Dobbes Family Event

About a year ago I wrote a post about the Joe Dobbes empire. He makes great wine under his Dobbes Family label, a line of value wines under his Wine By Joe label, and does custom crush work for many small Oregon wineries. On Sunday March 28th eight of his clients joined Dobbes in the winery for an open house to showcase their wines. As with last year's event, this one was very well organized and the staff did a great job keeping the food table stocked, emptying the dump buckets, and making sure there was plenty of water available. It was also really fun to taste both the diversity of wine varieties and the differences in wines made from the same grape variety by the same wine maker using grapes from very different vineyards.

Baron-Wahl - They were tasting a vertical of the Pinot Noir from 06, 07, and 08. The 06 had a big warm nose and a thick mouth feel. Vines were still somewhat young. The 07 had a huge nose and was smoky with a long finish. Slightly bitter and dilute. The 08 was light and fruity with no smoke on the finish.

Cliff Creek has been a favorite for a few years, but we came away from this tasting somewhat disappointed. The 07 Red Red Wine tasted pretty much like grape juice, almost candy-like. The 06 Merlot was slightly bitter and thin, and the 06 Cab Sauv lacked sufficient fruit. Fortunately the 04 Claret was still pretty interesting, although a bit tannic. The 05 Syrah was not too fruity and had almost a burned taste. What was going on? Wrong glass shape? Maybe our trip to Washington spoiled us for southern Oregon reds? We'll certainly give them another chance, but we were disappointed.

Joe Dobbes was tasting wines from both his labels, starting with his 09 Wine By Joe Rosé - not too sweet, not too bitter, very nice. The 07 Grand Assemblage Pinot Noir was nice and light but fairly plain. The 06 Griffin Cuveé Pinot Noir was interesting with a lot going on and a long finish. The 06 Nuestro Sueno Pinot was very smokey and earthy, well made and balanced, but not much going on. Their late harvest Viognier was good but slightly flabby. Not too sweet however.

Elstrom was a back again this year and was pouring their 07 Pinot Gris which was delightfully crisp, like biting into an apple. The 08 Pinot Gris had good flavor but not enough acid. The 05 Pinot Noir that we liked last year was still good with earthy fruit and somewhat restrained. The 07 Pinot Noir was very good with earthy fruit, but more of it than the 05. The 06 Pinot Noir was boring and forgettable.

Fox Farm - We had a nice conversation with the Fox Farm owner who has recently opened a tasting room in Newberg for small wineries that were too small for their own tasting room including some of our favorites. They were tasting their 09 Pinot Blanc which was nice but not enough acid. The 08 Pinot Noir was light and smooth with nice fruit. The 07 Syrah was somewhat restrained with good fruit. The 09 Pinot Gris was very floral and almost had a Riesling nose. Not enough acid.

South Stage was a winery that we hadn't tasted before from further south in Oregon. Their 08 Chardonnay was nice and crisp, lightly oaked. The 08 Viognier was crisp and spicy. The 07 Alchemy was a blend of Tempranillo, Carmenere and Cab Sauv. It was OK but a little light. Their 08 Sauv Blanc/Semillon sweet blend was just too sweet and syrupy.

Quailhurst - We had visited them over Labor Day weekend last year and certainly enjoyed their beautiful horse arena and barns as well as their food. I recall the wine being just OK, which as confirmed today. Their 06 Virtuoso as an interesting white blend of 6 grapes - nutty with decent acid. Their 03 Pinot Noir was old and hot without much fruit left. The 06 Pinot Noir tasted like rotten meat. Seriously, although it may have just been a bad bottle. The 08 Pinot Noir was fine, light with strawberry notes.

Vitae Springs was also a winery that I don't believe we've tasted before. They had a self-made 08 Riesling that was nice and bright with good acid. Their 06 Pinot Noir was deep with dark fruits and good balance. The 07 Pinot Noir was good but very light, almost watery.

Youngberg Hill was there again, and we'd also tasted their very good Pinot Noir at McMinnville recently. The 07 Natasha Pinot Noir was good, but we'd just had salami that didn't work well with the wine. The 07 Jordan was very nice - earthy with dark fruits. The 08 Jordan barrel sample had good fruit and smooth tannins.

