wines.
Flight 1 - Shea Line Up (11 notes)
Red
2007 Broadley Vineyards Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
91 points
Dark cherry scents show in the glass backed by hibiscus, strawberries, and a hint of minerality. The juice here is really nice, with lovely cherry flavors and balanced, clean acidity. The acid lingers as a faint dusty note sets in later on the mid palate, and some cherry skins show. A hint of red grapefruit and some gentle tannins show themselves on the finish making this a bright, complex, and delicious experience. 91-
Red
2007 Panther Creek Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
86 points
Some cherries and a funky note show on the nose along with a bit of salami. Light cherries show on the palate with some oak and hibiscus notes as the middle sets in. The mid palate feels a bit empty, and then some light cherry flavors show themselves toward the finish. I didn't get a lot of texture here.
Red
2007 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
89 points
Dark cherries show on the nose along with some pepper, cherry skins, and some deep funk. Good dark cherry flavors are blended with light citrus on the palate. Some lighter cherry skin flavors linger on the finish.
Red
2007 J. K. Carriere Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
87 points
The nose here is pretty faint, but some funky oak and some dark cherries appear. This has a nice mouth feel and the tannins work well with a bit of grapefruit acidity. Things are still a bit disjointed though. I get some creamy notes on the finish as well.
Red
2007 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Shea Vineyard
89 points
The nose is full and delivers perfumed scents wrapped around cherries. Some funk and leather linger underneath the brighter pretty scents. This has a clean entry and a rich evolution onto the mid palate. Some really nice dark cherry flavors show on the middle. They're not terribly complex, but they are enjoyable. The mouth feel is excellent here, and some black tea, lighter acid, and balanced oak show themselves on the finish. 89+
Red
2007 Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
89 points
Dark cherry skins show on the nose along with a night of sour dough, and some earthy notes. The wine delivers a great dusty mouth feel with lovely, balanced cherry flavors. Gentle tannins fill the mouth and dry fully after a few consecutive sips. Some faint mandarin orange notes show themselves late on the finish along with gentle tannins. The components are even and balanced, and a faint green note shows on the finish. 89+
Red
2007 Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
90 points
Dark cherries show on the nose with a hint of chocolate cake and some grapefruit. That hits a lot of good bases for me as far as a nose goes! It's clean on the palate with a good burst of acid, and some great bright cherries. The tannins are gentle, and the ripping acidity dies fully on the finish leaving a hint of dust behind. Being a fan of acidic Pinot Noir, this works pretty well for me. 90-
Red
2007 Bergström Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
87 points
The nose carries a lot of character, showing full blackberries along with some funk and heat as well as an even presence of vanilla oak. Given the heavy nose, the lighter fruit on the palate surprises me. Blackberries are light, but still deep and accompanied by leather notes. Tannins dry fully toward the finish but the acidity is lighter. Things feel a bit empty, even though it hints at many good qualities.
Red
2007 Stevenson-Barrie Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
90 points
The nose here is an interesting combination of oak wood and bark suggesting a darker side, and bright cherries, speaking to fresh character. The cherries are clean and bright on the palate and accompanied by full and balanced vanilla oak. Everything is clean and balanced, and a bright feel persists through the experience. Everything lingers well and a white floral note shows itself toward the finish. Yum!
Red
2007 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
87 points
Full cinnamon and cherries show on the nose, with some funk in the background. I'm also getting some peach scents and some more spices. This is a cool and complex nose. A touch of vanilla shows on the palate, but it remains light while some great acid shows. The cherry fruit is a simple and on the lighter side, as are the tannins. The tannins dry things out on the finish.
Red
2007 Alexana Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard
87 points
This has a crazy herbal component on the nose that's leaning a bit towards solvent as much as I try to get around it. Some cherry scents show lightly, and a bit of chocolate is scared and hiding in the background with some stemmy green notes. The green and herbal notes show on the palate along with some light cherries. The oak is used well, and shows with a nice touch on the finish.
Flight 2 - Bonus Wines (2 notes)
Some members were kind enough to contribute additional bottles. Yeah, I did like the wine from Dundee Hills better than the wines from Shea. That's just how it goes sometimes.
White
2007 Joseph Drouhin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
92 points
The nose delivers pear scents along with some gentle biscuit notes and light mandarin oranges. Some creamy oak scents show as well as a hint of spice. It's gentle on the palate with a creamy feel that runs down the sides of the mouth and later evolves into good acidity. The wine is very clean with great gentle pear flavors and textures lingering across the full palate. Everything dries out nicely in the finish as some lovely Braeburn apple flavors appear. The fruit lingers long and the acid dries very nicely as the finish runs out beyond 20 seconds. 92+
Red
2007 Cameron Pinot Noir Abbey Ridge
91 points
The nose is deep and complex showing some steak tartare with a dash of Worcestershire sauce across the top and some raspberry scents. The mouth feel is absolutely lovely showing balanced acid and tannins. The raspberry flavors are fantastic and they deliver their best on the finish. Clean cherries are the star of the show on the mid palate. The whole experience is bright, lovely, and long. This rocks.
Closing
Unfortunately, I don't know if I could name a common characteristic across all of these wines! I was really hoping that something would stand out to me, but I just have some ideas that will need to be tested in some more blind tastings. It's not a huge surprise that I came out favoring a bright and acidic style, but I can see 2007 playing to that better than the other options. Indeed, it seemed that wine makers trying to draw rich and dark fruit struggled and came out with wines that were a bit hollow in some cases. Make no mistake though, this was an excellent experience.