Valentine's Day Weekend Wine Tasting

Valentine's Day weekend has turned into somewhat of a big tasting weekend among Oregon wineries - not as big as Memorial Day or Thanksgiving, but many wineries open their doors to the public or hold special events. On Saturday, Rachel was officiating at a high school district swim meet (Tim was swimming), so I headed out on my own. It's less fun going wine tasting by yourself, but a lot better than not going at all.

My first stop was a port and chocolate tasting at a new restaurant in Dundee - Farm to Fork. We've not yet eaten there, but certainly plan to soon. The menu features fresh local ingredients and an extensive wine list. Today however, a representative from Kopke was there to sample Port. Each port was paired with chocolate made by Cocoa Velvet, a Portland-based chocolate maker. The Ports ranged from a ruby and a tawny, to a 10 year vintage-style port to an amazing "Century Port" made using a solera system over 100 years old. It was very good, but very expensive.

I then headed back north into Carlton to Scott Paul Wines where Scott Wright was pouring Burgundy from cult wine superstar Lucien Le Moine. It's rare to even find this wine available for sale, much less open for a tasting, so I wasn't going to miss it. All the wines were from the 2007 vintage. We started out with a (white) Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru which was sharp, crisp and very minerally. I really enjoy white Burgundy with it's often austere fruit and great acid. Next it was a Chambolle-Musigny les Charmes 1er Cru with darker fruit and earther, toasty tones. The Vosne-Romanée Beaux Monts 1er Cru was brighter and fresher with more light fruits, while the Pommard Grands Epinots 1er Cru was fruitier and riper. Finally, the Echézeaux Grand Cru was amazingly earthy and complex. Scott said it would be much better in a few years, but I thought it was drinking pretty well now. All the wines except 1 were over $100 a bottle, so while it was wonderful to taste them, I didn't get anything. Scott was also tasting through his own wine and a few Burgundies from his normal lineup, and I ended up going home with a couple bottles of the newly released 2007 vintage of his flagship Pinot Noir La Paulée. It's a great restrained and elegant Oregon Pinot. Interestingly, the Lucien Le Moine wines were sold out before I left, so anyone who came later in the day missed out on the tasting.

Next it was off to Penner-Ash for a vertical tasting of their Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Penner-Ash makes some very nice wines, and they also have some of the best events at their winery, usually paired with some really nice food. I started out with their 2008 Viognier which Rachel and I tried at Thanksgiving. It is an excellent example of a Viognier with good acidity and a spicy finish. Next it was on to the 3 vintage vertical - 2006, 2007, and 2008. The 2006 was of course the biggest and ripest of the bunch, while the 2007 was more restrained and elegant. The 2008 was a surprise since I had been expecting more fruit than the '07. It was also fairly light with bright strawberry and not quite the earthiness of the 2007. Of the 3, the '07 was my favorite. Finally, their 2006 Syrah. They source the fruit for this wine from the Rogue and Columbia valleys and it's a fine example of warm climate Syrah, although I much prefer the pepper and spice of cool climate Syrah myself.

My last stop of the day was Styring, a family-owned winery that Rachel and I had been to over Memorial Day weekend a couple of years ago. Our impression at the time was very nice people, pretty average wine, and today's visit reinforced that impression. The Styring family and their staff are all very nice people and made me feel very welcome. They were serving 5 wines, each paired with a snack. The first was their 2008 Pinot Gris paired with Prosciutto and melon (the fruit, not the varietal). The Gris was well made with pretty good acidity. Next was their 2006 "Signature" Pinot Noir with Italian Truffle cheese, and then the 2006 "WIT" Pinot Noir with black truffle oil and bread. This PN was pretty good, although a bit too big and fruity for my taste. They then poured their new 2007 Cab Sauv from the Columbia Valley and paired that with Champignon cheese and chocolates (always a nice pairing!). The wine was tannic and slightly bitter, but that may soften over time. Finally, they poured the 2004 "Afterglow" dessert wine - a wonderfully balanced sweet Riesling. This was paired with assorted tea cakes and was the best wine of the bunch.

