So… back in March we offered our 2010 Bergstrom Pinot Noir allocation. At the time I clued everyone in that the vintage was generating substantial early buzz…well, the press is starting to come out… and wow!

From the International Wine Cellar, the Bergstrom Vineyard 2010 received the same lofty score as the incredible 2008, and was one of only 6 wines to receive the highest score of the vintage – 94 pts!

2010 is an interesting vintage… Cool summer weather led growers to thin the vines so that the remaining fruit would ripen. Then the birds came… and two ton per acre sites quickly became one ton per acre.  Combined, the result was extremely low yields and extremely long hang time – a recipe for dense, ripe and complex flavors. As one grower comments, “As we pressed off the lots we were frankly blown away at the dense color, deep black cherry-driven aromatic profiles and beautifully clean flavors and textures—110 to 115 days of hang time certainly helped with aroma and flavor development.”

Dick Shea of Shea Vineyard also added, “Compared to ’08, the only year with almost as much hang time as 2010, we will have lower alcohol but very flavorful wines. Frankly the combination is almost unique in my 22 years of experience here. I think there is a great deal of excitement among the winemakers.”

Bergstrom Bergstrom Vineyard 2010 – $64.99 net – 94 pts Int’l Wine Cellar – “Powerful aromas of cherry-cola, pipe tobacco, sandalwood and vanilla, with a floral topnote.  At once juicy and deeply pitched, offering chewy dark fruit and violet pastille flavors accented by vanilla and licorice.  Fine-grained tannins build on the very persistent, gently sweet finish.  The yield from this vineyard was reportedly 0.9 tons per acre in 2010.” IWC

Winery note - Each single-vineyard offering from Bergström Wines carries a unique trademark that can be identified year after year. While some vineyards are known for their muscular structure, smoked meat or perfumed spice aromatics, earthy qualities or pure fruit expression, our Bergström Vineyard faithfully captures the most complex and Old World elements that a Pinot Noir from Oregon has to offer.

Consistently one of our finest and most age-worthy Pinot Noirs, our 2010 Bergström Vineyard Pinot Noir is a showstopping package of floral and fruit characteristics wrapped in earthen silk. In 2010, the Bergström Vineyard saw ideal climatic conditions for long and steady ripening, but very low yields. In fact, total yields came in at only just under 0.85 tons per acre! Ultimately, this tiny crop yielded a very powerful Pinot Noir that reflects a pure expression of the volcanic hills of Dundee.

Dark ruby red, the 2010 Bergström Vineyard Pinot Noir is filled with floral rose and violet aromatics that burst from the glass while mingling with ripe candied red cherry, black and red currants, oak spice and peppermint. With further aeration, the wine darkens and shows off aromas of incense, pipe tobacco and cedar. In the mouth, this wine is vibrant and juicy with a sweet candied character and intensely youthful yet complex ripe fruit flavors of black raspberry, wild dark cherries, cassis, dried beef, and a wonderful veil of liquid mineral that glides across the silky smooth palate. This wine’s intense but fine structure will allow for great drinking pleasure beginning in 2013 and lasting until 2025 if cellared properly.

Previous Scores – Wine Advocate -  94 (’09), 93 (’08), 92 (’07), 95 (’06)