Crafted as a harmonious combined expression of its high-altitude estate vineyards, the "precise, agile, and seductive" 2022 Colene Clemens Vineyards Pinot Noir Dopp Creek offers fragrant, vibrant red fruit with nuances of earthy forest and refined tannins on a bright, persistent finish, an elegantly complex Oregon Pinot Noir from a consistently outstanding producer value-priced to enjoy often.
Purchasing a rugged 122-acre parcel high in the Chehalem Mountains covered with wild blackberries and brush, founders Joe and Vicki Stark began their journey nearly two decades ago to establish Colene Clemens Vineyards with no experience in the wine business. Located where the Chehalem Mountains and Ribbon Ridge AVAs converge on the western end of Dopp Road, the dry-farmed, 62-acre vineyard is managed by longtime winemaker and Beaux Freres alum Steve Goff, situated at an elevation of 350 to 650 feet and composed of marine sedimentary and volcanic basalt soils that enhance minerality in the estate Pinot Noir. Fermenting the grapes with indigenous yeasts, Goff aged the vibrant 2022 Dopp Creek for 11 months in a mix of 33% new, 40% one-year-old and 27% two-year-old French oak barrels, yielding a lush, aromatic Pinot Noir that's "juicy in style and silky in feel" while maintaining "fantastic freshness," according to Eric Guido of Vinous.
Summed up by Jeb Dunnuck's Oregon critic, Audrey Frick, as "a highly appealing wine" that "offers a lot of value," the delicious and approachable double 93-point 2022 Pinot Noir Dopp Creek promises to age gracefully over the next five or so years, making it a perfect "drink now" choice for lovers of Oregon Pinot and anyone seeking an elegant, cool-climate Pinot Noir at a bargain price.
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 points, Tim Fish, Wine Spectator (2024)
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.
93 points, James Suckling (Apr 2024)
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