After seeing a number of people recommend this wine, I tried the 2007 Westrey Pinot Noir Oracle Vineyard. Oracle is in the Dundee Hills next to Abbey Ridge, with an old block from the late '70s brought back to life in the early part of this decade along with several more acres of newer plantings.
This wine is light ruby in color with a pretty perfume of soil, cherries, herbs and a little barrel spice. It’s light to medium bodied, silky and bright and round at once with nice depth despite a light frame. I thought I found a little VA at first, but with air and later with dinner it was so silky and nice with no trace of volatility.
People, this wine is available locally for $18 and maybe even less if you find a case deal. I wouldn’t think to cellar it too long, but for the next few years this is a steal. I suppose it might get more respect in a heavier bottle at twice the price. Or maybe I shouldn’t go there.
Nice note Vincent. Actually Westrey Winery if anybody looking. We’ve worked with every wine they’ve made over the past 5 years and have to say that the experience has been a delight. The wines are consistently good to very good, and Amy & David are the nicest people you’ll ever meet. They are totally allergic to self-promotion, so I will bend the Board’s rules and my own rules and chime in here to say that anybody who likes balanced wines and transparent wine-making from the WV will not be disappointed with Westrey.
Make it four times the price, throw in a gaudy facility with a view and a $20 tasting fee (instead of the one under the cell tower with the forklift by the door) and you’ve got a wine that will get compared to La Tache.
Thanks for the recommendation Vincent, this is a no-brainer purchase for us. Wonderful producer. I asked Steve to pick up a few on his way home from work.
I’ve been touting Westrey for years. I found little to enjoy in their 2006s, but that speaks more to vintage than Westrey.
I had a appointment to visit with them last October.
I thought I went to the wrong location when the Garmin StreetPilot told me I had reached my destination.
A run-down tiny clapboard building, maybe 1000 sq. ft., in the middle of a barren parking lot with no sign or marking. If it weren’t for the discarded Westrey bottles sitting out back I would have thought
I had come to the wrong place.
Unfortunately, there was no one there to greet us and calls placed over the next day went unreturned.
I just finished pouring the Oracle Vineyard by the glass yesterday and am now on to the Justice Vineyard, which IMO is the better wine in 2007. I’m a huge fan of Westrey from the pricing to the quality. I need to get out to meet David after harvest!
I gotta track down that Justice then. Love the Eola Hills. For those who don’t know, Justice is in the heart of the Eola Hills, below Bethel Heights, just above Zenith (old O’Connor vineyard), and near Cristom, Witness Tree, etc. Great location and a very promising vineyard.
Both the 07 Justice and Oracle are very much for real.
Mitch, the facility is something isn’t it. David’s generosity and depth of knowledge more than make up for the venue. Pretty sure he doesn’t have a lot of free time so it takes patience and understanding to land an appointment.
Bob…Come 'on. I recently tried a Pinot at the palace that I might have considered buying (at 75% off). Nice having some attractive people milling around for scenery. Some very good wine made a bit further down the hill, but why bother with Napa pricing when the real gems are still flying under the radar?
I was out and about in the valley today and found myself right around the corner from David and Amy’s so I thought I’d run over and see if they were around so I could pick up a couple of bottles including their '07 chardonnay, which I love. They were there all right, running at full tilt bottling the '08 Justice. David ran into the winery and dipped a glass into the tank (they were down to the very end) and handed it to me.
On a 1-10 scale, it rates an OMG! It’s very, very special.
FWIW, I prefer the Oracle to the Justice in '07 but not by a lot. I think it’s the classic Red Hills character.
Justice is owned and farmed by the same people who own Bethel Heights (the Casteels), but it is held in some form that’s different from the winery and the other vineyards.
So when’s that '07 Abbey Ridge going to be released?
I got a bottle of the '07 Justice tonight and will try it hopefully tomorrow night. Stay tuned for a comparison.
And no doubt on the '08’s excellence. Sure, it sounds like hype. But '08 is going to be crazy good. It was everything people want in a harvest here. Late, with good weather after a cool growing season, so lots of flavor ripeness without sugar ripeness, giving (in general) deep and layered wines with reasonable alcohol levels. I’m excited about my homemade wine, and from the several wineries I’ve sampled from barrel, it’s going to be terrific if a little primary at this point.
My preference for the Justice over the Oracle lies in the spice vs herbal notes. The Oracle, while very nice for the vintage, gave me more herbal notes than the Justice which plays more in the spice direction. It’s a personal preference on my part and along the lines of what my consumers are seeking in the wines they order off my list. FWIW, I’ve saved myself 1 bottle of Oracle and 3 Justice to compare down the road. I would have saved more Oracle, but couldn’t change my list in time to get more for myself. It’s always a problem for me to save wines from the BTG program for myself because if they are selling well, I often opt to let my customers have them. It’s cost my cellar quite a few times but making customers happy is why I’m having the best year in the history of our restaurant.
I am very interested in picking up some Abbey Ridge but the price hasn’t budged from release. I’ve purchased about as much 07 as I need to get through until next spring and adding more to the medium priced section of my Oregon Pinot list is not a priority as I head into the slow season. As much as I have enjoyed the 07’s, many of my customers read wine rags, preventing them from buying 07’s on principal because they have read that it was a tough vintage. On the other hand, I sold my last bottle of 06 Abbey Ridge to an MW two weeks ago on the premise it wasn’t an overblown 06. He was pleased to take my recommendation and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I’m pleased to still have a few in cellar to see how they develop. I’ll give the 07 a shot but won’t go long at the current price with the 08’s waiting in the pipeline.
I feel I should also mention that the reason both the Justice and Oracle are being found for sub $20/btl here in Oregon is that they have been line priced with the WV to move through the stock. IMO, a great move in this economy which has allowed them to price themselves into many BTG programs in the state and to gain a greater audience with the great 08’s on the way. The Abbey Ridge has held steady at the original release price but if it drops a few bucks, I will take a stance.
FYI for all of you Oregon Pinot freaks out there, the 08 Evesham WV has been released along with the 07 Le Puits Sec.
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