Ken Wright Cellars Carter Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 Red Wine

Ken Wright Cellars Carter Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Eola-Amity Hills AVA, Willamette Valley, OR

94 pts. Wine Spectator:

"Graceful and polished, with multilayered cherry and blueberry flavors that take on cinnamon and fresh earth accents. Ends with refined tannins. Drink now through 2031." —T.F.

Ken Wright has been making wine in the Willamette Valley since 1986. He founded Ken Wright Cellars in 1994, and now makes a single vineyard bottling from 13 vineyard sites in the Northern Willamette Valley. Our personal favorite from the 2021 vintage is the Carter Vineyard. It's the epitomy of a classic Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, with great minerality, spice, and ripe but subtle dark fruit flavors. The volcanic soil in which the grapes were grown gives this wine such amazing complexity! A tough wine to put down, once you go in!  

FROM THE WINERY

YEAR PLANTED & ACREAGE: 1983, 24.36 acres

SPACING: 9 X 6 ft., 807 vines/acre

ELEVATION & ASPECT: 325 ft., South South-West

CLONES & ROOTSTOCK: Pommard both own-rooted and 3309, Wadenswil both own-rooted and 3309, 115 on 3309, 667 on 3309 & 101-14, 777 on 3309 & 101-14, 177 on Riparia Gloire.

MOTHER ROCK: Volcanic

SOIL SERIES: Mostly Nekia

AVA: Eola-Amity Hills

TASTING NOTES: Blue and black fruit focused — Vibrant on the palate with fruits of blackberry, black raspberry and fresh fig. Integrated, silky tannins envelop earthy notes of brioche, cedar and new leather.

VINTAGE: Our crop level averaged just under three tons this year which was perfect for the accumulated heat we experienced over the growing season. Disease was nonexistent with the dry conditions of the summer months and the fermentation’s proceeded perfectly with nary a one going “sideways” on us. The wine is rich, expressive, detailed and deeply colored.

FARMING: Organic certified, nutrition-based farming

AGING REGIME: 10-11 months in 20% new French oak barrels

ALCOHOL: 13.3%

pH: 3.52

TA: 5.1 g/L

PRODUCTION: 667 cases