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More Oregon Selections
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FREJA
 We found a
rather lovely 2006 vintage Pinot Noir from this small estate in the northern
part of Oregon's Willamette Valley.
The vineyard was planted in the late 1980s and the total production from
this winery is approximately a thousand cases. Willy Gianopulos is the
winemaker and I was amused to peruse the winery website and find this note
on their web page of "press" which is entitled
"Critics":-
- In
general, I have stopped submitting wine samples to the big
wine magazines and wine competitions. They tend to like Pinot
Noir in the big, ripe, high alcohol, California style and tend
to score Burgundian style wines with average ratings. With
our style firmly in the Burgundian camp, our small
production and loyal customer base we decided to stop chasing
"scores". That said we continue to send samples
to some smaller regional magazines and wine competitions. I
will post the results here as they are available. Thanks for
your support.
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- As a shop where we actually taste and select wines for our customers, we
appreciate this idea. Given that so many critics cannot appreciate a
wine for what it is (you realize, of course, that white wines get lower
marks for lacking 'color' and Beaujolais is marked down for its lack of
cellar-worthiness!)...everything is measured using the "yardstick"
of Cabernet Sauvignon or sticky, sweet wine. Go figure.
Anyway, the 2006 vintage from Freja attracts our attention for a couple of
reasons: One, it smells and tastes like good Oregon Pinot Noir.
Secondly, it doesn't "cost" like so many West Coast Pinot Noirs
(California vintners claim "$40 is the sweet spot...you have to sell
your Pinot for $40.").
We like the dark cherry fruit here and the fact that oak is used as a mild
"seasoning," rather than as the central component of the
wine. It's delicious now and will be fine over the next few
years.
Currently in stock: 2006 FREJA Willamette Valley PINOT NOIR $19.99-
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ELK COVE VINEYARDS
 Located
in Northern Willamette Valley, Elk Cove is one of Oregon's "old"
wineries. Founded by Joe and Pat Campbell,
Joe studied science history and medicine, while Pat's grandpa was a Swiss
immigrant who cultivated vines in Oregon in the late 1800s!
Their son Adam joined the winery in the mid-1990s and has instituted some
changes in the vineyard and cellar.
We've found good wines from this estate and they seem to have a handle on
growing good grapes and turning them into interesting wines.
A new release caught our attention: the 2004 "Mount
Richmond" Pinot Noir. This is a vineyard owned by the Campbell
family. Located on the outskirts of the town of Yamhill, the Campbells
selected plants of a low-yielding nature as the source of their vines.
It's entirely Pommard clone and, despite the youth of the vineyard, the
small crop level in 2004 seems to have served them well. The vintage
saw spring rains and a low berry "set." Still, they managed
to produce a really good, classically Oregon Pinot Noir. We like it
now and suspect it will cellar well for about another five years.
 The
Elk Cove 2004 Pinot Gris was exceptional and one of the few Oregon
white wines we have had in the shop. The wine displays a
fantastically fresh fragrance, in part due to its being bottled in February
following the harvest. This allows them to "capture" the
bright fruit immediately following its fermentation. The aromas
reminded me of white flowers, a hint of peach and a touch of apple. On
the palate the wine is rather dry and snappy. You can serve this as a
cocktail white and it pairs handsomely with all sorts of seafoods. We
find this to be drier and crisper than most Oregon Pinot Gris (quite a few
have marked residual sugar levels!). We look forward to tasting the
2005...stay tuned!
- Currently in stock: 2004 Elk Cove "Mount
Richmond" Pinot Noir
$35.99
2004 Elk Cove Willamette Valley Pinot Gris Sold Out
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- DOMAINE SERENE
 Ken and Grace Evenstad own this winery, along with an 82 acre property on the Red
Hills of Dundee in the Willamette Valley. They make a "Reserve" bottling
and then "Evenstad Reserve".
