SOME OREGON SELECTIONS

 

PONZI VINEYARDS

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.  The Ponzi's left California for greener pastures (or vineyards) and started planting vines in 1970, vinifying their first wine with the 1974 vintage.   

Dick and Nancy Ponzi uprooted their young family from the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Oregon in 1969, purchasing 20 acres of prospective vineyard land southwest of Portland.  A year later they began planting vines on the property and the rest, as they say, is history.

Nancy Ponzi doing the manual labor while her husband had the "sit down" job.

They are now viewed as "old-timers", having so many vintages under their belts.  As a result, people blinded by the newest, latest, "hippest", hardest-to-get brands often overlook Ponzi.  Pity.  Because this winery routinely turns out some of Oregon's best wines and they have down-to-earth pricing policies.  This sort of philosophy is to be applauded and deserves support.  I have been at trade tastings of Oregon wines and taste the wines from the "new kids on the block" which have amazingly high prices because "they're scarce".   Try pouring "scarcity" into your wine glass! 

Ponzi has long made good Pinot Noirs.   Dick Ponzi had the idea of making wine which reflected the particular grape variety more than spotlighting the work of the barrel builder.  As a result, the wines have been lovely expressions of Oregon Pinot.  And with the "kids" taking over the business, marketing and winemaking, the Ponzi winery has evolved into a wonderful family enterprise.  It's still rooted in the Willamette Valley "terroir" and winemaker Luisa Ponzi-Hamacher (there's a law, we understand, in Oregon requiring winemakers to have three names...hence, Harry Peterson-Nedry, Lynn Penner-Ash, Luisa Ponzi-Hamacher) continues to build on her father's early successes.

We've long teased Nancy and Dick, creating a label for them which makes them blush.

 

Of course, this is meant in fun as they don't claim their wines are on the level of those made at Burgundy's top domaine, Romanee-Conti.  ((There are those in Oregon who WILL tell you their wines are better than those of the famed DRC!))

The Ponzi family has ties to our very own Piemontese family, the Currado's of Italy's Vietti winery.  Another great and similar family enterprise, Alfredo and Luciana (Vietti) Currado were extremely generous in offering hospitality and wine-growing expertise.  As a result, the Ponzis make wine of two Piemontese grape varieties, Arneis and Dolcetto.  

Winemaker Luisa Ponzi spent time in France, learning Burgundian techniques in the vineyard and cellar, but I recall meeting her in Piemonte back in the early 1990s when she'd take a break and escape to Italy.  She learned her craft well and despite her relative youth, she's making wines which are admired by many of her peers.

 

Winemaking operations have been moved from Beaverton to nearby Sherwood as the Ponzis vinified their 2008 vintage in the new facility, dubbed the Collina del Sogno (Hill of Dreams). "If you build it, they will come."

This is the location of their 6th vineyard site.  The winery was designed by the ever-innovative Dick Ponzi (he designed theme park rides for Disneyland, once upon a time) and it's a multi-level facility that's constructed be environmentally-conscious inside and out.  We had the pleasure of visiting in the summer of 2010 and found an efficient winery building, not a museum.

Ponzi, by the way, founded a small brewery years ago in Portland, giving birth to the "craft brewing" or micro-brewing industry in Oregon.  And they also started a wine bar and restaurant in their neighborhood, hoping to shine a spotlight on local culinary delights as a way of featuring not only their wines, but those of some of their esteemed neighbors.

I've been privileged to be invited to vertical tastings of Ponzi's Pinot Noirs...

In March of 2004 we were invited to sit in on a "vertical tasting" of Ponzi Pinot Noirs.
Check out my notes by clicking here.

Click Here for some notes on a recent tasting held in August of 2010,
Along with Photos of the Ponzi Gala

The very young Nico Ponzi-Hamacher shows off some vines which are nearly the same age as he was!  (The kid was three when we snapped this shot.)







Here's a more recent photo of "The Nico-Teen" with his sister Mia and his winemaker Mom.

Mia, Luisa and Nico...Summer of 2010

 

We currently have Ponzi's 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot in the shop.  This is developing beautifully and has begun to blossom now that it's been in the bottle for a while.  We find some nice red fruit aromas and a faint brown spice tone to this wine.  Oak is present, but as a chef might add a light grind of pepper or a pinch of salt, the wood is a mere seasoning in this wine, not taking center stage.  It's from a vintage many winemakers regard as "challenging" and yet Ponzi's wine shows no indications of this being the product of a difficult year.  Kudos!

