March 19th 2010: Oregon Pinot Noir

This one’s gonna be fun. I’ve put together six wines from 4 different vintages all from small, quality oriented, wineries. I know, everyone wants to taste the new 08’s and we do have 3 of those for you. But the overall range of wines will make for a very interesting comparison. I’ll explain about the wines below;

THE LINEUP/ ALL OREGON PINOTS

2006 720 Cellars, Willamette Valley      $18   Talk about small, the name 720 comes from the square footage of the winery!!!! This is  a delicious inexpensive Pinot with a reduced price because of the economic situation.

2008 Seven Devil’s, Willamette Valley    $19   I was very impressed by this wine when I tasted it a couple of weeks ago. From Carlton Cellars who make the expensive “Roads End” Pinot. They’ve never had an inexpensive Pinot before but if all you have to sell is a $50 Pinot you’ll be hurtin’ for cash flow in these times! From excellent vineyard sources.

2008 Evening Land Vineyards, Oregon    $25   Many of you have heard about this project. These folks procured a long term lease on Seven Springs and Anden vineyards in the Eola/ Amity Hills. The wines are consulted by Dominique Lafon of Meursault and Volnay fame and made by a French female winemaker. Lafon is one of THE names for great Burgundy (white and red) and this project has received huge press recognition because of him. This wine  reduced is from 30% Seven Springs fruit blended with other select Oregon Vineyard sources. Last year they had only 3 Pinots; $50, $100 & $150 for the three. This year they thought best to have a semi inexpensive one. Good thinking!

2005 Stony Mountain, Estate    $28   Yep, a 2005! We’ve been selling this wine for over a year. The owner only places the wine in a few select shops and restaurants. It’s one of the most respected vineyards in the state. I hadn’t tasted it in a while and when I opened a bottle recently I was knocked out. It’s simply beautiful and drinking perfect right now. A great wine at a great price from a superb vintage. Small quantity/ big quality. Giddyup!

2007 De Ponte, Dundee Hills     $40   This winery has been my best find of the year. They’re relatively new but I kept hearing great things about their wines and finally tasted them a few months ago and was floored by the quality. If I can talk them out of 100 or so cases of their 08 you all will be seeing an offer on these guys from me. Excellent Pinot with a nod towards Burgundy in style.

Premium Pour ($5)

2008 Bergstrom, “Shea Vineyards”    $45             I was impressed with the 08 Willamette bottling which we poured at our last Or. Pinot tasting and have been selling it steadily since. The “Shea” is in another league! 2008 has the huge rep and this wine is a great example of why. We’ll be doing a lot more offerings this year as these great 08 Oregon Pinots hit the market.

Well, there you go and here I am,
Sandy