We had the opportunity to taste a large range of Oregon Pinots recently and
I thought the Domaine Serene 2000 was pretty interesting and complex.
About a week later we attended a blind-tasting comparison of Oregon
Pinots and I was delighted that the Domaine Serene was, again, my
favorite wine of the tasting. The group liked it, too, as it finished
in first place. This does not seem so unusual now...the winery now has
a terrific track record of producing wines worthy of actually paying money
for.
Just released is their 2004 vintage of Evenstad Reserve. It is a
lovely bottle of Pinot, as well. Small yields in the vineyard and a
high percentage of new French oak gives this wine some style and pizzazz.
This is very nice now and ought to do well with several years of
cellaring. We like the hints of sweet wood and the
cherry/cola/tea/berry notes on the nose and palate.
- 2004 Willamette Valley "Evenstad Reserve" (list
$53) Sold Out
SHEA WINE CELLARS & VINEYARD
 If
you've perused the labels of Pinot Noirs from Oregon, you've probably run
across the Shea name. The vineyard amounts to some 140 acres planted
on a 200 acre estate. The vineyard is just north of Highway 240 a
short distance east of Yamhill.
They sell fruit to well more than a dozen wineries, even one or two in
California! About 10% of their fruit stays "home" and is
vinified by the Sheas.
Their "Estate" Pinot Noir attracted my attention at a recent
tasting. The wine displays notes of dark berry and cherry fruit with
an tone of forest floor. It's a medium-bodied Pinot Noir with a hint
of wood. In a sea of shallow and empty wines, I found this to be quite
satisfying on the palate--medium-bodied, elegant and with a sweet spice note
on the finish. Nice intensity, too.
Currently in stock: 2006 "Estate" Shea Vineyard Pinot
Noir $44.99
- VIDON
 Don Hagge is the
"Don" of Vidon, a small vineyard and winery in Newberg. Some
of the fruit is sold to other vintners presently, but Don is making a few
hundred cases of his own wine.
We tasted the inaugural vintage and found it to be promising, but the second
vintage was really a winner. The 2005 is also remarkably good,
especially if you appreciate Pinot Noir that resembles "Burgundy"
rather than a Syrah. Here in California many winemakers produce wines
with the color of Syrah and the tannin of Cabernet. These tend to
score well with critics who "rate" wines on a numerical scale and
who think every wine must have the characteristics of Cabernet (inky color,
tons of tannin, etc.).
Vidon Pinot has the perfume of Pinot Noir. It's fairly deep in color
for Pinot, but has the elegance and finesse of this capricious
variety. The aromas feature black cherry fruit and a hint of a woodsy
tone from the oak. The flavors are similar and reasonably long.
Nice tannin, without being too strong. This is a jewel of a Pinot
Noir, so don't tell anybody about this find except your very best
wine-drinking pals.
- Currently in stock: 2005 Vidon "Willamette Valley"
Pinot Noir $37.99
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- BEAUX FRÈRES
 This winery is
owned, in part, by Wine Guru (some call him "God") Robert
Parker. It is an ambitious effort at making "the" great
Oregon Pinot Noir. Whether or not they've succeeded, I suppose, is a
matter of debate.
Mr. Parker has often been criticized for preferring wines of size, alcohol,
oak and, sometimes even a bit of residual sugar. If you taste the
volume of wine that he does, one's palate tends to be dulled, even if you're
"God."
I know a number of customers who always said you could take his reviews of
Burgundy wines and turn them upside down for a more accurate assessment of
the wines. Whether or not that's a fair criticism, I will leave that
to you. But Mr. Parker has hired an associate to assess Burgundy wines
for his publication.
 A
"second" wine, of sorts, is offered. This is dubbed Belles
Soeurs and represents Pinot Noir from purchased fruit as well as barrels
culled out of the Beaux Frères production. It's a rather nice Pinot,
too.
I must confess I have not paid much attention to these wines of late...They
have not been on my 'radar screen.' Prices are a bit high and when
I've tasted current releases, I've not found wines of especially good value
given the ambitious price.
