Longplay, Pinot Noir, 2007, Lia's Vineyard, Chehalem Mountain, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Once again there is more proof that you don’t have to be a total baller to be able to afford good terroir-driven Oregon Pinot.  I’m not gonna tell you exactly how sweet of a value this lovely little 2007 Pinot is.  All I know is if you stop by the tasting room to pick up a bottle, you won’t be sorry.  Longplay is a relatively new winery which sources the vast majority of its fruit from its own Lia’sVineyard in the Chehalem Mountain AVA.  I decided to taste their initial 2007 Pinot over a number of days to see how it might evolve in the glass.  This 2007 had a crimsony-brown slightly oxidized color on the first pour.  Kelly put it a bit more bluntly as looking like a cup of menstrual blood.  

The nose was fairly closed but had hints of rust, salt, and alcohol.  It had a light but elegant body that rang true for a cooler Willamette Valley vintage.  On the flavor profile, this wine was certainly hiding any potential fruit notes but giving up soft and slightly sour rhubarb with soft tannins.  Over the next few days the heat blew off the nose revealing sweet pure cherry, smoky wood, and mineral notes.  Those cherry notes really started to sing on the flavor profile as well with hints of cola and watermelon.    Although this wine is not without its faults, it is true to the vintage and shows off the lightness and purity of Lia’s vineyard fruit.  7 of Hearts makes a great Lia’s Pinot as well.  I’m putting y’all on notice right here and right now.  Longplay is a winery and Lia’s is a vineyard to watch.  

Omero, Iliad Pinot Noir, 2010, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Another killer value ($26 in the tasting room) and surprisingly bold bright Pinot from a cooler vintage.  The nose just sung with wet rock, maple bar frosting, strawberry jam, and a touch of liquid smoke.  The Iliad has a dark crimson brown color.  Tart yet sweet cranberry and juicy blueberry bounce around with each other on the front end of the palate.  A subtle bitterness contrasts with the fruit on the mid-palate.  It’s definitely pretty full bodied for an Oregon Pinot but yet still retains those high tone flavors and subtle acidity of the varietal.  It’s more lively, complex, and complete than the de-Classified.  Tasting these two 2010 wines, it goes to show that you can’t judge every wine but what the critics say about an overall vintage.  Even with tricky weather, good winemakers will find a way to make good wine.       

Patton Valley, de-Classified Pinot Noir, 2010, Willamette Valley, Oregon

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!   

aloha oregon (no, not that aloha)

Okay, I moved to Honolulu, Hawaii a few months ago after in Portland for 13 years straight.  I needed to put northwest winters behind me once and for all.  Don’t hate me.  Right now, after way too many shitty light beers and overly sweet tropical drinks, I’m missing Oregon wine.  Here are some reviews I somehow forgot to put up from a visit to the lovely east-side urban Enso Winery.  More review to come soon . . . promise. 

Enso, Resonate #2

This is a nice clean if a little unassuming white wine for the summer.  It a blend Oregon Gevurtraminer and Washington Riesling.  It’s got heaps of peach and sugar cane on both the nose and flavors.  It’s got a slight syrupy sweet edge but still ends quick and clean.  I would have liked more spice from the Gevurtz or mineral notes from the Riesling.  Still not bad at all.  Also, it’s a nice treat to be able to scoop up a wine with such a tiny production (52 cases!) at under 15 dollars. 

Enso, Pinot Gris, 2010, Wheatland Vineyard

A much brighter and drier wine compared to the resonate.  Lemon, golden raisin, and pear dominate the nose with a touch of wet rock.  This gris has some real unique qualities compared to a lot of others I have tasted lately.  It’s fruit forward but loaded with lemon candy and dried apricot as opposed to a lot of the day old puckery lime flavors I get from a lot of other Oregon Pinot Gris.  The fruit from this wine comes from Arcane Cellars Wheatland Vineyard, where the winemakers at Enso used to work.  You can tell that this fruit is in good hands.