On Sunday Rachel joined me after church as we headed out to some old friends and something new. We started with our own local winery, David Hill, which is literally about a 5 minute drive up the hill from our house. Every year they do a chocolate, Pinot and Port tasting featuring hand made chocolates by the tasting room manager Michele, and of course their great wines. This year they paired different chocolate offerings with one of their 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir, the wonderful 2006 Merlot, Jason's new Ruby port and the usual muscat port. All were excellent, although I thought that the muscat was slightly bitter by itself. However, it was an amazing pairing with Michele's chocolate with Grand Marnier.

We weren't sure where we wanted to go next, so we headed south toward the Dundee Hills (there's always good wine there!). We had tried Winderlea wines a couple of years ago just after they'd bought the old Goldschmidt vineyard and built their tasting room. At the time, we weren't very impressed, but wanted to go back and try them again since we know that great wine can come from that vineyard. Today they were pairing gourmet cupcakes with the Pinot and the tasting room was quite crowded. We found a spot at the bar that turned out to be right next to some swim parents that Rachel knew from another swim club. They were out tasting also, and we had a nice chat with them while we tasted. We started out with a wonderful 2007 Chardonnay - lightly oaked with great fruit (apple and tropical fruit) and good acidity - yum! This was followed by 3 Pinot Noirs, all of which were really quite nice. Either our palates had changed since we last tasted their wines, or the wine has improved. The 2007 Ana vineyard PN was earthy with red fruit, the 2007 Winderlea Estate PN was fairly light with subtle fruit, and the 2008 Dundee Hills PN had a hint of earthiness and bright red fruits. We discovered that their winemaker is Robert Brittan, whose own label PN we had tasted and liked at the Carlton Winemaker's Studio in January (oops, I forgot to write a blog entry about that!). All in all, a very pleasant surprise. By the way, we saved the cupcakes for the boys.

Just down Worden Hill Road from Winderlea is Crumbled Rock Winery, a relatively new kid on the block. The Juliard Vineyard has been producing great Pinot grapes for years and had been under contract to Dick Erath, but in 2007, the owners decided to build a small winery and start making wine commercially. 2007 was their first vintage under their own label, and it was pretty good. We also got to barrel taste the 2008, and I think it's going to be excellent. We'll be back once they've released it. Because they only had the one wine, they invited 2 other vineyard owners to come taste with them - Deux Vert and Cleo's Hill. We've been drinking wine made from Deux Vert grapes for years (Elemental Cellars and Roots to name a couple) and it was fun to meet the vineyard owners Mike and Patty Green. Mike was tasting a Melon de Bourgogne made by Macindoe Family Cellars, and was looking for the usual confusion on our faces when he mentioned the grape variety. Instead, we looked pleased, and said "OK, great." "You are familiar with Melon??" he said incredulously. We explained that we very much enjoyed Melon, and had tried various wines from Elemental Cellars, De Ponte, Panther Creek, and Roots. He was floored and took an instant liking to us. He meets one person every few months who has ever even heard of the grape, much less fans. Anyway, the wine was fantastic - crisp and acidic with nice clean fruit. His wife was also making Tempranillo from grapes on their property (another of our favorite varietals) and we tried both the 2007 and 2008. Both were great, but the 2008 was a standout with spice and pepper. We'll definitely make it a point to attend any upcoming events at their vineyard (they promised tapas in the vineyard this summer - how cool would that be!). The other vineyard making their own wine was Cleo's Hill. I could swear we've tasted them before, maybe at 12th and Maple, or somewhere else, but I couldn't remember. The vineyard owner said that we looked familiar to her, but she couldn't remember where either. They had a couple of very nice Pinot Noirs also. It's always so much fun to talk to the grape growers themselves, and we had a fantastic time here.