 

In response to market demands for wines which are sensibly-priced and of good quality, the Ponzi's offer a new label called "Tavola."  They've been making this for but a few years and the past couple of vintages have been really good.  The 2008 is remarkably fine and one of the best buys in Oregon Pinot Noir.  

The wine was matured for eleven months in French oak, 25% of the barrels being brand new.  It's terrific quality, comparable to good "village" level wines from Burgundy, for example.  I've chided winemaker Luisa Ponzi for making a wine of relatively modest alcohol in this day where critics look for power, huge levels of alcohol and tons of oak.  Tongue-in-cheek, I suggested she make a 15 or 16% alcohol wine for future vintage so that consumers who drank a few glasses of this would be "sotto la tavola."

We've been fans of their "Reserve" Pinot Noirs for years.  While many wineries along the west coast use the "reserve" designation for entry level wines, Ponzi uses this for a wine of "reserve" quality.

Production levels tend to be fairly small.  It tallies to  a small percentage of their total Pinot Noir production and the wine is routinely good.  

The 2007 produced a small crop of "reserve quality" wine.  The vintage was a bit cooler than normal and yet they managed to make a really good wine, worthy of the special designation.  There's a note of sweet spice and some forest floor tones to this wine.  It's medium-bodied and very nice now, though we've tasted 10 to 20 year old Ponzi Pinots which have been very fine.

 

 

Pinot Gris (or grigio, if you prefer) is also made.  I find it more along the lines of the drier wines from Alsace (that small percentage of winemakers who still make "dry" wines) more than a typical Italian Pinot Grigio.  This means it has the floral, hinting-at-spice notes on the nose and is dry and flavorful on the palate.  The 2008 is spot-on!  Screw cap bottle this year, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arneis is a wonderful wine here.  The Ponzi family is friendly with the Currado family in Italy's Piemonte.  Alfredo Currado is the first (we think) to dabble with the Arneis grape in 1967.  Alfredo had read about this grape and, one day in church in 1967, he got up and asked if anybody had some Arneis grapes..."Please bring them to the winery and I'll buy them."  That afternoon, a large procession of trucks and wagons rolled into their little town and the first Vietti Arneis was vinified.

Today, thanks to his efforts, many wineries in the Langhe region make Arneis.  

And the Ponzi family makes Arneis, too.  Early vintages showed "promise," but they've been reliably good for a number of years.   It's quite dry, fresh with hints of lemon, white flowers and a touch of a pear note.  
This is perfectly suited to a wide range of dishes, from Prosciutto & Melon (at Ponzi's 40th annual Gala in 2010, the first plate served featured thinly sliced Prosciutto which had been cured by Dick Ponzi!) to Seafood pasta or a Fritto Misto of veggies or seafood...The wine stood up beautifully with the mildly spicy red sauce and a parsley-based (I think) green chili sauce served with a tri-tip.  
And it has just the right amount of oak: none!   The 2009 is $19.99 a bottle...

 

Pinot Blanc is an overlooked variety and, frankly, most are worth over-looking.  In Italy, we know of an Alto Adige producer where this grape rises above the 'norm,' and, of course, in Alsace it's periodically treated with respect.  A number of producers make this along the west coast, but it's often more of a rarity than a serious attempt at top drawer white wine.

California's Chalone winery makes a remarkably Burgundian Pinot Blanc and theirs is a benchmark for that style of winemaking.  We'd offer that for the past few years, Ponzi has become the benchmark for a wine handsomely mirroring those of top estates in Alsace.  Luisa vinifies a small portion of the wine in seasoned oak cooperage, simply to add a layer of complexity, while beautifully capturing the essence of the grape with the stainless steel.  A "partial malolactic" adds another layer of complexity, though we are not sensitive to this when sniffing or tasting this wine.  The 2008 is a delight and it's a good candidate to pair with an appetizer course, beautifully setting up a Pinot Noir.

Dick Ponzi, as noted earlier, was a mechanical engineer and was solicited to be a judge for a competition to design and build a "weather machine" in downtown Portland.   

He's such a creative soul, he declined the invitation saying he'd prefer to participate as an entrant in this competition.