Enso, Rose, Alder Ridge, 2011

This bottle was tasted about 3 weeks after being bottled.  It’s a southern French style blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mouvedre.  The fun factor on the nose (strawberry, watermelon, and bubble gum) is balanced out by some nice background herbal notes.  The strawberry carries through on the flavor profile with the addition of vanilla bean and tar.  The tannins are a bit bitter on the end.  This wine is definitely still young even for a Rose.  The 2010 Enso Rose was made up of different varietals.  It wasn’t as focused or clean as the 2011 but I do think it was a little more interesting.

Enso, Resonate #2, Washington, 2009

This 50/50 blend of Sangiovese and Counoise has super enticing nose with lots of clean earthy notes,  musk, and shoe leather polish.  Considering the strength of the nose, the resonate #2 is light on its feet on the flavor profile.  It’s a medium bodied wine dominated by plum, cinnamon, and cocoa powder flavors.  There is a nice acidity running throughout as well.  The winemakers call the resonate #2  “dominate yet strong” and I couldn’t agree more.  This wine would pair really well with lots of food and I think is a real value at $16 a bottle!

Enso, Resonate #3, Washington, 2009

The #3 is a blend of 50% Mouvdre, 25% Grenache, and 25% Syrah from the Alder Ridge Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA.  This wine is also a brand new release for Enso.  It’s got a much darker color than the #2.  The nose is not as open ended and much darker.  There is a hefty dose of creamy oak rounded out by rose, violet, and crushed blueberry.  The #3 is closer to full bodied with a milky mouthfeel.  I found this wine to have lots of awesome sweet notes but still not dominated by fruit.  Think caramel, coffee, and fudge!  There is also a nice dose of black pepper and currant.  This is quite a rich wine that I couldn’t find much acidity in.  Still it’s far from flabby.  Good stuff to drink on its own once the weather cools down a little.

Cowhorn, Syrah 74, 2008, Applegate Valley

First of all it is a real treat to go for a tasting at Cowhorn. Nestled off a windy road outside of Jacksonville, the team of Barbara and Bill Steele take their wine-making very seriously. They do a great job of honoring the Rhone-style winemaking tradition as well as working with the wonderful terrior of the Applegate Valley (They are the only certified organic and biodynamic estate in southern Oregon). It was awesome to go through the current offerings with them and they had some great recommendations for other wineries to visit in the area.

This Syrah has quite a pretty nose dominated by cherries and grape candy with a touch of mesquite smoke. Mistakenly, I sensed a bit of Viognior on the nose. Barbara stated that they were indeed going for that northern Rhone-style but that they Syrah had a powerful enough nose on its own. The flavor profile is certainly dominated by the purity of the fruit with a touch of nice soft acids on the end. Still it’s all about sweet strawberry and fig with a long drawn out finish. Fruit forward and fruit medium and fruit finish! Good stuff for sure. If anything its only shortfall was that I felt like the wine could hold up to a bit more time in barrel or a higher percentage of new French oak.

Abacela, Albarino Estate Cuvee, 2010, Umpqua Valley

Abacela has been coming on strong for some time as one of the shining stars in the southern Oregon wine scene. They have championed Tempranillo as a varietal that can achieve greatness in the clay soils of the Umpqua Valley and their estate reserve has received substantial national attention. The new tasting room is a little on the fancy side with its flat screen tvs and abstract sculptures, but it still has a nice open feel. They feature a number of tasting flights that highlight the rather large number of varietals they produce from both estate and non-estate grown fruit.

This is an Albarino that I remember loving from past vintages and the 2010 doesn't disappoint. The nose has notes of lime, pineapple, creamsicle cream, and a touch of soapiness. It explodes on the palate with a strong dose of freshly squeezed pineapple juice, green apple, and lychee. The tropical fruit sings through the long finish with little staccato notes of cilantro and other green herbs. This is a light to medium bodied but complex wine. This Albarino certainly falls on the tart (almost sour) end of the spectrum but it softens and mellows nicely as it warms. A bit of nuttiness even begins to show itself. If you are going for a picnic at Benson State Park this summer, I would most definitely bring at least one bottle of this along!

