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...

Labor Day Wine Tasting

As harvest nears, it seems that many wineries are working hard to get the last few visitors in before the end of summer with special events, dinners, etc. This past weekend the Chehalem Mountain Winegrowers association held a special event called "Explore, Tour and Taste" featuring most of the wineries in the AVA including many that are not usually open. The Chehalem Mountain AVA is a large sub-AVA of the Willamette Valley extending across the north end of the valley from highway 47 west to I-5 near Sherwood. It's a big area, and honestly seems more like a geographical convenience than any real cohesive chunk of terroir. Soils in the AVA range from marines sediments to Columbia River basalts to ice age loess giving rise to a widely diverse range of wines.

While some of our favorite wineries on Calkins Ln and Ribbon Ridge Rd are part of Chehalem Mountain, we decided to head out toward Sherwood again. Faithful readers may recall that we spent an enjoyable day near Sherwood over the Memorial Day weekend, and in looking down the list of participating wineries, we thought "What about Sherwood?"

Our first stop was Utopia Vineyard and Winery on Ribbon Ridge Rd. It turns out to have the smallest tasting room I've ever been in, but some pretty decent wines. The owner/winemaker moved to Oregon from Napa in 2000 after realizing that he could actually afford a vineyard here, and planted Pinot Noir in 2002. They were tasting the 2006 and 2007 estate Pinot Noirs, both of which were pretty good, but we preferred the 2007 for its structure and complexity. He was also tasting a couple of wines from his Napa days - a 1997 Malbec and a 1997 Cab Franc. I'm not sure if they were great examples of either varietal, but they had aged well and we enjoyed them very much.

Our next stop was Privé Vineyard and Winery on Bell Rd., another new-to-us winery. They were tasting a couple of different wines along with pizza and a full glass of one of the wines for $20. We didn't want a full glass of wine since we had a lot of wine to taste that day and $20 for 2 tastes and a piece of pizza seemed excessive. Rachel bargained them down to $5 to taste and we tried their Pinot Noir and some kind of red blend that I don't remember. Whether it was the wine itself or our dislike of the tasting concept, the wine was forgettable and we tasted and left.

We continued driving along Bell Rd. through the big sweeping curves (aka the Bell curves) and arrived at Laura Volkman Vineyards on Quarry Rd. We had tasted her wine a couple of years ago at August Cellars and thought it was OK, but not wonderful. She has a very good reputation, so we wanted to try it again now that we were a little more experienced. She was tasting a Chardonnay and 3 Pinot Noirs. The Chard was lightly oaked and wonderfully floral - a very fine example of a good Oregon Chardonnay. The 3 Pinots were again good, but not great in our opinions. All were 2007's - two vineyard designates and a blend. They were elegant, but all seemed to be missing something - perhaps some depth and finish.

Turning northeast on 99W we continued to head toward Sherwood and arrived at Quailhurst Vineyard Estate. Yes, there's a vineyard there, but you've really just driven into horse country. From the huge multi-horse barn to the dressage ring and the immaculate grounds, you know there's a lot of money in this place. The tasting took place in a large tent erected for the event across the drive from the dressage ring. The tasting staff were knowledgeable and friendly and the food was pretty nice too. They were tasting a vertical of their estate Pinot Noirs from 2001 through 2008 along with a couple of white blends, a rosé, and several vintages of the PN port. The whites were not very good - little fruit and somewhat bitter and thin. The Pinot Noirs were all pretty good, each showing what we would have expected for those vintages that we were familiar with (2003 through present). The ports were OK, with the older (2005) being the best. The 2007 port hadn't integrated well yet and was harsh.

Our last stop of the day was a favorite from Memorial Day: Alloro Vineyard. David was tasting most of the same wines that he had tasted last time we were there. We tried all 3 2007 Pinots - the estate, the Winery Block, and the Church Block. All were wonderful, but our favorite was the all Pommard clone Church Block. Interestingly, I looked back at our Memorial Day notes and we had preferred the Winery block then, thinking it more interesting than the Church Block. David said that the Church Block had evolved quite a bit over the summer. Interesting! They also had their wonderful Riesling and (I believe) a very nice Chardonnay. They will be open over the Thanksgiving weekend (as well as the weekend before) and will be tasting a new 2008 Pinot Noir - 3 Gables. We'll be there for sure!

On Monday we headed south along Hwy 47 toward more familiar territory. Our first stop was Sejourné's new tasting room in McMinnville for their 2007 Pinot Noir release party. It turned out that about 8 of us arrived at the same time so we all sat down at the bar and Kevin poured for us all and described each wine. I can't remember everything he poured, but the wines included the brilliant 2008 Pinot Gris and Chardonnay (both done in stainless), a Rosé from Arcane cellars (not very good), the 2007 Pinot Noir (good, but probably too early to drink) and the 2006 Zenas Meritage (very deep and rich). So far we like their whites better than the reds, but they are definitely on the watch list for the future. And, one of the nicest rosés we've had has come from them too.

