P i n o t P e r f e c t i o n: O r e g o n F i n d s I t s S o u l
© by Richard Fadeley
A f t e r a b r i l l i a n t 2 0 0 8 v i n t a g e , O r e g o n h a s b e e n s t r u g g l i n g w i t h l e s s t h a n i d e a l w e a t h e r , b u t s o m e h o w t h e y s e e m t o b e w i n n i n g t h e b a t t l e . I t i s a s i g n o f j u s t h o w f a r t h e y h a v e c o m e i n a d a p t i n g t o t h e i d i o s y n c r a s i e s o f t h e h e a r t - b r e a k g r a p e , p i n o t n o i r . T h e y h a v e a l w a y s s e e m e d t o b e p e r f e c t l y s u i t e d f o r p i n o t g r i s a n d c o n s i s t e n t l y p r o d u c e w o r l d - c l a s s w i n e f r o m t h i s A l s a c i a n g r a p e t h a t p a i r s w e l l w i t h s a l a d s , c h e e s e , a n d t h e i r l o c a l s a l m o n .
R a n k i n g f o u r t h b e h i n d C a l i f o r n i a , W a s h i n g t o n a n d N e w Y o r k , t h e y a r e c o n t e n t t o c o n c e n t r a t e o n f i r s t - r a t e w i n e . I w i l l n e v e r f o r g e t m y f i r s t t r i p t o P o r t l a n d f i f t e e n y e a r s a g o , a n d e n j o y i n g a p i n o t g r i s w i t h t h e l o c a l o y s t e r s ; i t w a s a p e r f e c t m a t c h . A n d l a t e r t h a t d a y p u l l e d o f f t h e p e r f e c t a w i t h a R e x H i l l p i n o t n o i r w i t h P a c i f i c s a l m o n o v e r d i n n e r .
D a v i d L e t t o f E y r i e V i n e y a r d s i s c r e d i t e d w i t h p u t t i n g O r e g o n o n t h e p i n o t n o i r m a p w i t h h i s a w a r d w i n n i n g 7 5 p i n o t e n t e r e d i n t h e 1 9 7 9 W o r l d W i n e O l y m p i c s . T h e y h a v e b e e n i r o n i n g o u t t h e w r i n k l e s e v e r s i n c e , a n d t h e i r e f f o r t s a r e s t a r t i n g t o s h o w . B e i n g a b l e t o p r o d u c e e n j o y a b l e w i n e s i n l e s s t h a n d e s i r a b l e w e a t h e r o n l y c o m e s f r o m e x p e r i e n c e , w h i c h t a k e s t i m e . T h e y s e e m t o h a v e m a d e t h a t i n v e s t m e n t .
F o r t h i s t a s t i n g w e a s s e m b l e d e i g h t e e n w i n e s , o f v a r i o u s s t r i p e , a n d t a s t e d t h e m w i t h a n a p p r o p r i a t e a s s o r t m e n t o f f o o d ; S t i l t o n c h e e s e , h o m e m a d e s h r i m p d i p , h u m m u s , o l i v e s , s m o k e d s a l m o n w i t h t r i m m i n g , a n d b r e a d , a l l o f w h i c h w a s p e r f e c t l y a t h o m e w i t h t h e s e e a s y g o i n g w i n e s . P i n o t n o i r i s a l s o n i c e w i t h c h i c k e n , s a l m o n , g r i l l e d p o r t o b e l l o m u s h r o o m s , o r a p o r k t e n d e r l o i n , a n d o f c o u r s e g r i l l e d d o v e , q u a i l , o r d u c k .
C h a t e a u S a i n t e M i c h e l l e i s i n n e x t d o o r W a s h i n g t o n , b u t c l o s e e n o u g h ( i f y o u c a n t f i n d a n A r g y l e f r o m D u n d e e ) , a n d y o u c a n a l w a y s m a k e r o o m f o r a s p a r k l e r . P a r t i c u l a r l y a w e l l p r i c e d e x a m p l e l i k e t h i s . N i c e w i t h o y s t e r s , s m o k e d s a l m o n , s u s h i , s h r i m p , o r e v e n a t i r a m i s ˘ f o r d e s s e r t .
A c r o b a t m a k e s a n i c e r o s é a t a n a f f o r d a b l e p r i c e , w h i c h s e e m t o g o w i t h e v e r y t h i n g .