Another excellent event at Dobbes with lots of good Pinot Noir. I think our trip to Washington may have made us a little pickier about warm climate reds from Southern Oregon, we'll have to see. I definitely need to give Cliff Creek another try. Maybe a day in Carlton soon...

Dobbes' Extended Family Event

Joe makes wine. Joe makes a lot of wine. In fact, in 2008 Joe Dobbes' company, Wine by Joe, was the 4th largest producer in Oregon. He makes some fantastic wine for his Dobbes Family Estate label and a good line of value wines for his Wine by Joe label. He also sells a lot of bulk wine to various clients. But in the middle, he makes wine for a number of smaller family wineries which they sell under their own labels. It's quite possible that one of your favorite Oregon producers is a client of Joe's.

On Sunday May 17th, Wine by Joe brought many of these small family producers together for an open house at the winery. It was a great opportunity to taste and compare many of Joe's wines made using different varieties of grapes from many different regions of Oregon and Washington made for different clients. There were 11 brands represented, each at their own tasting table, along with Dobbes Family Estate to make an even dozen. They also had their usual nice selection of snacks.

Aside from the good wine, the thing that impressed us most about the event was how well it was organized and run. They had staff constantly re-stocking the food table, emptying the dump buckets at each winery, supplying water for rinsing glasses, and generally ensuring that everything ran smoothly. It was impressive! I certainly hope that they make this an annual event.

Here's a rundown on the participating wineries:

Alexeli Vineyard was pouring a very nice 2008 Riesling (about 2% RS), and spicy but fairly ordinary 2008 Gewurztraminer, and a semi-sparkling Chardonnay that would have been very nice with a bit more acid.

Barron-Wahl Vineyards was pouring their 2006 Pinot Noir (dark fruits with a slightly funky nose) and their 2007 Pinot Noir which was light, fruity with a hint of smokiness.

Cliff Creek Cellars is one of our favorite producers of big warm climate red wines. They were pouring their 2004 Claret (a very nice Bordeaux blend), 2004 Syrah (very solid example of a warmer climate syrah), 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (very nice with chewy tannins), and the 2005 Merlot (good, but not exceptional).

Dobbes Family Estate was pouring a few of their wines: the 2005 Grand Assemblage Syrah (very nice with smooth tannins), a very floral 2006 Viognier, a light and pleasant 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, and their very nice 2007 Grand Assemblage Pinot Noir.

Elstrom Estate Vineyard was pouring their 2007 Pinot Gris (somewhat weak but with a good finish) and their 2008 Pinot Gris (great fruit but a weak finish), an excellent layered, subtle and complex 2005 Pinot Noir, and a big, fruity 2006 Pinot Noir.

Fox Farm Vineyards was pouring a good, drinkable 2007 Pinot Gris, a 2007 Pinot Noir with good color, extraction, and slight caramel notes, and their 2007 Syrah with great black fruit, but somewhat simple.

Paschal Winery was pouring their 2005 Civita, a good red table blend, a very nice 2005 Syrah that was spicy with notes of black cherry, a good white table blend called 2006 Maya's New White, and their wonderful 2006 Sangiovese/Dolcetto blend that we had at Newport.

Quailhurst Vineyard Estate was pouring their 2004 Pinot Noir (very good prototypical '04), an interesting non-typical 2006 Pinot Noir with flavors of toast and caramel, and a 2006 Virtuoso White blend that we didn't care for.

South Stage Cellars brought their 2007 Pinot Noir (a bigger, fruitier PN from southern Oregon), the 2007 Monte Rosa (a nice red blend), a nice sweet 2008 early Muscat, and a fairly ordinary 2008 Viognier.

Trinity Vineyards brought their 2006 Pinot Gris (a bit light), a very nice 2006 Pinot Noir, and rather plain 2006 Syrah, and a really nice, crisp, and floral 2008 Viognier.

Vitae Springs Vineyard brought a very nice complex 2006 Pinot Noir with a long lingering finish.

Youngberg Hill Vineyards had a very nice 2007 Pinot Gris with good balance, although I would have liked more acid. They also brought a great lineup of Pinot Noirs: 2006 Natasha Block (light for an '06 but great fruit), 2006 Jordan Block (good, earthy), and a 2006 Barrel Select (dark with great extraction).