Ponzi's design won and you'll find an interesting "sculpture" (or contraption) which is Portland's "official" weather machine.  He probably wishes he could have built something which would help control the weather, rather than merely "indicate" what the conditions are.   

They'd, then, no doubt, have more outstanding vintages in Oregon!

Currently in stock:  2009 PONZI Arneis  $19.99
2008 PONZI Pinot Blanc $15.99
2008 PONZI Pinot Gris $15.99

2006 PONZI "Reserve" Pinot Noir $59.99
2007 PONZI  "regular" Pinot Noir  SALE-PRICED  $32.99 
2007 TAVOLA Pinot Noir List $25  SALE $22.99

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THE EYRIE VINEYARD

The Eyrie Vineyard was the home of "Papa Pinot," a real pioneer of a fellow named David Lett.  David, who passed away recently, was the first to plant Pinot Noir in Oregon after working to match various grape varieties to regions where the fruit would "just" attain ripeness or maturity.   

What bigger challenge than to plant Pinot Noir in a place that was un-tested?  

Lett did this in 1966 and started making wine shortly thereafter.  His early Pinot Noir wines were most encouraging and soon you had a couple of other crazy fellows in the neighborhood (those would be Dick Ponzi, Dick Erath and Dave Adelsheim).  

Lett, though, is viewed by many as the "father of Oregon wine-growing" and his wines set the standard back in those early days.   

 

David had long been frustrated, in my view, that his wines have not been more glorified and sought-after.  We conducted a tasting some years ago and included his 'normal' bottling of Pinot Noir amongst a group of similarly-priced wines.  He sent a rather defensive note saying "this is like comparing a 'village' level of Burgundy to premier cru or grand cru wines."  I did not think the tasting was unfair, since his wine was priced in the same neighborhood as the other wines.   The Eyrie wine did not fare well in the tasting, frankly and Lett probably found selling wine to be challenging an endeavor as growing grapes and making wine.

David & Diana Lett's son Jason runs the winery these days.  I stopped in recently and found the wines to be, frankly, better than I'd expected.  

 

 

The estate comprises four vineyard parcels in the Red Hills area covering a bit more than 50 acres.  The wines are produced in a low-tech, traditional fashion.  Lett prefers to do minimal rackings, lengthy "lees contact" (this comes through nicely in their Pinot Gris), spontaneous malolactic fermentations, with no fining and minimal filtration.  

These are wines which are lost on those looking for fruit bombs or oak monsters.  Eyrie's bottlings are far too subtle for many wine drinkers (and certainly the critics who seem to prefer a more exuberant style of wine).   If you look at the color of an Eyrie Pinot these days, you'll find a wine that's marginally darker than some rosés.  The critics deduct points from their 100 Point Scale if the wine is not inky purple.

David Lett would defend the relative lack of color in Pinot Noir saying something along the lines of "the intensity of color in a wine of, say, the Minervois appellation is inversely proportional to the quality and complexity of that wine."

Having had some success with Pinot Noir, Lett planted Pinot Gris to test its ability to ripen and to produce a good white wine. It was the first vineyard of this grape in the United States.  
Lett had some early success and told us he'd trade bottles of this wine with local salmon fishermen who knew to stop by the winery to exchange their catch for some bottles of David's unusual little white wine.
It was also a good match, on the dinner table, with the salmon and this wine had quite a staunch following.

Other producers followed suit and today Pinot Gris is "the" major white wine in Oregon (there's three times as much Pinot Gris planted as Chardonnay).  

As noted earlier, they have a rather minimalistic approach to making this wine.  It has a lightly brassy color and there's a mildly smoky character on the nose.  There are some pear-like fruit tones and the wine is dry and medium-light on the palate.  

The current Pinot Noir is perfectly nice, but, for my taste, over-shadowed by the wines produced by neighboring vintners.  I think the wine is a bit costly for what it delivers, but it's well-made, light and elegant.  You can tell it's Pinot Noir, however.

Currently in stock:  2007 Eyrie PINOT GRIS SALE $14.99

The winery tasting room is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5.
Jacques Rendu is usually there to pour the wines and explain the philosophy of this legendary little winery.