Trium, Grenache Rose, 2009, Pheasant Hill Vineyard, Rogue Valley

Gevurtz is back like it never hurt before! Happy summer everyone. Sorry for the long hiatus. I lost my tasting mojo for a bit at some point but the sunny weather has got me all motivated to spend lots of time on the internet drinking, spitting, and swirling all by myself! Ha. Anyway, I just got back from a little trip down to southern Oregon with the lovely Shannon Wilson and tasted some really great under the radar wines bursting with originality and character. Here is a little sneak peak.


We stumbled upon Trium Winery in the hills outside of Ashland and both fell pretty hard for this ballsy little scrapper of a wine. The 2009 Grenache Rose features fruit from the estate Pheasant Hill Vineyard. (This is the same vineyard that produces fruit for the outstanding Ransom Cabernet Franc.) The Trium is colored at the darker end of the rose spectrum. In fact, it's just a hint lighter and brighter than a Willimate Valley Pinot. The nose has forceful creamy strawberry shortcake notes combined with green honeydew and a touch of heat.


It has a more rich, luscious, and mouth-coating body compared to many of the roses I have been drinking lately. This is a very giving wine putting forth layers of gummy cherries, gummy peach, and ripe plum flavors on the front to mid-palate. It walks right up to that line of being too sugary sweet but it ends with a nice high limey saline note that somehow leaves your palate feeling clean. At 15% alcohol, this is no easy feat. I don't know if it was just because it was one of the first really hot days I had experienced in Oregon. And even though it was quite fruit forward something about this wine felt terroir-driven. A bit of southern Oregon summer in a glass . . . Yum.

a jaunt to a few wineries in newberg and carlton

Nora and I set out with my parents for some wine tasting on the day before my birthday and hit a few places I have never been to before. The first stop was August Cellars. August is actually the first winery one comes upon when taking 99 from Portland out to wine country. August has a rather upscale and open tasting room. Unfortunately, the wines were pretty uneven to say the least. The first of the line up was the 2008 Oregon dry Riesling. The nose was a mixture of canned pears, lime, and balsa wood. It was an extremely fruit forward wine with a very thin body. A one dimensional puckery lemon flavor dominated the profile. Nora said it was like drinking water with citrus fruit in it. I concurred.

The 2007 Washington Riesling didn’t fair much better. Its nose reeked of laughing gas and the inside of a balloon with a hint of confectionary sugar. The awkwardness of the nose carried through on the body. Finally, the sweet Riesling with fruit from Eola-Amity Hills had a nose like gummy candy and mashed over-ripe peaches. Its touch of acidity and understated sweetness gave it a better balance than the other two efforts but it was still nothing to write home about.

The only Pinots on the tasting menu were from the 2004 vintage. The staff admitted that it was an extremely difficult vintage and that the grapes got picked a little later than they would have liked. He further explained that they tried to make up for the watered down flavor profile with exposing the grapes to more oak. There was a Willamette valley pinot as well as a single vineyard designate from the Aubre Vert vineyard. Both the wines were still alive and vibrant but without a doubt overly-oaked. They had a crimson color with hints of brown beginning to take over on the edges. The smells reminded me of smoke from a BBQ with hints of smoked cheese and a bit of cherry. The wines did have a silky big body for such a rainy vintage probably imparted by the oak. Nora said they tasted like an oak sponge. I got beef jerky, tar, and bitter fruit as well.

The 2005 Washington Merlot was probably the best of all. It also had a big punchy nose with English garden rose, chocolate cake, red fruits, and a hefty dose of alcohol. It was a rather simple wine with an explosion of strawberry on the front end and a white pepper tinged acidity with a fairly short finish. There was a fair amount of burning alcohol on the end as well.

Our next stop was the Dark Horse Wine Bar in Newberg. The wine bar operates as a tasting room for Sineann Wines, Medici Vineyards, and Ferraro Cellars. We were able to taste through a number of selections. Sineann sources most of its fruit from vineyards in Willamette and Columbia Valley. But they also make some wine from California and even New Zealand. We tasted two northwest gewurtztraminers that both had beautiful fresh fruit and spice noses and round exotic flavor profiles. A Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc proved to be clean and full bodied with hints of peach and candied nuts. It’s Marlborough counterpart was true to the variatal and style with an overwhelming fresh red grapefruit flavors and a persistent acidity.

