Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Gris Willamette Valley 2007

The Wine News rating: 90

Had this wine at Armitage in Scottsdale and loved it!

August 2009

Very crisp wine with flavors of lemons, peach, mango and pineapple. Very crisp and clean, with a mineral streak. Nice

August 2009

Lithe, supple and immensely appealing for its creamy texture and almond-scented pear and peach flavors. It all lingers beautifully, too. Drink now. 11,100 cases made. From Oregon.
Wine Spectator's editors have selected this wine as the best buy of the week. For Wine Spectator reviews of thousands of other recently released wines

Make friends with this Elk, and you’ll be a better person for it in the long run. Hell, you may even fall in love with it. I’m talking about the Pinot Gris in the bottle my friend; get your mind back in focus, you sicko.

This wine takes read more...its place in the top tier of Pinot Gris’ from the leading Pinot Gris region in the west. Pretty much the best of the best. If you need to side step your expensive Chardonnay habit and jump into a $16.00 bottle that has “mucho bang for the buck” like few others, step up to Elk Cove Vineyards. 8000 cases were produced from the vintage and reviews across the board, coast to coast, have been superb. Nobody I’ve talked to or reviews I’ve read have had a flawed word to say about this wine. It’s kinda weird when a wine is this popular, this well received, this heralded (multiple vintages in a row), this gawked at and all around loved. No backlashes at all by me or any others regarding price, availability, food friendliness, taste structure, balance, fruit composition, acidity, aromas, or any other geeky quality. It’s all good in the neighborhood. Some wines (and winemakers) just know what they are doing and go for the gusto.

This Pinot Gris is light straw in color with crystal clear integrity in the glass. Full-bodied whiffs of pear and floral hints blend with tangy back woods dusty smoky aromas to give this wine an A+ on the nose. Everything is nice so far and now I’m THIRSTY. The first few tastes bring out brisk tangerine and ripe peach flavors that really gets the mouth-watering juices flowing. Some kiwi blends with a slight hint of residual sugar to make this not so delicate wine take on a bit of a tropical fruit style. The medium bodied grip brings this Gris up into the “solo drinking” category; it works well with food but also has enough depth and character that it can stand alone anytime. Luxurious but lite spice and pear team up to make this multi-dimensional puppy (I mean Elk) stand-up and demand some time in your mouth. Long finish, intense flavors and Willamette Valley pedigree put this at the top of the Pinot Gris pack. Should be ready to break out of this price range soon.

I just went to an “Old World vs. New World” wine tasting hosted by my local wine super store and this Pinot Gris was one of the two west coast U.S. wines they chose to include in their intimate 60 person tasting. It was very popular with the crowd and I’m sure many cases were sold that night after everyone was impressed by the tasting. I tried my bottle a few days before and knew it was going to be a winner.

This wine is whole cluster pressed and fermented at very cool temperatures and over seen and perfected by the current winemaker Adam Godlee Campbell. Adam is the son of the owners and took over in 1995 as winemaker and has really had everybody talking about his wines since. It is a family affair that should continue to pump out great stuff year after year.

GM    (hide)

The Dow Jones American Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio Index Very Good: Fresh, with great fruit -- especially crisp Granny Smith apples -- and lots of underlying minerals. Relaxed, complete tastes. The Wall Street Journal May 30, 2008 The Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Gris starts out with sweet aromatic fruits of the tropics; pineapple, guava and a touch of honeysuckle, hinting of springtime freshness, while also giving crispness on the palate with citrus and grapefruit. Yet true to the Elk Cove Vineyards' style, there is a rich mouthfeel to give a full and satisfying balanced finish. Drink this lovely read more...white wine as an aperitif or with a variety of food pairings from salmon and main-course salads to Asian and Thai influenced dishes. The Willamette Valley has a suitable climate for this delicate grape variety-enough sunlight and warmth for ripening and cooler night temperatures to retain varietal character. To preserve the freshness, it is whole-cluster pressed, and then fermented at very cool temperatures in small stainless steel tanks, which accentuates aromatics and enhances the richness and viscosity. The fruit is hand-harvested from select hillside vineyards in the northern Willamette Valley. Our estate Pinot Gris is planted in a high-density format, which undergoes shoot and crop thinning for low yields.    (hide)

Wine Enthusiast rating: 91

The Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Gris starts out with sweet aromatic fruits of the tropics; pineapple, guava and a touch of honeysuckle, hinting of springtime freshness, while also giving crispness on the palate with citrus and grapefruit. Yet true to the Elk Cove Vineyards" style, there is a rich mouthfeel to give a full and satisfying balanced finish.

November 2008

Rating: 90/100 - As reviewed by Wine Spectator

No written review

September 2009

No written review

October 2008

No written review

July 2009

No written review

June 2009