Zena Crown Vineyard The Sum Pinot Noir 2015
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Amassed from multiple vineyard blocks and clones, this wine has a timeless beauty that can be inherently understood by innate human nature. Wines of this stature, much like great art, reflect the complex and compelling relationship between humanity and Earth. Expressing Autumn, (The Sum) leads with blackberries and white pepper on the front end of the palate followed by persimmon and western red cedar, melting into heirloom tomato and sunbaked soil on the finish. 50% whole-cluster fermentation bolsters the wine, sustaining the tannic imprint and lingering as a sort of familiar; can’t-quite-place-it ambient noise.
Vegan
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Wine Spectator
Shows precision and expression, with refined black cherry and blueberry flavors accented by crushed stone and dark spice notes, building complexity toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby purple, the 2015 Pinot Noir The Sum opens with gregarious aromas of dried blueberries, red and black cherries and berries—there are lots of fruit layers here—with accents of smoked meats, cinnamon stick and clove. Light to medium-bodied, it fills the mouth with red, blue and black fruit and savory notions, framed by firm, finely pixelated tannins and very juicy acidity carrying the long spicy finish.
Rating: 92+
Other Vintages
2019-
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Jeb
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James
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James
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Since its third leaf, Zena Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir has been subject to multiple interpretations; it became a sought-after single-vineyard designate for top producers like Beaux Freres, Soter, and Penner-Ash. With the 2013 harvest, however, Zena Crown emerged as a true Oregon domaine. As they adapt to its rhythms and natural oscillations, they seek to explore and manifest the singular voice of this special plot of land, in accordance with the remote and rugged beauty of the Eola-Amity Hills.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.