Colene Clemens Vineyards Dopp Creek Pinot Noir 2022 Red Wine

Colene Clemens Vineyards Dopp Creek Pinot Noir 2022 

Willamette Valley, OR

750 ml

93 pts. Wine Spectator:

"Sleek yet well-structured, with expressive flavors of raspberry and pomegranate accented by crushed stone, rose petal and black tea as this builds tension and polish toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2033. 4,503 cases made."

93 pts. James Suckling:

"Perfumed nose of red currants, sour cherries, frozen raspberries, crushed stone and wild herbs. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Precise, agile and seductive, with a vibrant core of succulent berries and a lift of white pepper toward the persistent finish. Drink or hold."

92 pts. Jeb Dunnuck:

"The 2022 Pinot Noir Creek Estate is a youthful medium red/ruby color and was raised in 30% new French oak for 11 months. It offers a lovely aromatic bouquet of soapy flowers, red berries, crushed stones, and fresh forest herbs. Structured and juicy, it’s medium-bodied, with finely chiseled tannins, buoyant acidity, and a kiss of juicy sweetness as well as a clean finish. It’s a highly appealing wine now and offers a lot of value, as it should age gracefully over the upcoming 6-8 years. 4503 cases were produced."

The grapes in this delicious Willamette Valley Pinot Noir are sourced from vineyards grown in both volcanic and sedimentary soils. The result is a complex wine, with layers of enticing flavors - definitely NOT a boring, one-dimensional wine! A crazy good value for such an impressive Pinot.  – Wine Factor

FROM THE WINERY

Dopp Creek represents the broadest combined expression of our Estate, and embodies our most approachable and versatile wine. The 2022 Dopp Creek showcases a broad, layered palate with rich dark fruits and soft velvety tannins. Very approachable and ready to drink now, Dopp Creek remains one of the preeminent values in Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and this latest rendition is bound to please. Drink now, or if you can wait, watch this wine age gorgeously over the next five years.

Winemaking: Harvest began on October 10th and continued through the 18th. Once in the winery, the fruit was 100% destemmed into small stainless steel tanks and began a 4—5 day cold soak. Following this, tanks were gently warmed, and fermentation by indigenous yeast began and continued for 10-14 days. Throughout primary fermentation, the tanks were gently punched down by hand twice daily. Once fermentation was complete, the wine remained in tank for 5-7 days of extended maceration, after which it was drained and the skins and seeds went to press to very gently to procure the remaining juice. Both the free-run juice and pressed juice went directly to barrel without settling. After aging for 11 months in 33% new, 40% 1 year, and 27% 2 year old French oak barrels, the wine was blended in September and bottled in December of 2023.

— Colene Clemens Vineyards —

Colene Clemens was founded in 2005 by Joe and Victoria Stark with the express purpose of making exceptional pinot noir, and named the property in honor of Victoria’s mother. Wine production began in 2008, and Winemaker & Vineyard Manager Stephen Goff has been dedicated to the development and planting of the vineyard as well as the production of our stunning wines since the very beginning.

— The Estate —

Spanning 122 acres where the Chehalem Mountains converge with Ribbon Ridge, the estate contains both sedimentary soils from the Wellsdale & Hazelaire series, and volcanic soils from the Witzel series. Elevation climbs from 350 to 650 feet, where the winery perches with sweeping views of the coast range and valley. 62 acres are planted to pinot noir & chardonnay. The vineyard is completely dry farmed, and we take a pragmatic approach to viticulture: we use sustainable and organic processes whenever possible. We are firm believers in taking care of our soil, practicing crop reduction for low yields and improved quality, and hand harvesting our fruit at its optimal physiological ripeness for maximum flavor and intensity.

— The Vintage —

2022 was another wild and record setting year in the Willamette Valley climate wise. The average bud break in our part of the valley is typically April 15th and we were about on track with historical norms, with bud swell well under way, particularly in the Chardonnay. A descending cold frost on April 11th brought measurable snow fall valley wide and throughout the Portland metro region. This is the latest date with measurable snowfall on record for our region.

The following week also brought even colder temps dropping down into the mid 20’s. The result was one of the most impactful frosts we have seen in quite some time with almost every vineyard affected in some capacity. In our Chardonnay over 50% of primary and secondary buds were damaged and in the Pinot Noir between 25-50% of Primary buds were also affected. The frost stunted growth and delayed bud break significantly as it took time for any surviving secondary and tertiary buds to push.

The delayed growth pushed bloom all the way to the last few days of June and early July. From this point forward growth was rapid, with warm dry conditions persisting. Hot weather at bloom made for a rapid pollination and allowed the plants to maximize fruit set with what flowers remained. While there was some unevenness in fruit development and ripening, warm to mildly hot weather hung on well into October and allowed us to continue hanging our fruit to achieve a more balanced physiological ripeness and to achieve sugar levels that we did not expect given the late harvest dates. Yields of Pinot Noir were reduced by 20-25%.

The resulting wines are much fleshier and generous and indicative of a warm growing season even though harvest was taking place in mid-October under summer-like temperatures. The Pinot Noir’s have an excellent full bodied fruit intensity coupled with a nicely developed and mature structural profile.

Not at all the vintage we thought we would be making given the late harvest dates, but sure to deliver great drinking pleasure in the near term and over the course of the next decade.

Clonal composition: 29% Dijon 667, 23% Wädenswil, 15% Dijon 115, 13% Pommard, 13% Dijon 777, 7% Dijon 114