Our last stop of the day was Vista Hills - one of the most beautiful tasting rooms in the Willamette Valley. We've has their wine a couple of times, and it was good, but not great. They have their wine made by several different winemakers including Laurent Montalieu, Michael Stevenson of Panther Creek, and Isabelle Dutartre of De Ponte. Most of their Pinot Noirs that we've tasted made by Laurent have an incredible nose, nice mid-palate, and almost no finish (where did it go?), although today they had a bit longer finish. Michael's wines were all very good, but the surprise of the day was the last wine that wasn't even on the tasting list. We can usually build a pretty good rapport with the pourer if he or she knows anything about wine, and we had a great talk with the guy here. He told us he had one more wine that wasn't on the list that he'd be happy to let us try. It was their 2007 Saga Hills Pinot Noir, and it was wonderful - big and fruity for an '07, but very structured and well balanced with a long finish. We figured it was another of Michael's wines, but it turned out to have been made by Isabelle from De Ponte. This was surprising because we just haven't been all that impressed by De Ponte wines in the past, so we may need to go back and taste again sometime. With a trunk full of wine and smiles on our faces, we headed home.

Today was a day of pleasant surprises. We had expected David Hill to be good, and it was, but the other wineries all turned out better than expected. Winderlea and Vista Hills were places that we had visited in the past and had come away with our socks still on our feet, but today both exceeded expectations, and we'll no doubt be back again. Crumbled Rock, however, was easily the high point of the day - friendly people who are passionate about what they do, and some really nice wine. It was such a pleasure to talk with the Greens from Deux Vert, and we're really looking forward to Crumbled Rock's 2008 PN.

Pre-Memorial Day Wine Tasting

Memorial Day weekend is the big event in the Oregon wine lover's calendar. Nearly every winery in the state opens its doors and hosts an open house - many offering live music, barrel tasting, cave tours, tasty food, or other special perks. It's a great opportunity to visit many wineries that are not normally open to the public, but unfortunately things can get pretty crowded. However, for many years, the weekend before memorial day has been the time that those in the know have traveled out to visit those special wineries, getting to taste newly released wines or barrel samples without having to brave the crowds. More and more people are figuring this out, but it's still less crowded than Memorial weekend itself. Rachel and I ventured out this past weekend while the boys were at a swim meet in Washington, and had a whole series of wonderful winery visits.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures, but try to envision the perfect day in wine country - clear skies, temperatures in the mid-70's, bud break on the vines, and rolling hills of red clover. It really doesn't get much better than this. We kept gloating to ourselves, "We actually live here!"

We started out on Saturday around 11am and drove to Penner-Ash winery. We have tasted there once before, but aren't terribly familiar with their wines. As we drove up the dirt road to the winery, I was somewhat concerned that we might be the only people there, it being before noon and all. Not to worry - their parking lot was full and cars were parked all along the road. Fortunately a car was pulling out of the parking lot just as we got there, and we got a great spot. Because we are on their mailing list and had RSVP'd for the event, we were told "you can just bypass the pay station." I like that! They really put on quite an event. Upstairs they were tasting their 2007 Riesling (off dry and crisp), 2008 Viognier (yeasty and interesting) and the 2008 Roséo rosé (fairly interesting). Downstairs in the winery itself they were serving a variety of their released reds along with a bunch of barrel samples. Most of the released Pinot Noirs were 2007s, and while there are some really nice '07's out there, most are more toward the subtle and restrained side rather than in your face like warmer vintages. We're told that this is a more typical Oregon vintage, and I appreciate it for what it is, but in general I tend to prefer the warmer vintages. Our favorites were the Carabella Vineyard (bright fruit, rose) and the Shea vineyard (darker and earthier, but certainly more subtle than some years). They also had a barrel selection called Pas de Nom which was very elegant, refined, and smooth, but perhaps not worth the $90 they wanted as a pre-order. The 2008 barrel samples were fun in that they were tasting the individual clones before blending. We thought that the Pommard clones were all fruit up front without much on the finish, the 114 clones added "zing" but not much else, and the 777 clones gave big fruit and some smokiness to the wine. The 115 clone from Bela Vida vineyard was really wonderful, and seemed to combine good fruit up front with a longer finish. Finally, they tasted a 2006 Syrah from southern Oregon that was very smooth for a Syrah, almost like a Pinot. In addition to the wine, the snacks were incredible - great cheeses, a carmelized onion tart, and a strange cheesy french toast among others. This was a very well done event, and the price (free) made it perfect. We brought home a bottle of the 2007 Shea vineyard Pinot Noir.

