When 2 Hawks Arrived ~ 2Hawk Vineyard & Winery Exposed Its Depth and Breadth

by | Jul 25, 2018 | Chardonnay, Grenache, Grenache Rose, Malbec, Oregon, Pinot Noir, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Tempranillo, Vineyards, Viognier, Wine

BOTH SKY PHOTOS: ACVEDUC ~ Top of page, from original source. Bottom one is original source. Titled:  “Two couples of hawks in the summer cloudy sky”

A whirling gust blew in, when I opened the screen door… The wings over Oregon had arrived. And beautiful they were.

The riches they brought with them would set a standard, the day 2Hawks arrived.

They were/are a welcomed pleasure around here…

Like wings in poems.

Yeah, I’m a romantic… Simply stated, these wines are delightful to taste.

DISCLAIM: SAMPLES from 2Hawk Vineyard & Winery

 

THE WHITE WINGS

2Hawk Vineyard & Winery

HEART ~ Owners Jen and Ross Allen

WEBSITE: Our mission at 2Hawk Vineyard & Winery is simple. To be the best we can be. Period. The pursuit of quality guides everything we do in growing fruit, making wine, and providing exceptional guest experiences. Ross and Jen Allen, along with Winemaker Kiley Evans, combine over 50 years of experience in agriculture, winemaking, and customer service. Together their talent, experience, and determination have propelled 2Hawk to the forefront of wine quality, site stewardship, and hospitality. 2Hawk’s production of luxury-class estate wines is focused on Malbec and Viognier with smaller amounts of Tempranillo, Pinot noir, Grenache, Sauvignon blanc, and Chardonnay. Oregon’s wine industry is adventurous and filled with exciting opportunities to broaden expectations. 2Hawk Vineyard & Winery is blazing the trail.

Established in 2009, Jen & Ross Allen purchased 2Hawk in March 2014. Their winemaker is Kiley Evans, and their estate has 30 acres, with 23.3 of them planted to grape vines.  They’re currently producing 3,500 cases, and they have the capacity to grow to 10,000 cases.

Owners Jen and Ross Allen’s hearts are warm and welcoming, sharing the bounty of their estate vineyard’s distinct terroir. They also have added small plates, with a gourmet touch, in their tasting room, which guests sample with the wines. They’re located in Rogue Valley and have magnificent views. Their grounds have ample seating, fire pits, and a bocce court. In this relaxed setting, visitors are said to enter as welcome guests and leave as new friends. The Allens love sharing their award-winning, handcrafted wines in this perfect setting.

SCIENCE ~ Terroir ~ People, Vineyard, and Winery

WEBSITE: Although part of the Rogue Valley, the 2Hawk estate vineyard lies in the area known locally as the Bear Creek sub-basin, which is the Rogue’s largest tributary. Beneath our vineyard soils lies a two-layered bedrock consisting of a volcanic layer known as the Roxy Formation along with a deeper, softer layer of alluvial sandstone known as the Payne Cliffs Formation. As the Klamath Mountains started to uplift around 20 million years ago, our bedrocks began a long erosion process that resulted in the predominantly volcanic soils we find in our estate vineyard that are unique to the Rogue Valley AVA. 2Hawk is also distinguished by a large amount of cobbled river rock, especially in our eastern section, and a somewhat sandy streak of significantly younger colluvial deposit that runs through the center of our site. Overall, we have some of the oldest soils in the Valley. They are generally characterized as relatively shallow silty to clayey loams that are moderately well-drained with moderate to rapid runoff.

SOUL ~ Abundance* of Varieties

Each grape variety was really well represented, had great tasting fruit, and were very well balanced… were a delightful joy… from one variety to the next. This is what is supposed to happen with estate fruit, right? Yeah…

WHITE WINES

2Hawk  Vineyard & Winery designates the estate grown wine of special distinction as the Darow Series*, after their own vineyard’s most prevalent soil type. USDA Soil series: “The Darow series consists of moderately deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium weathered from siltstone or shale. Darow soils are on hillslopes and have slopes of 1 to 35 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 24 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 53 degrees F.”

2017 Sauvignon Blanc

  • I really loved this one. I have a claw factor scale. Three is the perfect number, and this one represents.
    • Three Claws = Perfect SB
    • “Ah, I’m back working at Robert Mondavi Winery, and having a SB from the Tokalon ‘old vines’ block. Yes!”

2016 Chardonnay

  • This Chardonnay is an Oregon classic. They don’t make much of it, folks. It’s one of those who have that damp, wine region factor. It just  delivers more earthy notes… Think of this one as being fruit in a rain storm in a forest, now take that terroir into the vineyards.

2016 Viognier Darow* Series

  • Round, smooth, unctuous, was sharing with friends and it became the center of attention. I love Viognier’s floral notes; so inviting and aromatic, a non-sweet perfume of a wine grape. This 2016 Viognier Darow* Series was en pointe.

ROSÉ

  • 2017 Grenache Rosé
    1. My first true wine love affair was with a Rosé. I adored them then, and I still adore them. Every drop of wine could have its own story. Rosé is becoming a pretty delightful phenomenon, and I really enjoyed the blush… athe
    2. This one poolside, dock side, sitting by the camp fireside… roasting marshmallows, beside your honey’s side. That’s my fantasy…

 


RED WINES2hwkrd.650.jpg

2016 Pinot Noir Darow* Series

  • As an Oregon Pinot should be, the 2016 Pinot Noir was just as I love Pinot Noir; beautiful color, sensational aromatics, and very pleasant from beginning to end.

2015 Tempranillo Darow* Series

  • This is their first vintage. Lively, distinguished, and full-bodied immediately came to mind. Delicious August blackberries intermingle with flavors that my white fig tree delivers. Decant this one, if you can (or just let it sit in your glass for a while, before sipping). It’s got on its “big boy” tannin pants. This one is going to continue to mature for a while.

2016 Malbec

  • Malbec is a Bordeaux variety, if you’re new to wine. It was hijacked to South America and became its signature variety. In the early years of Oregon getting started in wine, David Adelsheim, David Lett, Dick Erath, Dick Ponzi and Myron Redford set forth the future for Oregon… Pinot Noir. At this point in time… It’s refreshing to find owners like Jen and Ross Allen, who are crafting “other” wine varieties. Hawks, especially, do rise high and flow in their own air streams. They’re doing this well.
    • First sample: Was very easy to enjoy. The character of Malbec was just as I like to describe it – a sleek primal variety…
    • Side Note: Big picture learning purposes about wine: I’m pleased that they sent two of each bottle, because one was excellent, the other showed some oxidation, which I believe was a result of it being sensitive to the shipping process. (All else was in tact, heat of the bottle would have resulted in naturally occurring flaw, after the wine is well made.)
      • Wine flaw classes do happen. Karen MacNeil has one coming up on line on July 29, 2018, as a matter of fact. Join the fun!
  • 2016 Grenache
    • Grenache, as dense as I expected. Lovely quality and bountiful fruit flavors. Widely planted in the world, in the United States, its underrated and could use some more shelf space. Spicy and berries and cherries, oh my! Makes me want to have the ability to fly, with my  2Hawk soulmate.

Grab a bottle for any moment, and creates some memories.