T h e p i n o t g r i s h a s a l w a y s b e e n a f a v o r i t e w i t h n o t h i n g b u t i m p r o v e m e n t o v e r t h e p a s t d e c a d e . T h e y a r e p r o d u c i n g l e s s o f , b u t b e t t e r q u a l i t y c h a r d o n n a y a n d w e f o u n d a n i c e e x a m p l e i n t h e L o u b i j a c f r o m t h e W i l l a m e t t e V a l l e y ( p r o n o u n c e d w i l - L A M - e t t e w i t h t h e a c c e n t o n t h e s e c o n d s y l l a b l e ) .
T h i s i s a g r e a t i d e a f o r a w i n e c e n t r i c t r i p . P o r t l a n d i s a p r o g r e s s i v e t o w n w i t h a v i b r a n t n i g h t l i f e a n d r e s t a u r a n t s c e n e a n d w i n e c o u n t r y i s j u s t a s h o r t 3 0 - m i n u t e d r i v e d o w n H w y 9 9 W . S t o p a n d g e t a m a p a n d s p e n d t h e n e x t f e w d a y s k n o c k i n g a r o u n d o n e o f A m e r i c a n s u n i q u e w i n e p r o d u c i n g r e g i o n s . L o t s o f e s o t e r i c r e s t a u r a n t s , n i c e s c e n e r y a n d p e r f e c t w e a t h e r ( i n t h e s u m m e r a n d f a l l ) . D r i v e o n d o w n t o E u g e n e , p a s t t h e c a p i t a l , S a l e m ; a n d m o r e w i n e r i e s . I f y o u h a v e t i m e y o u c a n s c o o t o v e r t o t h e c o a s t a n d C a n n o n B e a c h ; a m o s t u n u s u a l c o a s t l i n e . O t h e r w i n e r i e s t h a t a r e w o r t h s e e k i n g o u t a r e L a n g e , R e x H i l l , S o k o l - B l o s s e r , P o n z i , A r g y l e , W i l l a m e t t e V a l l e y V i n e y a r d s , B e n t o n L a n e , a n d S w e e t C h e e k s ( i n E u g e n e , i f y o u h a p p e n t o g e t t h a t f a r s o u t h ) ; a s w e l l a s t h e o n e s w e h a v e m e n t i o n e d h e r e . T h e r e i s a l o t t o d o a n d s e e i n a n d a r o u n d P o r t l a n d , p l a n a t r i p .
W e h a v e s u g g e s t e d a f e w o f o u r f a v o r i t e s , b u t l e t u s k n o w w h a t y o u t h i n k .
O r e g o n W i n e R e v i e w
| Whites, Rosé & Sparkling: | ||||
| Cht. Saint Michelle NV Brut | ***1/2 | Always Appropriate & Best Buy | $ 10 | |
| Acrobat '12 Rosé | ***1/2 | Very Tasty Pink! | $ 10 | |
| Loubejac '11 Chardonnay | **** | Lightly Oaked Chard! | $ 15 | |
| Four Graces '12 Pinot Gris | **** | Our Favorite PG! | $ 19 | |
| Maysara '11 Pinot Gris | **** | Another Favorite | $ 28 | |
| King '11 Luminous Pinot Gris | **** | A 1-of-a-Kind, Lovely Hued Wine! | $ 18 | |
| Joel Gott '12 Pinot Gris | ***1/2 | Nice Wine & Best Buy | $ 13 | |
| Corvallis Cellars '11 Pinot Gris | ***1/2 | Crisp and Tasty! | $ 15 | |
| King Estate '12 Pinot Gris | ***1/2 | Another Favorite! | $ 18 | |
| Acrobat '12 Pinot Gris | ***1/2 | A Best Buy! | $ 12 | |
| Pinot Noir: | ||||
| Panther Creek '09 Winemaker s Reserve | **** | Our Top Rated Pinot! | $ 22 | |
| Pali '11 Willamette Pinot Noir | **** | Another Winner! | $ 18 | |
| Maysara Pinot Noir, McMinnville | **** | Another Pleasant Blend! | $ 20 | |
| Four Graces '10 Willamette Valley | **** | Very Drinkable Pinot, Nice With Salmon! | $ 27 | |
| "Grochau Cellars '10 ""gc"" Willamette" | **** | A Recent WOTW! | $ 22 | |
| Loubejac '10 Willamette Valley | **** | A Personal Favorite! | $ 18 | |
| Firesteed '11 Pinot Noir | ***1/2 | Nice, Light Bodied Wine! | $ 15 | |
Our four-star rating system and how it might compare to the WS 100-point scale:
* Decent (80-83)
** Good (86-87)
*** Very Good (87-89)
**** Excellent (90+)
All ratings are only the opinions of our tasters and not meant to offend your personal favorites.
September 2013
To contact Richard Fadeley, write him at webwineman@hotmail.com