Next, we headed over to Calkins Ln. Faithful readers will recall that I attended the Calkins Ln event last month to pre-taste some of the wines. Our first stop was Arborbrook. Again, because we are on their mailing list, we had received a complementary invitation. In addition to the wines I tasted in April, they had just released their 2007 Vintner's select Pinot Noir and were barrel tasting the 2008 Estate Pinot Noir. The '07 Pinot Noirs that had been released so far had been good, but not as intense as I had been hoping. The Vintner's Select (a selection of the 4 best barrels) was everything I thought had been missing from the other 2007s: much more intense flavor and more smokiness/earthiness. For the 2008 barrel tasting, Dave had 2 samples: one that had been harvested in early October and one that had been harvested in late October. The earlier harvest showed more structure and layers, while the later harvest was fuller and rounder - almost sweeter although both were fully dry. Then he blended the 2 together for a really nice wine. We bought futures for the 2008 estate (the first time we've ever bought wine futures) and look forward to a really nice wine.

After Arborbrook, we drove up Calkins Ln and in less than a mile came to Lachini. In addition to the wonderful wines that I tasted during the Calkins Ln event last month, they were also tasting some of their older "library wines." The current releases were inside the tent that they usually set up adjacent to the barn, but they were pouring the library wines out under a portable gazebo on the grass surrounded by the vineyards. Not bad, not bad. They were pouring 2003-2005 Estate Pinot Noir as well as the 2005 Giselel's Cuveé. We have tasted the 2003 and love it (still have a couple bottles left), but had never tried the '04 or '05. The '04 was very spicy and interesting, while the 2005 was layered and more subtle. We tried to buy both the '04 and '05, but they were only selling the '04 in magnums, and we weren't prepared to do that. Near the lawn area, Lachini has a wonderful flagstone patio surrounding a huge oak tree. We grabbed a couple of lamb-kabobs and a lemongrass soda and settled in under the oak tree for a rest. It was so quiet and peaceful sitting there in the vineyard!

As we were turning onto hwy 240, we saw a sign that indicated that Shea Cellars was open. The Shea vineyard has some of the best Pinot Noir grapes in Oregon and they sell to many of the top producers. We first experienced wine from Shea grapes in the memorable Panther Creek 2003 Shea Pinot Noir, and we tend to collect Shea Pinots whenever we can. Shea also use some of their fruit to make their own wine under the Shea Wine Cellars label. They were tasting their 2007 Willamette Valley blend Pinot as well as a very nice Chardonnay. In addition, they had a number of barrel samples of the 2008 Pinot. The Chardonnay and the released '07 Pinot were very nice, but not spectacular. We again enjoyed tasting the clonal differences in the 2008 barrel samples, but were just blown away when we got to the 2008 Homer sample. Homer is their biggest, best Pinot blend, and I remember tasting the barrel sample of the '07 Homer last year and not being all that impressed. Well, the 2008 was amazing - big dark Shea fruit, with earth, smoke and minerals - really a wonderful wine. Given that we'd already primed the futures pump at Arborbrook, we also bought futures of the Homer. It's going to be really fun to open a bottle every year and see how it's evolving.

Moving on, we headed south toward Dundee and stopped at Maresh Red Barn. The Maresh vineyard is one of the oldest Pinot Noir vineyards in Oregon and they sell their fruit to some of the top wineries. In addition, they keep back some grapes and have it made (often by these same top wineries) into their own label wine. We had a delightful Pinot Gris that was light and crisp with lots of acid, and a couple of very nice Pinot Noirs.

