2007 Scott Paul "Audrey" & 2007 Rivers Marie SC

WINE TALK
1

2007 Scott Paul Cellars Pinot Noir Audrey - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (5/12/2009)
Had next to the 07 RM SC over 3 days - Blind on the first day.
This was not giving much. Earthy. Reminds me more of Burgundy than U.S. After a few days I notices a stemmy quality (although I don’t think Scott uses stems). What a major contrast, on the palate, to the RM. Shows a greener earthy quality. Very structured. Not flashy and slightly closed down. Very nice tannin. Acid on the lighter side but correct. Some spice going on too. After a few days more of the fruit emerged through the middle. Tannin still showing but the wine is more awake and spry. This is a wine of structure. Burgundy like. As the nights and days went on I really enjoyed this. A bit of a bruiser at this stage but I think it will end as a beauty. Will need time. Wait 5-7 years. (91 pts.)

2007 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (5/12/2009)
Had over 3 days next to the 07 Scott Paul Audrey - Blind
At first smell I couldn’t place this. Could be Oregon, could be SRH. After smelling the Scott Paul, it was clear this was the RM. But at this stage the aromas are un-evolved and aggressive. The aromas really didn’t change over three days. The wine is plain tasty at this stage. Great fruit and solid acid. Light on tannin but it is there. As the evening went on the acid in this wine became fatiguing. The acid stayed slightly out of whack all 3 days. I love acid but this was a little too citrusy. Along with the fruit there is a bit of sweet cherry cola but it is not candied. I don’t see this wine making old bones but with a few years it should come into a better balance. A very nice value at $25. I plan to hold off for 2/3 years before revisiting. (89 pts.)

Cheers,

Jason

2

Thanks for the notes Jason. I don’t think I liked the RM as much as you but would agree it could probably use some rest.

3

Great notes Jason;

I wasn’t as fond of the RM as you either. My only thoughts was that it was as good as it’ll get. I believe the SP will only continue to improve with age. I just didn’t believe that the RM would. Wasn’t really balanced and the tannins to unstructured. Time will tell.

Let us know in a couple of years if you do the RM again and what you think!

4

Sounds like the '06 RM SC is quite a bit better than the '07 thus far…

5

youse guys are drinking without me???

6

Don’t even go there. Youse guys drink without me ALL the time…at least you get half the events, or more…

7

His question carries a tone of hypocrisy as Dietz drinks every day and night without us. He opens something from the work fridge for breakfast and lunch and then polishes off a couple bottles over dinner with the wife. The VP Doctor is dah man. [notworthy.gif] [drinkers.gif]

8

There’s more drama here than on a telenovela! [1974_eating_popcorn.gif]

9

Where do you think Dietz made his millions?

10

Well… the picture explains where I spent… on pretty women… and no regrets… [smack.gif]

11

Do you need someone to hold you [give_heart.gif]

We had these separately.

J

12

Thanks for the thoughts. We’ll see. I don’t expect the RM to improve greatly but I hope it mellows a little bit. Not one I would age very long.

I will say that my score is based on what I hope will be slight improvement. With the Scott Paul, I think it maybe conservative. It certainly has the structure to age but not sure it has the stuffing to become an elite wine. But great non the less. Give it to me any day of the week.

Jason

13

Yeah, I enjoyed the 06 more and think it has better stuffing for short term aging.

Jason

14

Why is no one mentioning how good the Scott Paul is? How about we shift focus and let everyone know how good the 2007 Oregon wines are going to be and how consistent Scott’s wines are.

15

Phillip

Jason gave the Scott Paul a 91 which I concurred and said the wine would probably improve with age. That is an “outstanding” score/rating, unless you’re on the RP inflated system.

Be careful with the Oregon WV 07 vintage. Some producers did very well, some did not. There was excessive rain during harvest which produced many problems for the producers. 08 will be a spectacular vintage, but let’s not get carried away and put 07 in that category. Some people ended up with watery, lean, vegetal wines. It was truly a winemaker’s harvest were many did not succeed.

16

Agreed. I do like 07 better than 06 but the wines are very different. I am really looking forward to the 08s and will go deep after being careful for 2 vintages.

Jason

17

I’ll be in Oregon all weekend and will report back on the 2007 vintage. However, from what I’ve already tasted (Ayres, Scott Paul, Drouhin, Belle Pente, Brickhouse, Bethel Heights, Brooks) I can attest to some great wines. It’s mostly going to boil down to style as well.

18

Agreed. Scott does not get as much love as the likes of Rivers Marie despite having wines of amazing quality and value. Some may remember that Scott used to make wine from the hallowed Pisoni vineyard. That was back in the day … in SLH terms. Thankfully he moved to better Pinot lands. But this wine is named Audrey … I think for Hepburn … we know that the big scores from WA and WS are reserved for Pam Anderson :slight_smile:

People should also pay attention to his Burgundy imports. He is a trusted source. I hear the BS about Burgundy being a minefield when all you need is a little help.

19

I look forward to your report. I can say the Evesham Woods and Westreys are top notch as well.

My plan is the go at the end of the year or early 2010 to taste the 08s.

Jason

20

I believe he has some Burgs under his name as well. Never had any of his wines yet. Thanks for the notes.