Nah needed an appointment. Just gonna book something next time I go up. I'm a Duckhorn club member so I can drink there and Paraduxx for free, so all I really need is one other place and a lunch reservation to make a day of it.
Oregon Pinot Update: 2010's - Consensus both from my experience now and all three winemakers I visited Sunday are ready to drink now. These won't be the big 2009's most remember but have nicely aged and are ready for consumption...finally 2011's - Starting to turn the corner, have had some amazing ones recently and others that could have used another year or 3. 2012's - Ready now and for the next 2-3 years. Very intense fruit flavors out of this hot vintage but won't age particularly well like the 11's are doing 2013 - Leave in the cellar. Everything I tasted this weekend needed at least another year or two. Recommendations I was getting were actually 3-5 years. These will end up interesting since there was a 4 week rainstorm in the middle of harvest so some will actually taste more like 2012, while others are going to end up more like 10/11 2014 - Due to the incredibly hot and dry summer most wineries are starting harvest a month early. Should end up a lot like 2012. Went to Penner Ash, Bergstrom, and Colene Clemens.
need to get you to write up your go-to winery list all of these are ~1hr from where I'm at but I'm a wine newb
You're located down in Corvallis right? Closest to you that has some killer Pinot, even wine newbs should appreciate, is Cristom in Salem. If you want to make the trek up to wine country in the Dundee/Chehalem mountains area I can direct you to the correct places where the only appropriate response for anybody is please sir may I have another glass.
was in whole foods yesterday and saw a big "Oregon Pinot Noir" display. They're pimping Cloudveil. Grabbed a bottle.
Finally found the new thread, good to be back. Booked my tickets for this in October: http://boulderburgundyfestival.com/
From Wall St Journal http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-quest-for-reasonably-priced-domestic-pinot-noir-1440709105
Recently I've been going back to a Pinot noir called Planet Oregon from Soter vineyards every time I'm at the store.
I would add Rhone varietals, as long as the alcohol is in check, to the list. A $15 Cotes-du-Rhone is a great pairing as long as the alcohol stays under 14.5%--preferably in the 13s. Lower alcohol WA Syrah or GSM blends also do the trick.
should add that this tour includes a hard and fast $20 cap been surprised at the varieties I've found in that range
Rabid DistantFactor any pinot's that I should check out that I can buy locally at something like a Total Wine.
Don't know how widely available this is but I like Klee Pinot from Roots Winery http://www.rootswine.com/shop/klee-2012-willamette-valley-pinot-noir
On mobile,but I went out to their website and did some light browsing for Oregon Pinot. Based on that I saw a bunch at really good pricing. 2012 adalshiem estate for 20 2011 Shea estate for 35 2011 penned ash estate for 32 2012 evening land for 19 2011 Cristom Jefferson mountain for 25
They also had a 2011 Shea Homer for 68 which is normally $100 a bottle. There is now one less in stock.
For the cheap, Cotes du Rhone at Trader Joes...so good. Have clients that are vineyard members and I fully enjoy the gifts sent to me. Big Pinot lover but I just got a great Rose from a client that apparently is Brad and Angelina's I need to find the other nice bottles I've drank in the past... Can never remember their names.
25$ Cristom is ridiculous. And I really wish I could contribute more to this thread. Selling and drinking wine is literally my job, but California/Oregon (or just US wines in general) are just not my strong suit. :(
This is Rhone season, for me. Been drinking a lot of Sablet, Saint-Joseph, Gigondas in the past few weeks.
I'm trying to expand upon my Oregon Pinot boundary to foreign lands. What regions do you focus on primarily?
Then let's talk Burgundy. Burgundy, Rhone (especially Northern Rhone), Brunello di Montalcino, Washington (esp Walla Walla)
Do you have any specific wine makers you look for from Burgundy? Speaking of Burgundy, I opened a 2010 Penner Ash Zena crown and the fruit had really toned down and it tasted distinctly more Burgundian to me. Was really pleasant right now.
Burgundy, Jura, even Italy. Barolo and Barbaresco might be a bit too tannic, but a Langhe from the Piemont could be a nice option. It's often said that Nebbiolo is Italy's Pinot Noir.
