The 2003 is seductive, silky and inherently complex. Patty made Shea's Estate wines for several years and has extensive knowledge of the vineyard. It shows in this delightful example of well balanced, spicy Pinot with the distinct "Shea" terroir shining through. Sold out except for a bit for Wine Club members.

From the winery: "Old vines from Shea Vineyard. That makes it really pretty simple. Shea is Shea. We are still clinging to our old vine sections of the vineyard (Block 24) which we have had since 2001. Unfortunately the block will be torn out due to phylloxera after the 2004 harvest. Until that happens we are more than happy to make the interesting and beguiling wine that we think is the hallmark of this site. Usually not powerful or large, Shea makes its mark by being seductive, silky and inherently complex.

The 2003 bottling is the most feminine and one of the most stylish bottlings of the year. Eschewing the massive qualities of most of the 2003 wines this leans toward polished red cherries, paprika, cinnamon and incense. So is this some lightweight that we are trying to push off using the big brand name? Hardly. In the pantheon of Pinot Noir vineyards all over the world some are able to favor this more subtle style on a year-in and year-out basis. Enjoy this not only for what it is, a wonderful and elegant Pinot Noir, but enjoy it as well as a counterpoint to the bruisers for which the 2003 Pinot Noirs from Oregon will be known. As our block is slowly being eaten by microscopic bugs we are down to about 200 cases of this wine."