A pair of 2008 entry level Pinot Noirs from the Columbia Valley had pleasant dark fruit flavors with toned down acids while still remaining balanced and lean. Next up was a 2002 and 2003 estate block designate Pinots from Medici. Time in the bottle had rounded out the tannins beautifully and brought to the foreground hints of spice and caramel. Still the cherry fruit notes were lively as ever. The 2003 block 1 and 2 designate was my favorite wine of the bunch with its abundance and purity of fruit. It’s a great value at $30 and will drink well for at least another 5 years. The Columbia Valley Cab-based wines from Ferraro and Sineann were all about candied and sweet pastry fruit. Still they were fairly elegant for the price point.

Trisaetum Vineyards is a fairly new project based in the Carlton AVA. They have gotten a lot of buzz recently for their Rieslings. A 94 point rating from Wine Enthusiast for their twenty some dollar 2008 release had me excited. Though it wasn’t quite up to the hype, I was still impressed with how open the wine already had become with layers of ripe lemon and pear fruit and spice. The tasting staff gave us a sneak peak of the 2009 dry Riesling which was still quite tight and lean but showed good potential. We tasted an entry level 2008 Pinot as wells as a 2008 artist series (barrel select) and a higher end 2007. As so often is the case, I was most impressed by the entry level with its wet stone and brambly fruit notes on the nose. Those same notes came through on the flavor profile as well as a strong dose of anise. It had a medium body and a nice long finish with those seamless fruit flavors carrying through to the end.

Our final stop was Lemelson Vineyards and admittedly at this point I was feeling a bit of palate fatigue. We tasted a decent Pinot Gris and dry Riesling. The 2007 reserve Chardonnay was a real stand out. It was the most fragrant wine of the day with exotic notes of sandalwood, sweet incense, ginger bread, and key lime pie. It was silky smooth on the palate with a pronounced lime flavors and a nice acidic lift in the middle. The oak had been integrated so beautifully and was a perfect platform for the fruit to shine. The higher end Pinots leaned more toward a lush style and were perfectly fine but I was slightly unimpressed with their 2007 “6 vineyards” Pinot. It was fairly fruit forward with fresh strawberry but fell off pretty quickly. The acidity was super salty throwing it off the balance. The “6 vineyards” goes for only 20 or so dollars but I have had better Pinots even at that price-point.

Foris, "Fly-Over Red" 2007, Rogue Valley

This meritage blend (67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc) is deep cherry red color but still somewhat translucent. The nose reminded me of red hots candy, canned cranberry sauce slices, little hot green peppers, and a nail polishy chemical component. There was a fair amount of heat present as well. The Foris has a surprisingly mid to light body for this style. Layers of under-ripe rhubarb, sweet cranberry, and smoky oak chips stick to the front end of ones mouth and don’t move much from there. The flyover has a decent grip from the mid-palate to the finish but lacks tertiary flavor components. It finishes quite dry. An hour of decanting gave the alcohol a nice shove out of the picture, cleaned up a bit of the chemical-iness, but also deadened the fruit as well. I’m a huge fan of the Foris Cabernet Franc and think their Pinot is killer value. I remember liking the 2003 flyover but the 2007 vintage is a bit of a stinker. P.S. I am curious to try the 2008 since over half the fruit is sourced from Washington.