Finally, we came into Dundee and stopped at Le Cadeau/Aubichon. This was the first time we'd tasted there, and had a nice chat with one of the four winemakers. Basically, they have a vineyard that they've divided amongst the four, and each takes his blocks and makes a Pinot Noir in the style they want. It was interesting to taste the different styles that the various winemakers produced from similar fruit.

That was enough tasting for the day, but we still had an appointment at the Scott Paul winery in Carlton for their Grand Cru Burgundy tasting class that evening. In preparation, we headed to the Golden Valley Brewery for dinner (no, I didn't have any beer). I had Tim's favorite burger there (the blackened bleu burger) and Rachel had a nice Cobb salad.

We arrived at Scott Paul a little before 6 and sat down at the long front table. Scott was pouring a nice Puligny Montrachet as a starter. Scott then talked about the various villages in Burgundy and their associated Grand Cru vineyards. Interestingly, it is the vineyard itself that has the Grand Cru designation, not the wine. Some of these vineyards are owned by many different producers, and each farms his rows and makes his wine the way he wants. The result is that just because a wine has "Grand Cru" on the label, doesn't mean it's going to be good. It just means that it comes from a vineyard that has the potential to make great wine. We tasted through 6 different wines, and all but the first were just wonderful. However, at the end of the day, perhaps my palate just isn't sophisticated enough to believe that the $125 to almost $300 a bottle is worth it. We really enjoyed trying the wines though, and it was obvious they were great wines, but we didn't buy anything.

All in all, a nearly perfect day. Good weather, great wine, fewer crowds, and a nice day out with Rachel. We're still looking forward to trying a lot of good wine over Memorial Day weekend, and this was a great warm-up!

What to do while the rest of the family is swimming?

OK, I admit it - swim meets are not my favorite way to spend a weekend. This weekend was the big Hawaii Five-O swim meet sponsored by our local swim club, so Rachel and Josh were busy working the meet all weekend, and Tim was swimming like a maniac (6 personal best times out of 6 events!). Fortunately, several local wineries were also having special events this weekend, so I was able to keep myself out of too much trouble!

First up on Saturday was the 2008 Chardonnay release party at Sejourne winery. They are a relatively new winery in the Willamette Valley owned by Kevin and Robyn Howard specializing in Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay. Kevin is also a principle in their family winery, Zenas in Carlton. Their estate vines are only a couple of years old, so they are sourcing fruit from other vineyards as they wait for their vines to mature. Here are my notes from the 4 wines they were tasting:

2008 Pinot Gris - very crisp and clean with good fruit. Would go well with mild seafood such as oysters, scallops, or simply prepared white fish.

2008 Chardonnay - this is touted as "no malo, no oak" and is also very crisp and clean with the fruit coming through very clearly. Somewhat more subtle than the Pinot Gris, this reminds me somewhat of a typical Chablis.

2006 Vidon Vineyard Pinot Noir - a dark and earthy Pinot with dark fruits, but not so earthy as those from Calkins Lane.

2006 Del Rio Syrah - A pretty classic southern Oregon Syrah, this one is very nicely done.

By the way, they made a killer rose at Sejourne that we bought last year, but they have sold out of it now. Today (Sunday) was warm and beautiful, and we had our first BBQ of the season - red sauce chicken with grilled brussels sprouts and zucchini. We popped open the bottle of Sejourne rose, and it was the perfect accompaniment to the meal as we dined on the deck.

After Sejourne, I headed in to Carlton. Scott Paul Winery was releasing their 2007 Audrey Pinot Noir and having an open house to celebrate it. In addition to their own Oregon Pinot Noir, Scott Wright also runs a Burgundy import business, and brings in some really nice Burgundies from several small producers. Burgundy is complex, and I'm still having a hard time keeping track of the various producers, vineyards, and wines. Today Scott and the staff were pouring 4 wines: 3 Burgundies, and of course the Scott Paul Audrey.