 

 

DOMAINE DROUHIN

Drouhin is a French family from Burgundy.  Their label in Beaune is "Joseph Drouhin".  The head honcho, "Dad" (Robert Drouhin) was very impressed when he tasted an Oregon Pinot Noir from David Lett's "The Eyrie Vineyards".   So impressed, he ventured to the Willamette Valley and found a vineyard site near Dundee.  Established in 1988, Robert's daughter Veronique is "Boss" in Oregon. Really.  She's married to a fellow named "Boss".  (I don't make this stuff up, you know.) 



The first wines were mighty impressive, having lovely Pinot fruit and a nice touch of oak.  Drouhin's Burgundy wines have been, generally, "correct", I suppose, but I've rarely been excited by them (though I have had some nice and enjoyable bottles....they are simply not the most "dramatic" wines being made in Burgundy).  Their Oregon wines have, to my taste, often been a bit more interesting than most of what I've tasted of their French bottlings.  They don't use tons of new oak in either location.  

The Oregon bottlings seem to take a year or two to start to blossom.  At least, I've often found I seem to prefer their Oregon Pinots when they're 3 or 4 years old.   The 2007 is their current release and this is very nice, balanced, mildly-oaked Pinot Noir.  It is a lovely wine and one which is drinkable now and should age handsomely, too.

 Their "reserve" bottling of Pinot Noir is named after Veronique's daughter and is called "Laurene".  It is a shade more rich than the normal bottling.  

Chardonnay is a relatively recent addition to the portfolio.  When you taste it, keep in mind Drouhin has extensive holdings in the Chablis area.   Hence, their Oregon Chardonnay is not a big, voluptuous, oaky white wine.  Like Chablis, it is a bit more reserved and subtle.

We opened a 1992 Drouhin Oregon Pinot in the winter of 2001.  I recall this as being a very pleasant bottle of wine, but not stunningly good.  I can tell you: At eight+ years of age, it is stunningly good.  We served it alongside of a Dehlinger 1992 Reserve Pinot and as good as the Dehlinger is/was, the Drouhin was even better!  The wine had blossomed beautifully and still can be cellared a few more years.   

 

2007 DOMAINE DROUHIN Pinot Noir  (list $48)   SALE $41.99
2005 DOMAINE DROUHIN Pinot Noir (1/2 bottles)  $23.99
2005 DOMAINE DROUHIN Pinot Noir magnum (list $100) Sale $89.99

2006 DOMAINE DROUHIN Pinot Noir "Laurene" List $70 SALE $62.99

 

PENNER-ASH

Continuing the tradition of Oregon winemakers needing to have a hyphenated surname, Ms. Lynn Penner-Ash has been a part of the Willamette Valley wine scene since the late 1980s.

She was a botany major at U.C. Davis until she changed to viticulture.  Then Lynn spent a crush season at Domaine Chandon and changed her major again, this time to enology.  After a stint at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, she was hired at the Rex Hill Winery in the Willamette Valley and made some lovely Pinot Noirs there.  In those early days, Rex Hill was a sought-after producer whose wines were amongst Oregon's best.

 
In 1998, while still at Rex Hill, she started her own label and now she does that, full time.  Lynn's husband Ron works in the vineyards and cellar, as well as handling some of the marketing duties.

They built a winery and planted a wonderful vineyard overlooking the Chehalem Valley.  

There are about 15 acres of vineyards on the property where the winery is located.  It's called the Dussin Vineyard and Lynn selected several clones of Pinot Noir which she felt matched the particular terroir of this site.  This is in the Yamhill-Carlton District.

They buy fruit from nearly a dozen top vineyards situated in 5 regions, including Southern Oregon's Rogue River Valley (where they source some Syrah and Viognier).

Viognier is especially good here.  It comes from two vineyard sites in the Rogue River Valley and is vinified in stainless steel with around 5 months of lees contact.  The resulting wine really captures the heart and soul of this Rhone variety, displaying a wonderfully peachy character with some pear-like fruit on the palate.  It's fairly dry and has reasonably good acidity, so it's a nicely zesty wine.  

There's good Riesling to be had here, as well.  It's a three vineyard blend and the wine has some nice "petrol"-like fragrances which will appeal to hard-core Riesling fanatics.  The wine, in the 2008 vintage, is off-dry, having less residual sugar than Rombauer's famous Napa Chardonnay (which people will tell you is dry, even though it's not).