Stay tuned....
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- Currently in stock: 2001 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Sold Out
2001 Belles Soeurs (list $55) SALE $49.99
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BRICK HOUSE
 In a
previous lifetime I spent a summer working for a CBS-owned news radio
station in Los Angeles. One of the correspondents whose work routinely
came in for broadcast was a fellow named Doug Tunnell.
He got out of the radio biz, as did I, though his accomplishments were far
greater than mine. Funny that we both ended up in the wine business!
Tunnell is rather well-known in Oregon wine circles for his organic farming
practices and his winemaking. Both are sensible and responsible.
Doug has been quoted as saying "The question about organic farming
isn't "why organic?" It's "Why not?" "
Cuvée de Tonnelier is a lovely and delicate Pinot Noir. This is so
different from the blockbuster, Syrah-like wines coming from California
vintners! I'm sure those tasters looking for the big, oaky monsters
from California will describe this as thin, light and lacking
character. On the other hand, those who appreciate a bit of subtlety
will find this a delight.
Currently in stock: 2001 BRICK HOUSE "Cuvée de
Tonnelier" Sold Out
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KEN WRIGHT CELLARS
 If
you're looking for "Mister Wright", this is your man. He was a partner in
Panther Creek before establishing his own winery in 1994. The wines are made in a
shared facility (Domaine Serene being the other part of the cellar) in Carlton.
Wright offers especially distinctive batches as single-vineyard bottlings. He was
"dubbed" (or "knighted") as a
 "Master Winemaker" by The Wine
Spectator. The wines are subjected to minimal cellar treatment, the usual regime by
Pinot Noir producers.
Canary Hill is an Eola Hills area vineyard...nice dark cherry and a hint of
cola to this wine.
We have one from the Guadalupe vineyard, McCrone and Savoya. All nice,
all in limited supply and all the same price.
- 2006s are currently in stock.
 Tyrus Evan is
Wright's small, non-Pinot Noir label. The name for this project stems from
Wright's sons' middle names, Tyrus and Evan.
We liked the 2003 Syrah from the famous Del Rio vineyard 15 miles north of
Medford in Southern Oregon. The climate is warmer than in the
northern part of the state where Pinot Noir reigns supreme. The wine has
berry-like fruit with a nice touch of wood. It's a softer styled Syrah
(remember, it's in the hands of a Pinot Noir producer!), so drinking this in its
youth is probably wise.
- Currently in stock:
2006 Canary Hill $49.99
2006 Guadalupe $49.99
2006 McCrone $49.99
2006 Savoya $49.99
2003 Tyrus Evan "Del Rio" Syrah $31.99
LEMELSON
 You
probably have not heard of the name Jerome Lemelson. I know I hadn't
until I did a bit of research.
This guy was amazing, holding patents on hundreds of gizmos and
gadgets. Only Thomas Edison and Edward Land (Polaroid cameras) held
more patents! Lemelson's innovations made possible all sorts of things
we take for granted: ATM machines, Camcorders, Sony's "Walkman"
devices, fax machines and more.
One of his sons, Eric Lemelson, was bitten by the wine bug and he runs this
modest enterprise in Yamhill County.
The Jerome's Reserve wine is a barrel selection, representing the best wine
in the Lemelson cellar. The 2001 won a blind-tasting in May of 2004
here at the shop. Mildly oaked and somewhat cherryish in
fruit...drinkable now.
Currently in stock: 2001 Lemelson "Jerome's
Reserve" Pinot Noir Sold Out-
- PANTHER CREEK CELLARS
 Ron and Linda Kaplan are the owners of this enterprise. They
bought the winery when there was a falling out between the winemaker (Ken Wright) and the
other partners. They enlisted Mark Vlossak to be the winemaker. He is the
winemaker at St. Innocent, as well. Located in McMinnville, Panther Creek leases
some 59 acres. Some people say Vlossak is doing a better job with the wines than the
previous winemaker.
