This is a pre-arrival offering that is expected in spring of 2026
Our tasting impressions
Tasting this wine for the first time in ShadowBuck cellar, it was the third Pinot Noir that Tom presented. It gobsmacked me! A beautifully deep nose was followed by a bright, medium body and plenty of persisting youthful structure.
Six months later, I was ready to re-taste it away from the magic of the ShadowBuck experience. I was expecting disappointment, particularly alongside some stellar rivals from Burgundy and Willamette. C'mon this Pinot from the dessert. Well, it got me again! There is so much depth and complex character. The flavors are just beginning to mature. Simply a fabulous wine with its own tale to tell of this iconic variety. It's also a screaming value!
About this wine
100% Pinot Noir planted in Trystan Vineyard in 2014. The elevation is 1,250 feet, western facing at a 17% slope. The volcanic soil isWalla Walla Silt Loam.
About the grape
Pinot Noir is an ancient grape from eastern France. Notoriously challenging, it thrives in cooler climates. Intense popularity resulted in plantings all over the world. It's typically light in color and body but can develop significant tannin.
About the vintage
Here are Tom's notes: 2018 was a nearly ideal growing season, with mild spring temperatures optimal for complete fruit set. A very hot summer allowed for intense and quick ripening. Nearing harvest, summer extended much later than usual, resulting in high quality fruit from optimal hang time with great acidity and tannin within the final wines.
ShadowBuck is the first off-the-grid winery in the Pacific Northwest. In 2007, Tom Peters acquired a 500 acre property in Oregon’s Dufur Valley that was abandoned as a dry land wheat farm almost a half century prior. Over several years, he converted the barren land to support 2 vineyards. All the buildings on the land and the irrigation system are solar-powered.
The winery, accessible by dirt roads, is about 45 minutes from Hood River on the eastern slope of Mount Hood in a town known as The Dalles. This is DESERT with volcanic soil! It lies outside the nearest AVA’s of Columbia Valley and Columbia Gorge so, the wines are designated Oregon.
Each of the two vineyards in production is 20 acres. Trystan, planted in 2010 was first harvested 5 years later. Obsidian was planted in 2013 and harvested initially in 2017.
Both vineyards are managed organically within the application of nitrogenic compounds, sulfur exposure (high winds negating the need for fungal suppression), and cultivation practices. Drip irrigation from an on-site artisan well provides year-round water supplementation to vineyards during summers where average rainfall is noted to be around 12 inches annually.
Tom is ably assisted by cellarmaster Marty Clifford, who started at ShadowBuck out of high school, and Tom’s grandson Russell, who is adding Chemistry to his winemaking and viticultural degrees.
This is a great and unique story, made even better by the grass-fed livestock they are raising. Beef and lamb are sold at the winery. The sheep are in charge of weed control in the vineyards. But, of course, we wouldn’t be telling this story if the wines aren’t excellent. And kudos to Tom for aging his wines more than typical before release.
ShadowBuck produces about 6,000 cases per year from 12 varieties.
