A case to learn Oregon Pinot Noir

[DougS]

I think you have to include beaux freres ribbon ridge. Definitely a benchmark wine for the AVA.

I’ve had Beaux Freres side by side with Patricia Green Ribbon Ridge wines, and the PG crushed it. By comparision, the BF seemed clunky and one dimensional (and oaky). I’d choose either PGC or Goodfellow to cellar long term without hesitation. Benchmarks are like records - they are until then aren’t. Buy the best.

I haven’t done a side by side, but I generally agree with this. BF is so expensive, too. I’ll take PG Etzel Block instead every time.

[M_Porter]

I think you have to include beaux freres ribbon ridge. Definitely a benchmark wine for the AVA.

I’ve had Beaux Freres side by side with Patricia Green Ribbon Ridge wines, and the PG crushed it. By comparision, the BF seemed clunky and one dimensional (and oaky). I’d choose either PGC or Goodfellow to cellar long term without hesitation. Benchmarks are like records - they are until then aren’t. Buy the best.

I haven’t done a side by side, but I generally agree with this. BF is so expensive, too. I’ll take PG Etzel Block instead every time.

So much praise for PG on this thread, and I’m a little embarrassed to have never tried it! I’ll definitely be giving it a shot this weekend.

[John_Mensch]

Below are some thoughts on five of the Willamette Valley AVAs, some vineyards and producers from those sites that I would recommend. If you want to explore the AVAs while eliminating the variable of producer, Patricia Green, Winderlea and J. Christopher are wineries that make great wines across several AVAs.

Dundee Hills: Bella Vida Vineyard (Belle Pente, J. Christopher), Winderlea Vineyard (Winderlea), Murto Vineyard (Winderlea, Belle Pente), Elevee (Elevee Estate), Maresh Vineyard (Winderlea, Arterberry Maresh), Domaine Drouhin.

Chehalem Mountains: Lia’s Vineyard (J. Christopher, Longplay), J. Christopher Estate, Arborbrook, Olenik Vineyard (Patricia Green, J. Christopher).

Ribbon Ridge: Beaux Freres Vineyard (Beaux Freres-BF Vineyard and Upper Terrace), Sequitur Vineyard (Sequitur, Walter Scott), Ridgecrest (RR Wines, Patricia Green), Eminent Domain (Eminent Domain Estate Reserve), Ayres

Eola-Amity Hills: Sojourner/Sojeau Vineyard (Violin Wines, Walter Scott, Evesham Wood), Temperance Hill (Lavinea, Walter Scott, Seven Springs (Walter Scott, Evening Land)

Yamhill-Carlton: Shea Vineyard (Shea, Purple Hands, Hundred Suns, Winderlea), Soter (Soter), Belle Pente Estate Reserve.

[John_Mensch]

From Goodfellow, I’d really want Whistling Ridge, but it’s hard to argue with PGC.

Same thing with Kelley Fox. I really like her Maresh wines best, but umm, Arterberry Maresh owns the vineyard.

AM owns the vineyard. But umm, Kelley Fox makes the best wine with Maresh fruit. Buy the best. And if vineyard ownership is a requirement, you could not include Goodfellow at all since he does not own any vineyards. But that requirement would be silly as many of WV best wines are made with purchased fruit.

I think you have to include beaux freres ribbon ridge. Definitely a benchmark wine for the AVA.

I’ve had Beaux Freres side by side with Patricia Green Ribbon Ridge wines, and the PG crushed it. By comparision, the BF seemed clunky and one dimensional (and oaky). I’d choose either PGC or Goodfellow to cellar long term without hesitation. Benchmarks are like records - they are until then aren’t. Buy the best.

Speaking of PG and BF side by side, in the pre-Covid (and HOPEFULLY post-covid) days, Memorial Day weekend open houses at Beaux Freres and Patricia Green offer the ULTIMATE side-by-side tasting opportunity. The wineries are next door to each other, and they poured (Will pour? Please, please, please!!) a HUGE number of fantastic wines. And speaking to the original post, Memorial Day weekend in the Willamette Valley would be an amazing opportunity for a crash-course on the different AVAs, if things open back up in a Post-Covid world.

[Guillermo_M]

For Eola-Amity Hills, Temperance Hill Vineyard, I would highly recommend Lumos Temperance Hill ($45). Lumos is Dai Crisp’s winery, and Dai is the TH vineyard manager. He therefore gets the best blocks, picked exactly when he wants them. (For reviews see Prince of Pinot and Wine and Spirits.)

Disclaimer: I worked at Lumos for several years so I may be a bit biased, but I don’t think so : )

Sorry to revive this from 2 months ago, but I hadn’t seen it and I just have to +1 this recommendation.

Lumos gets almost zero love around here for whatever reason. Not that it gets hate either. It just doesn’t get mentioned. And the bottle I had last year (their 2017 Temperance Hill basic bottling) convinced me that it is certainly a producer I want more of. I speculate that if the WSP profile is an indication it seems that at some point the ABV on that bottling was 15.3% and that implied overripeness may have put people off. But their 2017 was 13.5% (their 2018 is 14%), so maybe their style changed along the way?

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

For Eola-Amity Hills, Temperance Hill Vineyard, I would highly recommend Lumos Temperance Hill ($45). Lumos is Dai Crisp’s winery, and Dai is the TH vineyard manager. He therefore gets the best blocks, picked exactly when he wants them. (For reviews see Prince of Pinot and Wine and Spirits.)

Disclaimer: I worked at Lumos for several years so I may be a bit biased, but I don’t think so : )

Sorry to revive this from 2 months ago, but I hadn’t seen it and I just have to +1 this recommendation.

Lumos gets almost zero love around here for whatever reason. Not that it gets hate either. It just doesn’t get mentioned. And the bottle I had last year (their 2017 Temperance Hill basic bottling) convinced me that it is certainly a producer I want more of. I speculate that if the WSP profile is an indication it seems that at some point the ABV on that bottling was 15.3% and that implied overripeness may have put people off. But their 2017 was 13.5% (their 2018 is 14%), so maybe their style changed along the way?

I share winery space with Lumos. I don’t think their style has changed specifically to work towards lower alcohols. Oregon vintages change quite significantly though so abv tends to vary quite a bit from year to year.

I would also say that while Lumos sources from organically farmed grapes at THV and Wren, the winery protocols are not “natural” any more than mine are. That said, they should get more mention here, and I would definitely recommend them, as the wines are excellent and also represent excellent value.