Oregon is great. Been coming for a while and while that while brings changes, Oregon still has a special feel. Still out here. Will update as I go.
To begin, a quick day in Willamette.
Got up early to drive/ walk around Chehalem Mountains and Dundee hills. I always get turned around in the Hills so another rep was helpful. Chehalem - never gone through before so nice to get the lay of the land. Very cool up on the ridge near forest line.
Trisaetum - Place is pretty. Farming commitment seems very real. Somewhat strange wines. I did just come from camping in Redwoods and before that a day with Ketan (Jasud/Beta), so some discount for context shift. $45 for a tasting flight.
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2024 Rose Pinot - An attractive person with a steely look who doesn’t want to talk to you. Beautiful salmon rose color. Low volume nose. Under ripe melon. Rind and Herb. Light bitterness. Some heft on exhale.
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2023 Trisaetum Dry Riesling Ribbon Ridge Estate distinct - Nose has some petrol and spiced sliced apple. Ripe lemon, some extract, long finish with bergamot. I have not had a Riesling like this. It’s von winning and Donnhoff had a lighter bodied child. Weirdly compelling.
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2022 Trisaetum Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge Estate - Do not like this. Weird nose. Lots of wood or stem tannin at end. 22 was cooler, but alcohol also sticks out?
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2022 Trisaetum Pinot Noir Estates Reserve - Nose is floral and darker. Follows true. Denser wine. Like brooding clouds at sea being brought in by warm wind. Neat effect, not really for me.
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2022 Trisaetum Pinot Noir Coast Range Estate -seems like a flashy car, but engine is more solid than anticipated. Aroma Jets off glass with red Jolly rancher and soft ripe red fruit. Then fades over 20 mins. Some complexity follows, but more restrained. In finish, the fruit is tarter and some tannin comes out.
Cameron - bucket list for me. John Paul was kind enough to make time despite a tight day and some famous soccer players visiting.
We started in the Clos Electric vineyard and, seeing that the wires needed raising, he gave me a quick crash course. Once I was not completely incompetent, we went through raising wire and chatting. It was refreshing to hear him say, “I don’t know. No one really knows.” This type of answer is so hard to find, and always good signal. John Paul has a spry energy to him and his patter, and one thing sparks a memory that branches into a story that becomes another jumping off point and so on.
The soccer guys arrived and we all went down into the cellar. All the wines tasted were barrel samples. The wine making process is minimal and hasn’t changed much. He built the cellar himself and had as much to say about electrical wiring as batonnage (once, briefly after a year).
We tasted two different barrels of the CE blanc. The second barrel tasting was the best white I’ve had this year and one of the best ever. Reds were very good.
Ended it by blinding him and a buddy on 2011 Pegau. JP got the era and region. What a time. Incredible.
Longplay up next.
