Winehunter: 07 Oregon Pinots

I know 07 has a lot of mixed opinions and mixed wines, but wine.com has a few nice offerings from solid producers:

Stoller SV Estate 07 - $21
Hamacher 07 - $24

Any thoughts on these? I can’t remember if I’ve had the 07 Hamacher, but if i did it was 2 years ago.

Haven’t had the '07 Hamacher, but as compared to retail, $24 is a very nice price. I had an '02 Hamacher this week that was really quite nice, but perhaps a better overall vintage than the '07.

I enjoy the '07 Stoller, though many on CT seem to have a less favorable opinion. I found it to have a lot of commonality with appellation bottlings from the Russion River or Sonoma Coast. While I got mine for $16/btl, $21 doesn’t seem unfair.

The CT reviews on the SV bottling look pretty good? But i trust WBerserkers more than CT.

My bad. I didn’t catch the bottle designation. The one I had was the “JV” which is rated a point or so less on CT. In any event, I liked it. And for the price on the higher rated SV, it seems like it would be hard to go wrong. My gut says, though I’ve only had one bottle and not the one you’re looking at, that Stoller might have gotten it right in this vintage. I’ve steered away from '07s from Oregon, but the Stoller bottle was one of several that suggested to me that I may have made a mistake.

The 07 Hamacher for $24 is a crazy good deal. Terrific producer of contolled style Pinots with good ageability. I sampled a bottle a couple months and it’s solid. Probably needs another couple years to hit peak. If you prefer '06 to '07 Oregon, best to look elsewhere.

RT

Who would prefer 06??

sadly, there are people still clinging desperately to their initial opinions on the vintage

2007 Hamacher? $24? An “extra-shitty” producer with a great track record of producing “shitty” wines and a “shitty” vintage. I’d say it’s a no-brainer.

I bought one of those discounted Hamachers and gave it a try last week. I was surprised to find it still in an early state of development. Many of the other '07s we have opened recently are drinking beautifully, but the Hamacher is solidly built. We drank half the bottle one night and corked it up. Last night, which was four days later, it was showing much better. Whenever a wine is better after lots of exposure to oxygen, I figure it should have remained in the bottle for additional years. Great deal.
I also picked up a couple of the Stoller, but have not tried them yet.

Peter Hickner

I got a sample of the '07 Stoller SV for my blog. Haven’t written it up, but I really liked it. The site gives a soft wine that I prefer in years like '07. Pretty, finessed, oak marked but nicely integrated. A nice wine and a great buy at that price.

Hamacher is always late-developing. And usually late-released.

Based on the OP and subsequent comments, I used some wine.com credit to pick up 3 of the 2007 Hamacher Pinot Noir Willamette Valley. Finally opened one tonight, and thought I’d share my short note:

Medium body. Black tea, sweet dark fruit, and a lovely salinity. Though for me, the nose was relatively closed and the finish, while pleasant, was medium/short. Most of the action here, and it’s very nice, is on entry through the mid-palate. Satiny texture with nice lift from the acid and sweet fruit. This is a pretty Oregon wine. Elegant and balanced, with no noticeable oak.

What is the next lowest price on wine searcher pro? (I let my membership lapse for now)

I find this to be largely what Hamacher Pinots are about. They also age deceptively well. I couldn’t resisit the Wine.com deal and don’t plan to peak for a couple years. Pricing currently ranges from $33 - $48.

RT

Eric makes terrifically well-balanced wines. His would be one of the handful of 2007’s I’d seek out.

I would still prefer 2006 because I prefer some fruit in my wine.

The countless number of threads filled with 2007 hyperbole only serve to show the palate-insecurity of those who like that thin vintage. (And I’ve certainly never heard Eric called a “shitty” producer by anyone - at least that I can recall.) It’s called “rationalization.”

But if it was that great a vintage, you wouldn’t see half-price wines from a producer as good as Hamacher.

What Chris said. +1.

Glad I saved my money, and cellar space, on 07s and went long on the 08s .

(-1) except re: Eric is not a shitty producer. I doubt almost 30 years of drinking Oregon PN has rendered my palate “insecure” as to them. And I love the 2007 vintage.

And if you don’t think early critical panning didn’t result in a perception that led to discount prices, well…

Jesus Christ, Chris. Are we going to do this AGAIN? No one ever assigned hyperbole to 2007’s wines, we’ve just been trying to tell you that they’re way better than your yak’s palate thinks they are. The reason you see half-priced Hamacher wine isn’t because the vintage is bad, it’s because idiots like yourself have proclaimed that it’s bad and the sheep of the world believe you. Oh . . . and by the way . . . I have some coastal property in Yuma if you’re interested.

You want fruit? Try some Manischewitz.

Truth In Lending Notification - I’ve sent Chris an email to make sure he knows that this post is all about raising hell and isn’t the least bit serious. Don’t anyone start lobbing mortar rounds, please.

2007 is a terrible vintage. In fact, it’s the worst in recent memory. Horrible, terrible. Don’t buy them. In fact if you did buy them, you should auction them off quickly while you can still get a 10 cents on the dollar. Meanwhile those of us with no palates and no experience will continue to buy them while giving each other knowing winks…

100% agree with Bob. If you buy wine for the trophy aspect, avoid 2007. If you buy wine because you like to drink it, 2007 is undervalued.

Rachel;

I buy wine because I like to drink it, and I’m quite sure I will be much happier, in the long term, having spent my money and saved my cellar space for the Oregon 08s. But if you like the 07s better, then to each his own.