We have some bottles of Panther Creek's 2000 "Winemaker's Reserve"
Pinot Noir in the shop. These folks make a bunch of single vineyard
wines and this is their "blended" Pinot. In 2000 they have
fruit from the cool climate Willamette Valley with some from the warmer
Umpqua Valley to the south. They started the fermentation using
native yeasts before kicking it with some special strain of cultured yeast
(I guess they wanted to insure the wine fermented out to dryness).
You'll find a touch of wood here, along with dark cherry and a whiff of
forest floor aromas. Drinkable now...we like it at cellar temperature.
Currently in store: 2000 Winemaker's Reserve Pinot Noir (list $35) Sold
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- KING ESTATE
 These people quickly appeared on the radar screens of Oregon wine aficionados as
it is the largest winery in Oregon. The King family made a few bucks in an
enterprise known as something like King Avionics, making radar devices for airplanes.
Ed King, Jr. developed a taste for good wines while traveling around
Europe. His son, Ed III, went to school in Oregon and was mainly
looking for a source for hay for some horses. He had already planted a
small vineyard just for kicks, but when he saw the property, Ed III decided
to really make hay. Or, rather Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir!
They have a 1033 acre estate southwest of Eugene. The winery is making about
100,000+ cases annually, so while not huge, it dwarfs the many tiny cellars one encounters
on the Oregon wine trail.
They make a rather pleasant Pinot Gris, a medium-bodied, somewhat fruity style
that's a refreshing change-of-pace to those who are just discovering there
are wines other than "California Chardonnay." The wine
displays "sweet" notes all the way through the aromas to the
flavors. I find notes of candied citrus and some tropical fruit tones
here. It may be close to dry, but the over all balance is of a softer,
less acidic white wine.
The winery makes some Pinot Noirs and we've tasted perfectly nice red wines,
but nothing compelling. King Estate has yet to be identified as a
major source of Oregon Pinot. Perhaps this will change in the future?
- Currently in stock: 2004 Oregon Pinot Gris (list
$18) SALE $13.99
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- ST. INNOCENT WINERY
- Nothing presently.
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- OWEN ROE
 The
name of this brand is that of an Irish patriot who roamed Europe in the 1600s.
The wines for this brand are made in "Baja Washington", which would be Oregon's
Willamette Valley. The grapes come from the "Columbia Valley"
appellation, so this region starts at "The Dalles", east of Portland and
continues on up into Washington state.
The Wine Spectator's Harvey Steiman was very quick to praise this producer
and practically nominate the winemaker for sainthood. We enjoyed their
early efforts and then found a few of the wines to be uneven. Still,
their wines offer interesting character and complexities. We tasted
some reds of late which, for us, mark an improvement and we now have a
couple of things in the shop.
A 2001 Chardonnay is in stock, a deep, big, smoky, toasty affair that's
probably too intense for some palates.
 Their
2004 Abbot's Table wine is a hodge-podge of what-not. As in "what
not there?" How about 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.6% Syrah, 13%
Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 8% Zinfandel, 4.5% Grenache, 3.4% Malbec,
3% Pinot Noir and 1.5% Counoise. All those numbers DO add up to 100,
by the way! The wine is full-bodied and the Cabernet dominates though
there's a sense of a Mediterranean influence, probably the Zin and Rhone
varieties. It's quite drinkable now with well-seasoned foods.
A 2004 "Yakima Valley Red" is especially good. It's a
Bordeaux blend based on Merlot...49% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 29%
Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit comes from four different vineyards,
including their famous DuBrul. We like the charm of this wine and it
really has a lovely fragrance and flavor. The Merlot shines, but it's
given some "oomph" by the two Cabernets. Don't miss it.
- Currently in stock: 2004 "Abbot's Table"
$24.99
2001 Chardonnay $31.99
2004 Yakima Valley Red $41.99
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