Secretly Self-Sufficient, Publicly Decorative
TASTING NOTES: “The 2020 Pinot Noir Reserve is a wine of richness and refinement, showcasing the depth of our estate fruit with the added influence of new oak. Aromas of ripe black cherry, raspberry compote, and violet are layered with warm notes of vanilla, clove, and cedar. The palate is concentrated yet polished, with flavors of dark plum, pomegranate, and baking spice unfolding over a framework of fine-grained tannins.” (AbV 14.8%, pH 3.71, TA 6.0 g/L)
VARIETALS: 100% Estate grown Pinot Noir; 5 clones (Pommard, Dijon 114 & 115, swan and “R” clone)
BARRELS: 12 months French oak barrels; 15% new oak + 85% neutral oak
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Violet — one of the aromas the tasting note calls out, alongside black cherry and raspberry compote.
Violets have a secret life that undercuts every dainty, shrinking-violet cliché attached to them. The purple flowers you actually notice in spring — the ones getting compared to wine and perfume and old ladies’ sachets — are mostly for show. They rarely even set seed. The real reproductive labor happens later in the season, underground or hidden near the base of the plant, in small closed buds called cleistogamous flowers that never open, never get pollinated by anything external, and just self-fertilize in the dark. Botanists have known this since the 1800s and it still feels like a scandal: the violet you’re admiring isn’t really the one doing the work.
I like that there’s a flower running two completely different strategies at once and only shows you the decorative one. Feels like an unfair amount of range for something that mostly gets used as a synonym for “modest.”
PRODUCER PODCAST: Elkhorn Peak Cellars Pinot Noir (1:33)
