JancisRobinson.com

• By Jancis Robinson, MW
  10/12/2018 (link)

  (Colene Clemens, Margo Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Frenzied, 3/3/2019

  (Colene Clemens Pinot Noir Margo) Hello friends. Colene Clemens is on a roll. You may recall that our penultimate offer of 2018 was the 2015 Clemens Dopp Creek, a wine that landed the #7 spot on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list. We asked you to limit order requests to 6 bottles, and in the end, I believe our max allocations were 1-2 bottles, with dozens of latecomer orders shut out entirely. To add further context to the power of a high place on Spectator’s Top 100 list: I just got notice that Colene Clemens is about to ship the *2017* vintage of Dopp Creek up to the Seattle market. We never even got a whiff of the ’16. I assume that the winery blew through the entire remaining stock of 2015 Dopp, *and* the entire production run of 2016 Dopp in less than a month, all thanks to Tim Fish’s positive write-up. The hunger for all things Clemens isn’t limited to Dopp either. The whole lineup went from sleepy under-the-radar gem (we’ve been offering their Pinots for years) to sales-frenzied in a matter of months. Even Margo, a wine that we had no trouble offering in the 2012 and 2013 vintages, has suddenly become scarce. We went ahead and purchased the entire remaining stock of 2014 Margo available in Seattle (it’s not much), and that allows us to access the 2015 right at release. I’m certain we’ll sell through our entire stock of ’14, and I’d bet we won’t be able to reoffer the ’15. I think we all know which way the wind is blowing here. Wine Spectator: Copyrighted material withheld. A quick refresher on the Colene Clemens story: Joe and Vicki Stark met over forty years ago in the Willamette Valley. After years of searching for the right property, the couple found an old, abandoned, south-facing farmstead and orchard with great elevation, proven Pinot Noir soils, and sweeping views. The site spans 122 acres, right where the Chehalem Mountains and Ribbon Ridge AVAs converge. So far, they’ve planted 55 of those acres, almost entirely to various Pinot Noir clones (although there’s a little Chardonnay too, as you can see on the vineyard map). After selecting a site, the most meaningful decision the Starks made was in hiring their winemaker. They brought on board Stephen Goff, who had just spent six years as Beaux Frere’s assistant winemaker. That’s a pretty strong pedigree, and it helps explain why the wine were excellent right out of the gate. Each year, Margo (which is a step up in seriousness from Dopp Creek), is comprised of selected vineyard blocks from the estate. In 2015 the clonal blend is 30% 115, 25% Pommard, 23% 777, 16% Wadenswil, and 6% 667. All that good fruit spends about a year in barrel, a blend of about one-third each new French oak, once-used, and twice-used. The 2015 clocks in at 14.5% listed alc and begins with a nose of ripe cherry and raspberry fruit, complicated by subtleties galore: mineral and forest floor, flower and tea leaf. The palate is supple, rich, openly delicious and reflective of the warm vintage. This is a wine that brings so much immediate pleasure; it’s a charmer through and through. There are some sneaky tannins on the back end, but they’re polished and classy as can be. When the robustly-flavored sockeyes start running, we’ll want to have bottles of this at the ready.