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!   

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.

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.