On a recent trip back to Portland to pick up my kitty,
Driedel, I jumped on the chance to hit some wineries in the northern part of the Willamette valley
with my cousin. Seeing as it was a
Monday, we had most of the tasting rooms to ourselves and all the folks we met
were super nice and chatty. We ended up
stopping at Anam Cara, Lemelson, 7 of Hearts, Elk Cove, the Carlton Winemakers Studio, Omero, Ken Wright and Patton Valley.
Definitely a lot for one day but spitting kept us driving safe. I told myself I wouldn't be buying any wine
on this trip due to a recent close call with almost overdrawing my checking
account. But a few value-driven finds
made me break that promise.
The first of
which was this super solid entry level Pinot from Patton Valley. It had a deep dark cherry red color which was
striking for an Oregon Pinot. The nose was
dominated by red licorice with dark chocolate, leather, rose water, and baking
spices rounding it out. The flavor
profile was all pure sweet raspberry flavors with hints of tomato water, rock
salt, and vanilla. It lacked the extra
earthy secondary flavors I love in the best Oregon Pinots, but for $20 I was
completely happy with this wine.
The de-classified had a satisfying juiciness while
maintaining enough acidity to keep it balanced.
Entry level Pinots often can be a little too thin and one note for me. Thus, I was really impressed with the
boldness of this wine especially given the fact that 2010 was a cool year for
Willamette Valley Pinots. Winery co-owner Monte Pitt mentioned that when he
showcases this wine it sometimes makes it difficult to sell his higher level
entrees. There are worse problems to
have and the consumers definitely benefit.
The 2010 de-classified comes highly recommended. With less than 400 cases produced, get it
while you can!
No comments:
Post a Comment