If you like Oregon Pinots, perhaps try Perrot-Minot. Works really well, is a bit on the modern side, has a little bit of oak aging (mostly old oak), and is accessible early, though can be kept for a long time. Same for Meo-Camuzet. Jean Fournier, Olivier Guyot, Dugat-Py (for a more full body Pinot), Naudin-Ferrand, Camille Giroud, Bachey-Legros would be other winemakers to target. Try to focus on 2010 and 2012 in Burgundy. Amazing vintages, just like 2008. Go for 2011 if you want something a bit more green, earthy, as opposed to fruity, but I've found 2011 to really be hit or miss. Edit: Alain Gras, Bruno Clair Fanny Sabre if you want fruit bombs. Sabre is more on the Nature side, so drinking a 2010, 2012 is important, but those wines are light, fruity, just a lot of fun to drink. Amiot-Servelle, Pacalet, Nudant, Jeanniard, Liger Belair-Thibault are others. No idea about the availability in the US, but you're good to go with any of those and should be able to find at least one or two where you normally shop.
I have more Drouhin than anything else. The style is similar to DDO-higher acid, angular, need food. Bouchard Pere & Fils has a more rounded voluptuous style (think PA, Ken Wright, Dom Serene). Other big ones you can find all over and have good reputations are Louis Jadot & Faively. I buy by village as often as by producer. They aren't cheap but I think Volnay is a phenomenal value. It is a little rougher than Chambolle-Musigny (silk texture) not as dense and concentrated Vosne-Romanee (Iron fist in velvet gloves) and has some but not all of the spice of neighboring Pommard. But, to me, it is a nice triangulation of what makes the others great at a cheaper price. I think Gevrey-Chambertin (The powerful, "manly" side of Pinot renowned for aging) is a little overrated but that is based on 10 or so bottles and by no means the best of the village. Fixin is underrated (likely because it is so small) but hard to find and needs age. I would like to try more Morey St. Denis because I like what I've had. Good value at cheaper prices--if you can find it are Santenay, Chorey-les-Beaune & Mercurey. You can get those around $15-30. The Volnay is typically $30-50. Pommard (which I don't even feel is better than Volnay) is usually $10 more. Gevrey is often going to run $50+, Vosne-Romanee $70+ & Chambolle-Musigny $80+. There is village cru, premier cru & grand cru vineyards within that too which also sets prices. Personally I would much rather have Volnay PC than Gevrey-Ch village for about the same price. :2cents:
Since we are branching out and discussing wine from across the pond, I dislike the vast majority of Spanish wines I've drank. For some odd reason most that I've had taste like it's a bottle of wine that's been open for a week. Even when I got wine parings with a tasting menu at Picasso at the Bellagio I didn't care for the one from Spain. I had a rose a few weeks back that I liked.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1360779&searchId=0D8497DB#selected%3DW1360779_C42800281_K384c9a2ac053e30a802db2587eded062 This is a terrific Spanish wine that is widely available and good year in and year out. $18-22 I also tend to like Rioja. Crianza is a cheap ($8-12) Rioja that fruity Pinot drinkers should like as a change of pace. The aged stuff can be good too. I prefer the more traditional producers like Rioja Alta.
You just reminded me I need to take the time to update my cellartracker profile with my current stock. I am not exactly diligent about updating it for either add's or subtracts.
There are few better values in the world of wine than Cru Beaujolais right now. The wines I've had from Moulin-Vent, Cote Bruilly, and others are on point ight now.
Headed to Napa this weekend for the first time. Have appointments set at Duckhorn, Hall, Heitz, and Madrigal. Especially pumped for the Madrigal visit. It might not be the most popular wine on the list but I have a connection there and Chris Madrigal is giving us a private tour at no charge. Dinner Friday night is at Harvest Table, a Charlie Palmer restaurant in St. Helena then a wedding Saturday night at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. Any lunch recommendations around St. Helena or Calistoga?
don't know any of the names and haven't gotten to try them yet but went to whole foods on sunday and went down the pinot aisle and got about 5 different bottles from different oregon wineries. all between $16-22 so not bad at all
Farmstead at long meadow was somewhere I wanted to go but never got to Solbar is a Michelin guide pick me and the wife went to, is awesome but pricey. Amazing cocktails.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...eat-as-bordeaux-seeks-climate-proof-vineyards The Way That France Makes Wine Is About to Change Forever