Shameless plug for board member's wine

I was fortunate enough to have placed order #2 from Seth Morgen Long, a board member, former business partner, and internet friend.

Tonight, I decided upon an early birthday present to myself and opened the first bottle of his Chardonnay.

2014 vintage
Yamhill Vineyards, Yamhill-Carlton District, Willamette Valley
13% alc

Color: pale “yellow” with shimmering highlights of lime
Aroma: subdued, subtle with honey, lime, lemon, and (of course) freshly cut apples
Flavor: lime, lemon reappear with candied ginger, apple, and something herbal I just can’t put my mental finger upon
Finish: long, polished, refreshing
Other: no overt impressions of oak or heavy handed extraction.

Count me as a fan!

His site:

It’s filling out in the fruit department with air. Not losing its crispy acidity.

Thanks Peter, glad you enjoyed:) My notes show consistent with yours. I’m really happy with the 2014 and the 2015 in barrel is even more exciting. Yamhill Vineyards is a south-facing site at 400’-500’ with own rooted 108-clone from a 1984 planting. The vines are owner farmed, non-irrigated and rows run north-south, spaced wide. The 2014 fruit was hand picked the last week of September 2014 at about 21 brix and good flavors. I pressed it hard and long with as few rotations as I could manage. It settled for a few days and racked it off gross lees to one new barrel out of three and a half. No water, acid, sugar, yeasts or food was added, I used battonage very sparingly at the onset of fermentation. Malo took place naturally and the wine was sulfured after it completed. After about 11 months the wine was racked with lees to stainless steel to rest another 7 months. I racked it again in middle March 2016, adjusted sulfur and bottled unfined unfiltered 3/21/16. I’m excited to see how it develops in bottle. Made it with a lot of love. Thanks again for posting a note!

Aaaaaand

91 points, Neal Martin in The Wine Advocate
“Label worth keeping a look out for”

Tremendous first effort!

Very cool. I’m totally unfamiliar with this label. I thought my goal of drinking all the chardonnay in Oregon was nearly complete.

Is this distributed anywhere or in any local Portland shops?

I’ll let Seth answer for local shops or distribution, but his mailing list is open.

It was in a Sec newsletter this month. $49. Vinopolis appears to have it for the same price.

Michael

Had the pleasure of tasting it with Seth last week. Get some of this wine. He’s passionate about Chardonnay, shared his vision for the vineyard he is working with and most importantly, made a delicious wine.

Hi Brandon, as already noted, Vinopolis and Sec have it. On the list at Pigeon, Imperial, Coquine and Irving Street (soon). Happy to meet in person as well.

Thanks for following along:)

Thanks Anthony, really good to meet and taste with you too. Awesome lunch, look forward to next time!

Just grabbed 3. Looking forward to tasting!

Thanks Brandon!

I’ve been meaning to shit on this producer on the Expensive Oregon Chardonnay thread for a while, punk who comes out charging $50 for his freshman release of chardonnay? Why, because you’re friends with the folks at Arterberry?

I’m assuming this is sarcasm, but all kidding aside, wasn’t there some reference in that thread by someone to having resentment toward new producers jumping in the game at the highest price points? I’m too lazy to go check.

I don’t recall any feelings of resentment (also too lazy to check thread). However, there were quite a few, including me, that expressed surprise at such pricing by new entrants and a preference to stick to those with a track record when paying those prices.

I could easily (and probably do) have it wrong, Scott. I will likely miss out on a great wine, but I am of the same mind as you. For example, I feel like Crowley and Walter Scott came out with reasonable pricing and blew people’s minds with their chards, earning the tariff they now command on their top tier wines (which are still quite reasonable, IMHO).

Yeah, I don’t know if resentment was explicitly used, but both Jim Anderson and Marcus (and several others) expressed some reservations about the pricing of Seth’s initial release.

I am actually more intrigued by buyer behavior in this regard. I mean, at the end of the day, a winemaker can price his product any way he wants to - the real issue then becomes “does it sell”?

That’s one reason why I found the whole Maison Ilan saga so fascinating - why did people ever think it was a good idea to “bankroll” a brand new producer with no track record and no vineyards? Yet many Board members did exactly that.

I don’t know if it is because many folks seem to want a “deeper”, more meaningful bond with their winemaker, and supporting a fellow Board member may be their way of achieving that?

At any rate, I wish Seth good luck with his business.

As an economist my opinion is that if it sells in sufficient quantity the price is fine, regardless of how high the price. Not sure how much wine Seth made or how much he’s planning on making in future years, but it is a complicated, dynamic decision about pricing. I wish him well too.

Thanks Bob