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'06 Oregon Trip Notes - Printable Version

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- dananne - 08-15-2006

I'll try to be less lengthy this year, but as always, feel free to just jump to the end for the highs and lows.

Some general observations and impressions:

First of all, if people have been getting shocked when they look at the rising price tags of Oregon PN, they're soon going to feel even worse. Almost universal price hikes, and almost everyone's reserve is going for $45 to $60. Ouch! Entry level price points of nearly $30 (in many cases much more) are getting difficult to tolerate. We typically just swallowed hard and bought what we wanted to because we love Oregon PN and we were on vacation, but it's sometimes hard to justify.

Second, the '03 wines were in many cases rightly maligned for being too hot and showing some stewed flavors, but we found the '04s to be much more typical of what Oregon PN is supposed to be like, and much more likeable in general at this point. We had a long conversation with Jay McDonald of EIEIO about it, and he atttributed it, in part, to the new clones folks are using (Dijon) not holding up well to that hot weather in '03, combined with their relatively young age. He thought the old Pommard vines held up better. Either way, across the board, we enjoyed the '04s more than the '03s that most had to offer last summer when we visited.

OK, here's who we visited and tasted. If you want a more detailed report on any of the below, feel free to ask.

Lange -- One of our favorites from last year, but they didn't seem as good this year, and the prices are soaring. We only bought one wine, the '04 Estate PN, and it was $60. Grrr.

Maresh -- We visited them last year, liking the wines Archery Summit made for them (they grow grapes and have others make some wine for them that they only sell in their red barn). We also liked their prices last year -- real values. This year, the prices have climbed, but they still have good fruit. We bought a few of their Red Hills '03s.

Penner-Ash has a lovely new facility and it's a real beauty. She is one of our favorites, and we put together a mixed half case of their '04 PNs. Stellar stuff, as always, but the only clunker was the Syrah. You know how some PN is maligned as being "Syrah Pinot?" This was the first Syrah I've ever tasted that could be called a "Pinot Syrah." Wierd.

Hip Chicks do Wine: This place in industrial east Portland is a women's winery, with creative and light-hearted marketing and wines directed at women. Regardless, some of the blends were fun everyday wines, and they make a pretty darned good PN. It was my surprise of the trip. They offer a sparkler, and we bought two before reading the fine print and finding out that they are made by Gruet. While I love Gruet, I'd rather not spend $28 for it just because someone else slapped a lable on it. Nevertheless, we had an enjoyable visit with the founder, whose corporate title is "Wine Goddess."

EIEIO/Tasting Room in Carlton: Jay McDonald was very gracious with his time, and we tasted some great juice at this tasting room that showcases EIEIO wines, but also shows others made by folks who aren't open to the public. As we did last year, we liked EIEIO, but we also tasted great stuff from Brick House, Adea, Black Cap, and Soter. We bought all but the last two (the Black Cap because it just didn't hold up to the standards of the others, and the Soter only because we can find it in Atlanta and didn't want to lug a bottle across the country, even if it was one of Anne's favorites of the whole trip).

Scott Paul -- Interesting visit -- He's importing Burgundy, so his tasting was several Burgs (white and red) and only one of his own wines, the "La Paulee," which was the only one we liked and bought.

Tyrus Evan -- This Ken Wright project is making reds from So. Oregon and Washington, focusing on Claret-style blends, Syrah, and Malbec. We didn't taste a single bad wine and ended up buying the Walla Walla Claret, and the Syrah, Malbec, and Claret from Del Rio Vineyard (in the Rogue Valley). Pretty good QPR, too, with all prices in the $20s.

We tasted and bought several wines at a festival put on by Ken Wright and others in the Carlton community called "Walk in the Park." Carlo & Julian was there -- we liked and bought PN and Tempranillo from them last year. This year, the wines were again stellar -- they are just wonderful and consistent -- and we bought their regular and reserve PN bottlings and their Tempranillo (if they can do such a smashing job with that grape, why are they the only ones who use it???). We tasted Solena again, liked it again, and bought it again, this time the '04. Carlton Hill was a new one for us, but they are making subtle and wonderful PN -- two more purchases. We were less impressed with another new one -- 4 Graces. Not terrible, but not up to par with the others and overpriced, as well (IMHO). We did try a Cab Franc from another new outfit, Zenas, which was sourced from So Oregon.

