Elk Cove Estate Pinot Noir 2024
(Willamette Valley, Oregon) - [TP 93] [WS 92] [JD 92] [JS 91] [OB 90]

About the Winery:
Elk Cove Vineyards was founded in 1974 by Pat and Joe Campbell, making it one of Oregon's oldest wine producers. There were only about 200 acres of grapes planted at that time in Oregon. The estate vineyard was planted in a protected valley where the namesake Roosevelt elk migrate each spring. It was a family affair from the beginning with four children being the parents' first labor force. The first vintage was 1977. Joe made wine for the first twenty years, then worked together with son Adam on the 1995 and 1996 vintages, and Adam took over in 1997.

The winery's focus is on the Pinot "trilogy": Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, with a few lesser-known wines such as Muscat Ottonel and Riesling thrown in. Elk Cove Vineyards has produced single-vineyard Pinot Noir since 1979.

Vineyard
Our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is made with 100% estate grown fruit from all six of our vineyard sites: The Winery Estate, Mount Richmond, Five Mountain, Clay Court, Goodrich and Windhill. These sites are comprised of both Pommard and Dijon plant material, with multiple clones represented. Because we draw from vineyards representing all three of the major Willamette Valley soil types, we are able to pick and choose for different flavor components to make the best possible blend each year for our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Some people call this making wine “spice rack” style, we usually just call it delicious. Our goal is the perfect version of what we believe a Willamette Valley Pinot should be: a wine with freshness of fruit, well-integrated alcohol, and great concentration of flavor.

Winemaking
To make our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, fruit from each vineyard block is fermented separately in small, temperature controlled steel tanks, hand punched down twice daily, and barreled in french oak barrels. After 10 months of aging in French oak, the wine we choose for our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is carefully blended to produce the most approachable, well-balanced Pinot Noir we make.

Tasting Notes
With fresh Italian plum and strawberry-rhubarb pie on the nose, this wine opens with juicy black cherry and underripe strawberry leading into dusty tannins and notes of bitter chocolate, candied orange peel and five spice.

Ratings & Reviews

93 Points - Tasting Panel:
"This is a Pinot that deftly walks the line between subtlety and sweet fruitiness. Red berry and cherry flavors stand at center stage, with a faint whiff of oak spice lending complexity along with a tender tug of tannin that frames the finish."

92 Points - Wine Spectator (2023):
"A sleek and vibrant red, offering medium-bodied flavors of cherry and cranberry that take on green tea and forest floor accents as this builds toward zesty tannins. Drink now through 2033." - Tim Fish (Sep 2025)

92 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2024 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley is a jeweled ruby color and leaps from the glass with delicate toast, fresh cherries, and refined spice. Medium-bodied, it has ripe tannins, lovely balance, and good length, with fruit drawn from all of the estate vineyards. It's a terrific value. Drink 2026-2036." -Audrey Frick (Aug 2026)

91 Points - James Suckling:
"A fresh, juicy, light- to medium-bodied wine with loads of red-cherry, spice and rose-petal aromas. Fine, gentle tannins and a silky texture. Drink now." (Apr 2026)

90 Points - Owen Bargreen:
"The 2024 Elk Cove 'Estate' Pinot Noir delivers a soft mouthfeel, with layers of ripe red currants, strawberry and Bing cherry fruit flavors. Medium-bodied, with good verve, enjoy now and over the next few years. Drink 2026-2032." -Owen Bargreen (Mar 2026)