Witness Tree Pinot Blanc, 2007, Willamette Valley

I picked up this wine on a recent wine tasting jaunt through the Eola Hills AVA. I was really impressed with the overall quality and value of the wines in this area and the openness, friendliness, and knowledge of the staff in the tasting rooms. Next time you are a planning to go out tasting in the Willamette Valley, I say skip Dundee, Carleton, and McMinville. Head south near Salem for something a little different and a bunch of wines that are totally underrated.
Anyway back to the Pinot Blanc. This stuff is really great! It’s got a nice light gold color with tropical fruit notes and crisp apple on the nose but also with hints of cedar and mustard. The Witness Tree has bigger, lusher mouthfeel compared to other domestic Pinot Blancs I have tasted. It’s also got a crazy long finish with a really interesting transition of flavors. Subtle notes of lemon pastry filling, sea-salt, wet rock and white chocolate all come to mind. It fully coats the palate and finishes with a beautiful mouthwatering acidity. This wine is all about balance. It’s elegant and clean without being all unassuming and shy. It’s extremely pleasant on its own but would pair well with so many foods (Beware though, it’s got an alcohol level of 14.5%). Fish and salad dishes come to mind but I would be really interested in tasting this with a earthy mushroom-based meal. Witness Tree is a really interesting winery in that all 5 of the varietals they currently produce (including a dulcetto!) are estate grown. The Pinot Blanc comes from a tiny 2.5 acre plot and the winery only produces about 6,000 cases in total of all of its wine. The winemaker, Steve Westby, has been with Witness Tree for the last eleven vintages. As the winery literature professes, his knowledge of the vineyards and familiarity with the microclimate really do shine through in this beautiful Pinot Blanc.

Evesham Wood Blanc du Puits Sec, 2008, Eola-Amity Hills

The Blanc du Puits Sec is an Alsatian style blend of 85% Pinot Gris and 15% Gewurtztraminer. The wine is fairly translucent with a slight cloudy white haze. Peach, dried-out lemon, whole wheat bread, olive oil and even a hint of barnyard are present on the nose. The BdPS has a nice weight and oily mouthfeel for a pinot gris/gevurtz blend. I pick up a lot of sour lemon on the flavor profile with hints of coconut, wet rock, and soap. The acidity is not quite as sharp as I would like it and it’s almost a little hot (at only 12.5%!) There is a good dose of residual sugar that comes across a little like artificial sweetener. It has a pretty long finish but only those crystal light sugary characteristics really carry through. The aromas are a lot more interesting than the flavors but there are just not a lot of good things going on in this wine. Overall, I been really excited about the values that are available in Oregon white blends but the 2008 Blanc du Poits Sec isn’t one of my favorites.

J. Christopher "Cristo Irresisto," 2009, Oregon

Unlike most Willamette Valley wineries, J Christopher makes its rose in a southern French Style (Grenache, Syrah, Viognier) rather than using Pinot. I was curious about this wine after reading Katherine Cole’s glowing review in my favorite section of the Oregonian. FOOD DAY! The Cristo Irresiosto Rose is super pale and almost closer to a white wine in color with a touch of fish skin pink. There is a really nice fresh oceany nose with a huge dose of minerality, salinity, coconut, vanilla, and sharp lemon. The touch of Viognier, which lightens the color, also gives the nose a big pop. The rose has a lightly sweet acidity and delivers more body than would be expected based on the color. Fresh apricot is super lively on the palate and jumps around like pop rocks on your tongue. Hints of white pepper and radish seal the deal on the finish.

Iris Hill, Chardonnnay, 2006, Oregon

The folks at Iris Winery have opened up a new tasting room in Cottage Grove. Although not the most picturesque setting, the staff there were super nice and informative. For a measly 3 dollar fee, one gets to taste through the current Iris offerings and take home a nice sturdy tasting style glass. What stood out most for me at the time was the 2006 Oregon Chard (partly because it was selling at half price). The nose was dominated by crisp yellow apple, lemon pledge, white chocolate, and a bit of candied banana and funky cork taint. It had a shimmering gold evenly distributed color. This is a fairly round wine with an oily texture on the front end leading to a brief burst of acidity and finally a softer lingering finish. Rich dense syrupy lemon is most present on the flavor profile with hints of butter popcorn jellybelly on the mid-palate. Overall there is a nice balance of acidity and roundness on this simple kinda shrilly wine. I think it is best served on the colder side and within the first few days of being open. After three days and as the wine begins to warm, it quickly becomes disjointed and awkward. I think this chardonnay would pair well with a simple salty fish dish. Fish and Chips anyone?