R. Stuart was disappointing -- I didn't expect much from their entry-priced Big Fire lineup, but their regular PN bottle was awful, too.

White Rose was a wonderful discovery for us. They have a stunning view from their hilltop winery near Domaine Serene, south of Dundee, and they had 3 PNs that were very good. The highlight was their "Michelle" bottle, which was the best of the trip for us. Their entry level PN, called "Nekaia," was very good, too. We bought both.

Dobbes was probably our favorite overall stop last year, both for the quality of the wines and the prices, which continue to be reasonable. We liked just about everything, and we put together a mixed case to be shipped in the autumn. Their best one this year was their Grande Assemblage, and it was priced somewhere in the mid $20s.

Finally, we stopped at the Oregon Wine Tasting Room in McMinnville, where we enjoyed and bought an '02 PN from Amity and a So. Oregon Claret from Bear Creek Winery.

OK, so the lists:

Best Wines of the Trip (Dan):
1. White Rose "Michelle" Pinot Noir '03
2. Brick House "Les Dijonnais" Pinot Noir '04
3. Carlo & Julian Reserve Pinot Noir '04

Best Wines of the Trip (Anne):
1. Same as above -- I guess we have similar tastes
2. Soter "Beacon Hill Vineyard" Pinot Noir '04
3. Penner-Ash Pinot Noir '04

Honerable Mentions:
1. Adea "Hawk's View Vineyard" Pinot Noir '04
2. Dobbes "Grande Assemblage" Pinot Noir '04
3. Carlos & Julian Tempranillo '04

Pleasant Surprises:
Again, the consistency of the unique Carlos & Julian Tempranillo and Hip Chicks PN

Favorite Winery Visit (scenery and wines):
Penner-Ash

Worst Winery Visited
R. Stuart

Biggest Disappointment
Lange

Little Wines/Wineries to Look Out For:
Carlton Hill, EIEIO

Between this trip and the Washington visit later in the week, we about doubled the size of our cellar, while also soaring over our wine budget for the next 6-9 months. Overall, we brought back or are having shipped 8 cases. I'll try to post a Washington reflection like this one in the next day or two. Again, if you want more specifics on any of the wines or wineries mentioned above, feel free to ask.


- wondersofwine - 08-17-2006

Thanks for the notes. Sorry to hear about price rises in general and specifically the Lange wines. A Raleigh shop carries Lange Pinot Gris and I was trying to get them to carry the Pinot Noir. Also sorry that you were disappointed at R. Stuart. I liked their Big Fire Pinot Noir the one time I had a glass at a restaurant in DC. I will think about trying to order some Pinot from Dobbes.


- Innkeeper - 08-17-2006

WOW remember you can get a lot of Northwest wines from Steve at: http://www.vinellawines.com/

You just have to email him and tell you what you want.


- Bucko - 08-17-2006

What vintage did you taste at R. Stuart? I found their 2004 Autograph to be quite good.


- hotwine - 08-17-2006

Very nice notes, Dan, on both OR and WA. Many thanks for taking the time to write them up.


- wondersofwine - 08-17-2006

Thanks, IK. I'll try Steve's shop but I'm not sure about the legalities of a retail shop shipping here. NC just authorized wineries to ship across state lines in the last couple years.


- dananne - 08-17-2006

Thanks, folks.

Regarding the R. Stuart, for some reason they were pouring the '03 Autograph, according to my notes. The main problem with the Big Fire wines was that they seemed to have been left open for several days (perhaps slow during the week in the tasting room, and they aren't changing up the bottles) and they were a bit too warm. I suspect that the Big Fire wines probably are OK for the money otherwise, but the '03 Autograph was plain bad. If I have a chance to compare with the '04, I'll try it.