Spotlight on our 2020 Pinot Noir
Anatomy of a wine review.
We give many thanks to James Greenwood, the on-site Wine Specialist and Wine Educator at the Helvetia Farm Market in Hillsboro, Oregon. He graciously agreed to review our 2020 Shumaker Vineyards Pinot Noir recently. His analysis and tasting notes (see below) are a great peak into the mind of a wine specialist and educator and reveals the many complex characteristic of wine that make it the best drink on the planet. Enjoy the ride, my friends. Cheers!
Shumaker 2020 Pinot Noir
PROTOCOL
Appearance: bright red and polished garnet stone
Nose: medium intensity, cherry, fruit tree resin, sweet melon, black pepper and eucalyptus with sweet tobacco
Palate: medium (plus) intensity, cherry and red raspberry mingle with light cherry-cola nut with hints of red delicious apple persisting into layers of peppers including Malabar, light red chili flake, and cayenne. Sumac and sage notes extend the long finish into notes of flint with appealing acidity and a balanced body.
ASSESSMENT
Balance score= 1.5/2
Length = 2/2
Intensity = 1.5 /2
Complexity = 1.5/2
Total BLIC score is 6.5/8. This translates to a point system of 93-95.
This is a very good Pinot Noir.
COMMENTARY
The generous 777 is well balanced with the Pommard to lend the kind of complexity that a north valley, Cornelius loam soil can support. There is both a youthful and old world presence in the body of this wine. Pepper notes are shapely and would pair well with herb-crusted chicken thighs and cambozola cheese on sourdough bread.
The relatively higher alcohol at 13.6% is evidence of a later harvest and higher brix in a year with heat spikes. With 10 minutes of air after opening, the heat of the alcohol fell into balance very nicely.
Winemaker Chris James Barnes held onto this in neutral oak barrels (17 months) and bottle (8 months), before choosing to release this wine. He held back with wise restraint, well after many of local competitors of the same vintage that, frankly, were released too early. This wine is perhaps the penultimate expression of Pinot Noir from the Tualatin Hills sub AVA.
James Greenwood recommends this to drink now through 2027.