2007 Frederic Gueguen Village Chablis - very crisp and simple, with pure minerals. Done in 100% stainless.

2006 Domaine Thibert Pere & Fils St. Veran Champ Rond - We've purchased this wine before and I really like it. Very obvious notes of honey with a smooth vanilla finish. Apparently honey is a dead giveaway that it's a St. Veran.

2006 Domaine Aleth Girardin Pommard Vignots - A rich powerful Burgundy typical of Pommard, although very well balanced.

2007 Scott Paul Audrey - This is the first time I've tasted the Audrey, and it's really special. This wine is a barrel selection of Scott's favorites exclusively from their blocks at Maresh vineyard. Great extraction and depth, especially for an '07. Dark fruit with some minerals and a nice long finish. Silky smooth tannins.

The last event of the day was a barrel tasting and desert reception at David Hill Winery. Fortunately, Rachel was able to leave the swim meet a little early and join me for the fun at the winery.

We started off in the winery itself as Jason (winemaker) and Michele (tasting room manager) poured the current release of their Pinot Blanc. This is a nice acidic wine which should pair nicely with a variety of foods. This vintage (2007) was done completely in stainless, and Jason wanted to try something different, so he fermented the '08 Pinot Blanc in neutral oak. He pulled a sample of this out of the barrel to taste. It was quite different from the 2007 - it had a smoother mouth feel and a distinct oak flavor. It was good, but I prefered the clean crispness of the 2007.

Next up, we got to try samples of the BlackJack Pinot Noir. This wine is made from some of the oldest Pinot Noir vines in Oregon. Most everyone who knows anything about Oregon Pinot Noir has heard of David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards, aka "Papa Pinot" who brought Pinot Noir vines to Oregon in 1965 and started the Oregon Pinot revolution. What most people don't know is that Charles Coury came up from California shortly before David Lett and planted Pinot Noir at what is now the site of David Hill. The BlackJack Pinot is made from block 21 (get it? 21 - BlackJack...) of the vineyard from some of those original vines. This is a deep and earthy wine that is aged in something like 60% new oak. Our first sample was the 2008 from a French oak barrel. For such a young wine it was amazingly deep and complex. I suspect this is going to be quite a wine when it's released in a couple of years. To show us the difference a year can make, we next sampled the 2007 BlackJack from a similar French oak barrel. It was obviously a more mature wine with a more complex mid-palate and a longer finish. However, 2007 was a cooler vintage, especially near harvest, and this wine was lighter and more subtle.

Next, to show the difference the barrel can make, Jason pulled a sample of the 2007 BlackJack from a Hungarian oak barrel that he's trying. The nose on this one was almost non-existant, but it had a richer mid-palate with more oakiness. If I had to choose between the 2, I'd probably go for the sample in the French oak, but I think the addition of that one Hungarian oak barrel into the mix is going to make this a more interesting wine.

We then moved on to a sample of port. The current release of the Tawny Port is the last wine still being sold that was made by the previous winemaker. Jason doesn't care for the Tawney Port style, and gave us a sample of his vintage-style port (barrels kept topped up, less oxidation) and it was very good. I prefer a vintage-style over the tawney or ruby, and I think this is going to be a nice wine.

With the official tasting over, most folks moved up to the house for the desert and music. Jason was willing to hang out and answer questions, and a pretty good crowd stayed for that. During that time, he pulled a sample of the new Farmhouse Red from a tank for us to taste. This is one of the best $10 wines out there, and this new release promises to be a great one. Lots of Sangiovese as usual, but a higher percentage of Merlot and Petit Verdot gives this a little more structure and backbone.

We then headed up to the house to enjoy some of Michele's desert creations, port, and live music with the Dick Lappe band. We'd heard these guys before at David Hill, and I could listen to them all day. Dick Lappe is a big fan of Gordon Lightfoot, so they play a lot of his material, including a dead-on rendition of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. There were also some great folk songs including City of New Orleans and Wabash Cannonball. Michele's deserts were great too. How cool is it to live just 5 minutes from the David Hill winery? Good wine, fun people, and a beautiful setting - it's hard to beat.