Are Thomas Willamette PN available at retail??

WINE TALK
1

There is an interesting thread on the Parker board on the "Top 5 Oregon PN producers here http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=218351. I’ve had wines from pretty much all of the wineries that people are listing but I’ve never seen or tasted John Thomas’ Pinot. Are they mailing list only? I’d love to know what the hype is about.

2

There are a couple of retail outlets in or near the Willamette that carry his wines. That’s it.

3

Move along. Nothing to read here.

(need more Thomas pinot coming to ME!)

Chris

4

I get an allocation at Storyteller Wine Company. Fellow Berserker Travis Fantz at Garrison’s gets one as well. Sandy at Mt. Tabor Wines is a long time supplier/enabler. Liner & Elsen? Others?

This is the hardest wine I have to deal with in terms of making folks happy. More drama than SQN at times. 2008 is going to be real tough given production levels. But it’s way better than not getting any at all!

I can also point folks in the direction of Bar Avignon at 2138 SE Division in Portland. Randy and Nancy get an allocation and place it on their wine list at a very reasonable price.

5

Quoting from Berserker Michael Alberty’s Storyteller newsletter from Nov 21, 2008 (my bold):

If JD Salinger made wine, it would be the Thomas Pinot Noir. No joke, > this is easily the most difficult Oregon Pinot Noir there is in terms of getting your hands on any. John makes tiny amounts, does everything himself by hand and sells most of his wine to people on his mailing list. A few Portland retail stores get some, but beyond that, good luck finding the Thomas Pinot Noir. > I try to buy a few bottles for myself every year and I was even lucky enough to sit in on a Thomas vertical dinner at Paley’s Place here in Portland a few years ago. So I have a pretty good grasp on the signature marks of a Thomas Pinot Noir. The reason I’m saying this is because I have not tasted the 2006 vintage yet. John Thomas will be delivering this wine tomorrow so I’m having to fly blind on this one. Thomas Pinot Noirs can be earthy, but they are always elegant. His wines are the opening violin solo from Suki Lahav on Bruce Sprinsteen’s “Jungleland.” There’s smoldering, brooding power in that first ninety seconds of the Springsteen classic, but there’s also elegance and finesse. A lot of Oregon Pinot Noirs would rather be the big, bombastic Clarence Clemons sax solo, but not John Thomas. Finesse, purity, minerality, herbs de Provence and red raspberries. Those are the kind of words you will find yourself mumbling as you drink a Thomas Pinot Noir. Several years ago Steven Tanzer reviewed the 2002 Thomas Pinot Noir and awarded it a 92 point score. Which for him is pretty big stuff in regards to scoring Oregon wines. He wrote, “vibrant dark red. Gorgeous floral nose combines raspberry, wild strawberry, perfumed Thai basil, fennel and emphatic mineral tones. The suave palate takes one straight to the high-rent neighborhoods of Chambolle-Musigny or Volnay, offering wonderful balance and finesse to burn. Clean, brisk, energetic finish piles on the red berry and mineral notes. Elegant, captivating and complete pinot noir. This matches up quite well with the many superb Thomas pinots of the past.” Based on my experience, Tanzer could pretty much use that review every year.

If you are a fan of Oregon Pinot Noir you really must try the Thomas Pinot Noir at least once in your life. John’s vines are twenty-four years old now and they are really starting to produce some amazing fruit. Combine that fruit with John Thomas’ philosophy of minimal intervention and you really have something. The wines arrive today and I’m betting they won’t last past next Tuesday. If you are interested in getting some of the Thomas Pinot Noir, please respond to this email as soon as you are able. I will try my best to honor everybody’s requests but I’m not getting a huge amount of this wine.

6

So basically everyone is whetting my appetite telling me what I’m missing and then snatching the cookie from my grasp before I get to have a bite! [cray.gif]

7

That’s just the way the cookie crumbles Chris.

8

Thanks Michael. I’ve gotten on everybody’s list and newsletter that you mentioned so maybe I’ll get some of the next batch of cookies!

9

Well it could be DRC…with snatchers who’ve driven up the price of a bottle to automobile levels and whose love for the label, in some circumstances, appears to exceed any grasp (or authentic care) for the wine itself.

RT

10

The Tasting Room at Carlton (OR) also has some most of the time. They just completed selling a multi-year vertical of his wines.

11

So I buy the wine, and enjoy the wine, take the following as you will.

My sense is that Oregon wants to have something along the lines of SQN, and we just simply don’t. Most of the wines are produced in levels, and priced such that they can be found. The few wines that are released and instantly gone have more to do with being amazing values for the wine in the bottle than anything else. (maybe the same is true for SQN, I don’t believe the same is true for the other cali cults)

Thomas is great wine, but there’s lots of great wine in Oregon. Sometimes it seems like Thomas has the buzz, because Thomas has the buzz. Does this make any sense?

12

Wally’s (in LA) and JJ Buckley have some currently.

13

I have been waiting 4 years for this wine to hit NY.

14

Great wine from Thomas … it’s kind of neat to have to phone him and mail in a check.

15

Nice to live in Oregon and pick it up in Carlton from John himself. No freight expense, less carbon footprint :slight_smile:

16

Don’t hold your breath.

17

Got the last 2 at Buckley’s.

[thankyou.gif] [welldone.gif]

18

[middle-finger.gif]

But of course North Carolina is THE next hotbed of world class Pinot! [rofl.gif]

19

Any tips on how to contact Thomas Winery? Google comes up with zilch.

20

Ugh, I know.