2020 Colene Clemens Dopp Creek Pinot Noir

2020 Colene Clemens Dopp Creek Pinot Noir

2020 Colene Clemens Dopp Creek Pinot Noir Oregon Pinot Noir is having another wave of success with the 2020 vintage, with the 2017’s just recently covered and reviewed by Wine Spectator this past March.  Press is huge and demand is higher than ever.  Today’s offer is one of the top wines of the vintage, and if you love Pinot Noir, regardless of region, you must try this.  The wine is from Colene Clemens, which came onto the main stage with their 2014 Dopp Creek Pinot Noir, which scored 91 from Spectator, was #42 on their Top 100 of 2017 and was the “cover story” for their Smart Buys Edition.  Ever since then, they have been on everyone’s radar and they absolutely blew us away with the most recent vintage of their Top 100 bottling.  The 2020 Colene Clemens “Dopp Creek” Pinot Noir is a superb bottle of wine.  The wine popped even bigger press, 93-94pts three years running  and once this offer is sent out, it will fly.  This is one of those properties form Oregon that has a relentlessly loyal following and keeps rising the ranks of Oregon’s best every year.  I strongly recommend.

Colene Clemens if owned by Joe and Vicki Stary, natives of the Willamette Valley.  They built a business and fell in love with wine, especially Pinot and decided to follow their dream.  With knowledge and access to the finest of Willamette, they set out on a goal of making the absolute best Pinot Noir that they could.  They hired Stephen Goff to helm the winemaking team, a native of Pennsylvania who got the wine bug after moving to San Francisco.  He worked harvest at Carneros Creek, studied viticulture at Fresno State, and then landed the assistant winemaker job at the legendary Beaux Freres.  He worked there for 6 vintages before joining Colene Clemens in 2008.  Pinot lovers, this is a tremendous buy and shows the true upside potential of Oregon.  I was thoroughly impressed.

The overall character of the wine seems to be dominated by a solid, dense core of dark red to black fruits with a firmer underlying tannic structure compared to previous years. While more pronounced tannins can sometimes be of concern, we feel that the intensity and depth of the fruit is ample and deep enough to balance them out and also provide the potential for longer term aging. While many will enjoy these wines in the near term, a little patience will reward you even more.

The 2020 Dopp Creek opens with delicate aromas of rich purple fruit and thyme flowers. This approachable Pinot Noir has a juicy and round palate brimming with sweet cranberry and cherry, intermingled with wisps of cardamom and savory herbs. Well balanced, this engaging pinot noir is a delight to sip.