Penner-Ash produces a range of Pinot Noirs.  I liked their estate-grown wine the best of those I sampled at the winery.  The vineyard is young, but testimony to Lynn and Ron's studious efforts in planting several clones in order to create a complex wine.  The aromas are wonderfully ethereal, with an underlying fragrance of rose petals.  At $60, it's a bit of a splurge, but the wine is lovely.

A table wine blend of Pinot and Syrah hit the mark nicely.  It's a twenty buck bottle and a good value.  So many of these sorts of "declassified" blends are washed out wines where they apologize, saying "but it's only $20."  They need not apologize for this and "it's only $20."  

I think they do very fine work with their Syrah.  The wine has red cherry fruit and some cola notes, along with an underlying spice tone.  It's a good example of a Pinot Noir winemaker's Syrah...there's an elegance and restraint to the wine and I think a winemaker from France's Rhone Valley would recognize the variety here.  I understand there's a drop or two of Viognier in the blend.  I also found some sweet spice notes, perhaps coming from a bit of time in oak?  Very nice.

 

Currently in stock:  2005 PENNER ASH Oregon SYRAH  Sold Out

 

ARCHERY SUMMIT

They've been right on target for several vintages of Pinot Noir at this modest-sized property a mile south of Dundee, Oregon.  The winery was founded by the late Gary Andrus, former owner of Napa Valley's Pine Ridge Winery.  

 

Andrus was a fellow who was viewed by his Napa neighbors as a bit of an eccentric guy. 

The wines of Pine Ridge were always a bit restrained, so it was surprising to find the Pinot Noirs from Oregon to be so expressive and lavishly oaked.   While his Napa Cabernets were a bit shy and introverted in their youth, the Pinot Noirs were extroverts.

Gary also set up a winery in New Zealand where they made some good Pinot Noirs.  This was called "Gypsy Dancer."  

Today the winery is owned by a big investment group, Leucadia.  It's an odd mix of "cousins," Pine Ridge and Archery Summit being loosely affiliated with a biopharmaceutical company, a Mississippi casino, an Oklahoma oil drilling company that used to be called "Goober," a long distance telecom outfit, several mining operations and they're involved in the commercial mortgage and credit business.  

When we visited this estate in their early days, the gate was locked and you had to ring a bell and asked to be allowed to enter.
Now things are different....

 

 

I tried to make an "appointment" for a winery tour, identifying myself as a wine merchant.  The kids in their tasting room were perfectly friendly, telling me what each wine tasted like as they poured it, but when I asked about seeing the winery, I was advised to "head out the tasting room door, hang a left and open the double doors.  Have a nice day."

They have a nice little photo-op for visitors, roped off at the end as they don't want people roaming around in their winery...

 

The vineyards close to the winery are impressive and the current crop of wines is quite good.   There are approximately 115 acres of grapes and these are meticulously tended, with some vineyard hands working there since the first vines were planted.  

 

 

Today the make only Pinot Noir, typically bottling a blended, entry-level wine and 5 single vineyard offerings.  With low yields in the vineyard in an effort to maximize fruit quality and toasty French oak in the cellar, the wines are quite flashy when young.

We have a fondness for their "Premier Cuvee," a blend of fruit from five vineyard sites, numerous clones of Pinot Noir and a significant percentage of new French oak barrels.  The wine features a sweet perfume of the toasty oak and it's a lovely bottle of wine, especially if you enjoy the wood.

 

The "crus" are Archery Summit Estate, Red Hills Estate, Arcus Estate, Renegade Ridge Estate in the Dundee Hills region and the Looney Vineyard in the Ribbon Ridge viticultural area.  

The 2007 entry-level wine from Archery Summit will give you an idea of their style and quality.  We're especially delighted since the wine is far less costly than their fancy bottlings and is, if not better than one or two of them, pretty damned close.   We tasted it alongside a single vineyard bottling and found this to be better balanced and more charming.  Sweet, toasty oak is displayed from the outset and this is somewhat typical of their wines...(you get higher numerical scores, usually, when the wines are sweetly-oaked).  

I've tasted a few older vintages of Archery Summit wines...my preference is for this sort of wine in its youth when the oak and fruit shine brightly together.
Your mileage may vary.

Currently in stock:  2007 Archery Summit "Premier Cuvee" Pinot Noir SALE $34.99

 

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