John Paul stopped by yesterday to clean some kegs, and he dropped off a bottle of this. They had just bottled it, and he made me promise to drink in the next day or two before it went into bottle shock. This wine will be released in June.
The nose immediately showed spices - primarily cinnamon and cloves, followed by black cherry. The black cherries continued on palate, along a little Cameron funk, a hint of strawberries, and the spices. The mid-palate was solid, and the finish wasn’t quite as zingy as I normally expect from this bottling. My overall impression was that this was a serious wine. Dark, a little brooding, with not quite as much Cameron-Dundee Hills signature strawberry/raspberry aroma/flavor, and reflecting the vintage, a little fatter than the AFWE vintage versions. Really, really good.
In 2014, Cameron ended up with a lot more fruit than they’re used to. John didn’t significantly increase the amount of high-end wine he made, but pushed higher quality fruit into lower end bottlings. The Willamette Valley got fruit that normally would have gone into the Dundee Hills bottling, and the Dundee Hills got fruit that would normally would have gone into the Reserve bottling. IMO, this wine will blow away any other sub-$30 Pinot in the market. My strategy will be to go big on this and the Reserve bottlings, and maybe pick up less of the higher level releases, unless I can’t resist.
Thanks for the note, Rick. . . . will have to try a bottle.
Have you tasted the '14 Cameron Ribbon Ridge Pinot, yet? Tried a bottle 2 weeks ago in Portland . . . subsequently purchased a case at less than $20 a bottle. The best Oregon pinot I have ever tasted in that price range. Your note describing the Dundee Hill bottle could be describing the Ribbon Ridge Pinot.
Great note, Rick. The great thing about Cameron is that even if one doesn’t want to pay the increasing tariffs for Clos Eletrique and Abbey Ridge, John releases a great selection of other Pinots that are typically between $18-27 and excellent values.
I’ll continue to buy a few CE and AR bottlings each year, but I’ve been buying more and more of the WV, Ribbon Ridge and Dundee Hills in recent years to get my Cameron fix while the higher end bottlings sleep. Have yet to try the Reserve. Yet another bottle to seek out…
Nice note, Rick. I am curious what everyone has found in terms of “funk” levels in the Cameron pinots in recent vintages. I basically stopped buying after 2011 (in 2012 I bought 6) after tiring of the funk. Personally it became too distracting. I so love the energy and brightness of JP’s wines, but I began finding the funk to be a total bummer that ruined the experience for me. I am open to buying again but will probably need to find a bottling that is a little cleaner. Any advice is appreciated.
I have a high “funk” tolerance, but found minimal funk in the '13 Dundee Hills, Ribbon Ridge and WV PNs compared to prior vintages. My wife hates “funk” and she and some friends happily drank those bottles without saying a word. Have yet to crack any '14 PNs.
On the other hand, the '14 Chardonnay Dundee Hills consumed last summer had quite a bit of “funk.”
In my experience with the PNs the funk will blow off after getting some air (sometimes it requires a good bit of air) and the wine underneath is always great.
To me, the “funk” shows quite differently (and not as prominently) on the Chards - it’s less of a detractor.
Ron, for wines that you expect to pop and pour…I totally get this. If you don’t want to decant and/or wait an hour or two for the Pinot to come around, it’s probably safer to pass. Without some fairly major changes to Cameron’s operation, I can’t really see how the funk would be lessened? I’m not sure what the impetus would be? JP has been running Cameron since the 1980s. He must be getting in to his later 60s. The wines have never sold better since starting the operation in the mid 80s. He’s asking for higher prices than ever for the better bottlings and getting them. Why change?
The 2014 WV Cameron is honestly one of THE best $20 wines I’ve ever had. Maybe even $30. It’s so well balanced, interesting and drinking great already.
I’m assuming there was so much extra fruit that John didn’t have room for things in barrel so a lot of wine spent less time in barrel.
The funk is almost non-existent in the WV. I’ve not even tried the Ribbon or Dundee yet but I expect them to be even better.
I’m also going to have to do some investing…these are going to be dynamite in 8 years.
Richard – I checked my CT records and I’ve consumed 118 bottles of Cameron pinot in the last few years. I’ve certainly experimented a lot with various amount of air time and to my sniffer, the funk doesn’t blow off as much as I’d like. I don’t think JP needs to change anything and don’t expect him to. My question was more along the lines of checking in to see how recent vintages are registering to tasters. I have only been drinking Cameron consistently since the 2007 vintage and only had a handful of “old” bottles, so I guess I’m wondering if the Cameron style has always been and will always be, funky. In any case, I’m not here to complain and will buy what I enjoy; and what I enjoy will change over time. I still have a lot of Cameron in the cellar.
I just opened a '15 Giovanni two nights ago and loved it.
The '14 rose called Dazzle is a fantastic patio wine too.
I totally get Ron’s aversion to the pronounced funk; it’s sorta like dating a girl (or guy) with a big crooked nose. Of this I know. It can be distracting. Or so I hear. I happen to love Cameron funk. It’s quite variable on a bottle to bottle basis. Michael Alberty is a great source for Cameron at rock bottom prices. Sorry to shamelessly plug, but if you want some great Cameron at great prices…
Ron. Hard to imagine giving them more chance than that. I do find that the funk almost always wears off, but there’s no doubt people have different sensitivities. I also agree that it can take a lot longer than one might prefer. It can be a day or 2 in the fridge or several hours after opening. Slow Ox works but far too slowly for me, so if I get an appreciable whiff…it’s decanter time.
Most people pop $20 pinots to consume immediately…I usually do. Most of the OR producers we discuss produce “cheap” wines that can age nicely for several years, but it doesn’t stop the fact that you usually want to start drinking and enjoying within a day or two of purchase (shipment receipt) and < 30 seconds after popping the cork. I consciously exclude all Cameron Pinots from this expectation. YMMV. The good news is that there are a lot of other great entry level OR Pinots around.
I have Dave. Bought six and opened one. First impression is that I prefer the 2014. The composition is much different this year, with a good dose of Chard I believe while last year’s was primarily pinot gris. This bottle showed okay, but really fat, just a lot of material. It could yet grown on me though, so I’m withholding judgment for the moment. Last year I thought my first bottle was only okay and by the end of four I wished I’d bought more.
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