2012SheaPNEstate2012 Shea Wine Cellars, Pinot Noir, Estate, Yamhill-Carlton, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
One of Oregon’s top vineyard sites and one of the best deals in top flight American Pinot Noir, Shea is must have wine, especially in such a great vintage as 2012 has turned out to be in Oregon. This dark and rich Pinot is a blend of many unique blocks and clones including Wadenswil, the old Swiss clone, Pommard and some new clone 777, which adds to the layers of complexity in this wine. Blackberry and dark cherry fruit leads the way with loam and chalky mineral, crushed violets, minty herb, plum and strawberry comes through on the mid palate along with cola, sweet oak notes, tea and cedary spices, firms up on the finish making for a vigorous and elegant Pinot Noir. Richard Shea’s vines supply top fruit to many a famous winery, list seems endless with Beauz Freres, St. Innocent, Penner-Ash and Rapter Ridge being just a few, along with Sine Qua Non and other Californian Pinot specialists getting grapes from this amazing site in Yamhill-Carlton. 2012 is a vintage to own, it was one of Oregon’s best and should be a cellar classic, and for your money, you should get some Shea Estate, without question St. Innocent and Shea are two of the best values in Oregon Pinot. This 2012 highlights the detail and richness a top vintage can deliver here, at 14.3% this is a full and dense wine, without heavy or sweet character, there is nice intensity of fruit, good mineral elements, a beautiful dark color and a long blueberry tinged finish. There’s supple tannins, lifting acidity and a taught frame in this wine, best to let things develop for a few years if you can wait, drink from 2017 to 2024.
($40 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

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