We then headed out 99W toward the Dundee Hills and arrived at Domaine Serene. They have developed quite a reputation for great Pinot Noir, and we've enjoyed their wines a couple of times. We first visited a couple of years ago and bought a bottle of the 2004 Evenstad Reserve PN - the most expensive wine we'd ever bought at $52. When we went back last year to try the 2005, they had sold out (it had been one of Wine Spectator's top 100 wines of the year that year). Fortunately I was able to buy a bottle from a wine merchant, but we'd never tasted it. So, one of the reasons for our trip now was to make sure we got to taste the 2006 before they sold out. We did, and were a little underwhelmed. It was a very good wine, but it just didn't push our button the way we remember the 2004 had (especially Rachel). We also tasted their Two Barns PN, and wonderful Chardonnay, and a Rockblock Syrah (meh).

Addendum - we returned to Domaine Serene the next weekend because they were having a reserve tasting that included the 2005 Evenstad Reserve! It was more like we had remembered the 2004 - a taste that Rachel describes as "pine." So, we are now confident that our bottle of 2005 that is resting quietly will yield great enjoyment when eventually opened. We also tried the 2005 Jerusalem Hill PN (wow, very nice) and the 2005 Mark Bradford PN (wow, even better).

Our next stop was White Rose Vineyard right across the road. We had tried to visit there in the past, but they weren't open. Before we get to the wine, a quick note to winery architects - when designing a tasting room on a hill overlooking one of the most beautiful sights in the Dundee Hills, add some windows! You walk up from parking next to the vineyard, taking in the incredible view and end up in a dark, cave-like tasting room. What were they thinking??? They make only Pinot Noir, and were tasting 4. They were all OK - well made, technically good, but seemed to lack character and personality.

As we were driving down from White Rose, we thought maybe we should stop at Winderlea again. This was a new winery at an old vineyard (Goldschmidt) that we had stopped at about a year and a half ago right after the new owners took over. We weren't terribly impressed, but wanted to give them another chance. Sadly, they were closed. So, we decided to head back toward home toward our last stop. However, as we drove up over Worden Hill Rd, we saw that Bella Vida Vineyard was actually open! Every time we've ever driven by in the past, they've been closed, often with a "sold out" sign up. We turned into the driveway and happily started up the long gravel drive. Then it got steep. Fortunately, although they haven't paved it, they have put narrow cement "tracks" on the steepest part and there are signs that tell you to keep your tires on the cement tracks. Fun. We finally got to the top, and they too have a great view (and their tasting room has windows!). There is no winery here; Bella Vida is just a vineyard. They contract 3 well-know winemakers (Jacques Tardy, Jay Somers of J. Christopher, and Brian O'Donnell) to make wine from their grapes. The result is a wonderful lesson in how winemakers can influence the final product since the grapes all came from the same place. All 3 wines were very nice - the Tardy was still a little too young to drink, but had great structure and depth. The J. Christopher (Jay Sommers) was more approachable with good earthiness and red fruits. The O'Donnell was screaming "drink me now" and was very smooth and elegant. We bought a couple of boxed sets of all 3 and plan to hold a couple of tasting parties over the next few years with them.

Our last stop of the day was another local favorite - Kramer Wines near Gaston. Trudy, Keith, and the whole gang are a lot of fun, and today they had live music and good food. They were tasting through all of their wines (they make a lot of wines!) and also had Jon Jennison there pouring his Thistle Wines. We didn't make it through everything, but got a nice sampling of their whites (a couple of oaky Chardonnays, a Pinot Gris and a Muller Thurgau), and then moved over and had Jon's Pinot Blanc. Jon likes crisp, acidic, food-friendly wines, and his Pinot Blanc was just that. We then tasted through the Thistle Pinot Noirs (all quite nice), and moved to the Kramer reds. Trudy makes a range of Pinot Noirs from the simple estate blend, through several reserves, and some from specific areas of the vineyard. They mostly had 2006s which are not my favorites at this point. I loved the 2005 Cardiac Hill PN, and while the 06 is good, I don't like it as much. They were also tasting the 2005 Heritage PN from the oldest vines in the vineyard, and I liked that one very much.

We came home having bought more wine than we intended over the 2 days (don't we always?), but much of it will be put into storage for future years. We had a wonderful couple of days of tasting, and I feel blessed to live in the middle of beautiful Oregon wine country.

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).