Community Tasting Note

oldwines wrote:

Thursday, September 7, 2023 - Tasted at the winery. The Pinot’s from Shea are distinctly different than many of the other Pinot’s we tried this week (with a couple exceptions). They are bolder, more “masculine”, darker and more fruit forward…What I sometimes call Pinots for Cab lovers. This appears to be the result of several winemaking choices. In the vineyard, they pick much more ripe than some of the others we have spoken to, around 26° Brix rather than the ~24° others have told us (resulting in ABV’s of 14-14.5% vs. others at 13-13.5%). Also they employ both pumping over and pushing down of the cap during fermentation, resulting in more extraction. They use both free run and press wine in their final blends which are aged in higher percentages of new oak barrels (20-60% in the wines we tasted vs. some others at 0-40%). The sum total of these practices makes for a wine that is usually not my favorite and my scores do reflect that. There is certainly a market for this style, others may like it more than I do. They are not poorly made in any way, just a bit more “manipulated” rather than “made in the vineyard with as little winemaking interference as possible to better express the terroir”
This wine was made with 5% whole clusters, aged in 44% new French oak and the rest up to 3 year old barrels. 13.1% ABV on the label but tastes higher to me. Medium dark, almost Cab like garnet color. Nose has red florals, somewhat candied and smokey. There is decent acidity. Reasonably balanced though very “Big” by Oregon Pinot standards. Distinct vanilla (oak), black cherry, pomegranate, boysenberry fruit notes, baking spices and a long finish. Stylistically not in my sweet spot.

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