2024 Ken Wright Cellars - Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton Shea Vineyard (750ml)

The 2024 Ken Wright Cellars Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir is the crown jewel of Ken Wright's new 2024 releases, drawn from one of Oregon's most celebrated single-vineyard sites. Shea Vineyard was originally planted in 1989 by Dick and Dierdre Shea, located just 2 miles east of Yamhill in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Ken Wright farms 8.5 acres of the 140-acre estate, planted at a density of 1,244 vines per acre at elevations between 540 and 600 feet. The vineyard's parent material is ancient marine sediment, with Goodin and Melbourne series soils, the same sea-floor geology that gives Yamhill-Carlton wines their distinctive savory minerality and structural tension. Multiple clones are represented across Ken Wright's blocks, including Pommard, Wadenswil, 114, and 777, adding aromatic and textural complexity to the finished wine.

Ken Wright's approach is one of stewardship rather than manipulation, using organic-certified farming practices expanded with advanced nutrition-based vine analysis, personal vineyard sampling, and hand-sorting of each cluster to reveal the site's inherent character with minimal winemaking intervention. The 2024 vintage rewards that philosophy handsomely. On the nose, the wine opens with wild blackberry, dark rose petals, rocky soils, and tobacco leaf. The palate is rich and powerful, with terrific structure, tension, minerality, and mouthfeel. Critic Owen Bargreen awarded the 2024 Shea Vineyard 95 points, calling it the finest wine of Ken Wright's 2024 lineup and projecting a drinking window from 2026 to 2041. Pair with roasted duck, braised lamb, wild mushroom risotto, or aged hard cheeses.