Blind Tasting Oregon vs. California (Predict the winner)

WINE TALK
1

7 people will vote and each flight is blind. Most guest are normal wine drinkers not Berserkers.

  1. Which state will win? Will do a total tally of each individual flight.
  2. Which wine do you think will be wine of the night?
  3. Wines will be revealed at the end and votes taken after each blind flight.

Chardonnay Flight
2014 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Chardonnay Arthur (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills)
2013 Talley Vineyards Chardonnay Rincon Vineyard (USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley)

Pinot Flight 1
2010 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Temperance Hill (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley)
2012 Thomas Fogarty Pinot Noir Rapley Trail Vineyard (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains)

Pinot Flight 2
2012 J. Christopher Pinot Noir Lumière (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills) 3 day wine review 92, Parker 92
2013 Martinelli Pinot Noir Moonshine Ranch (USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley) Cellar Tracker 92.6, Parker 94

Pinot Flight 3
2015 Colene Clemens Pinot Noir Dopp Creek (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains)
2015 Peake Ranch Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard (USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills)

2

my prediction is with normal wine drinkers California will come out on top. typically I find that california pinot is more fruit forward and regular wine drinker friendly. personally, my house tends to prefer oregon though.

3

I am going to say, the best wines.

4

Ditto

5

What’s a normal wine drinker?

Someone who usually drinks from the under $10 rack?

Without a little more info on the panel, I think we are guessing.

6

My personal preference tends toward the more fruit forward CA wines even though there are always exceptions. However, there are certainly a lot of folks who gravitate to the Oregon style. Let us know how it turns out.

7

Cali will win…and the OR wines will patiently wait for tasters to appreciate their more subtle secondary qualities. [wink.gif]

RT

8

Good matchups!

Flight 1: DDO, although the Talley is nice and might be more approachable.

Flight 2: St Innocent, even though my personal preference is usually SCM, St Innocent makes great juice.

Flight 3: I think the Martinelli wins just based on contrast with it’s lighter competition.

Flight 4: I have no experience with either producer. Sta Rita Hills Pinot can be pure and lithe or heavy and packed with flavor. Toss up, my personal preference might be OR here.

Verdict: like others have said, will come down to the preferences of the group. I might lean slightly Oregon.

9

Sounds fun.

Hard to guess without knowing the tasters but here would be my guesses.

Chard - Could be a toss up but I think the Arthur could win based on it is usually a pretty big wine when young.

Flight 1 - Although I think Cali would, in general, have an edge with casual tasters, I think the SI 2010 could be a surprise based on how tasty the vintage is and Temperance Hill becoming more friendly. Although I have never had a Fogarty IIRC, and I have no idea about the vintage or producer.

Flight 2 - My guess would be the Martinelli even though 2012 is very forward. But Eola - Amity would be very different than RRV.

Flight 3 - I have friends that love Colene Clemens but I have not generally been moved by the wines. I have never heard of Peake Ranch.

Not sure if the style is the same but my thought is the Martinelli would be the standout. Other than the Jackass Hill Zin, I usually find the wines close to undrinkable but they are serious wines and 25 years ago I would probably have been blown away.

Have fun! Look forward to your results.

Cheers,

Jason

10

My complaint is sharing it with six other people. I would get an ounce or two and I need much more to identify all the nuances, highlights and low lights. Honest! [cheers.gif]

11

I hope Oregon does, though I don’t know the wines at all. The California wines are a pretty weak lineup.

12

Did you set up this tasting?
J.christopher going up against martinelli?
You probably can’t chose 2 completely different styles and vintages…

I would say, depending on the drinkers that Oregon would come out on top, if this was a sweet fruit crowd, Cali wins…

No offense, but this is a crappy line up, if you’re going to match martinelli up with anyone, you better include archery summit or domaine serene, at least it’s a fighting chance…

13

Thanks for playing here are the results. I knew the wines so I did not sway the votes either way.

OREGON PINOT NOIR VS. CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIR - Minneapolis (2/2/2019)
Fun event and interesting how the flights ended up tying but the two favorite wines were both Oregon the St. Innocent and J Christopher.

Chardonnay Flight
4 votes for the Talley and 3 for the Drouhin. My preference was the Drouhin as I like the lighter style but it still had complexity.

2014 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Chardonnay Arthur - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Day 1: Super clear in color but fabulous on the nose and palate. Lemon, spice, apricot, and picks up an orange peel note on the finish. Medium but not over the top by any means. Good acidity. Drink now to 2020. 92 points (92 pts.)

2013 Talley Vineyards Chardonnay Rincon Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley
Day 1: Solid but not as good as the Drouhin. Oak, carmel, apple, spices and mild oak. As noted on the last bottle this got good on day 3 so we will see with this one. Medium finish. 90 points (90 pts.)

California 1 vote.



Pinot Noir Flight 2
St. Innocent got 5 votes while the Thomas Fogarty got 2 votes. I like the St. Innocent and it was co wine of the night amongst the guests.


2010 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Temperance Hill - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Day 1: Wow! Amazing complexity and vibrant nose. The favorite wine of the group. Cranberry, spice, rose petals and earth. Medium plus finish and good acidity. This wine has many years ahead based on where it is now. Drink now to 2024. 94 points (94 pts.)

2012 Thomas Fogarty Pinot Noir Rapley Trail Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Day 1: Dust, underbrush, strawberries, floral and cherry notes. Medium finish. This wine was a little tight and will see improvements probably on day 2. 90 points (90 pts.)

California 1 and Oregon 1 vote. Tie.


Pinot Noir Flight 3
J Christopher 6 votes while the Martinelli got 1 vote. Not even close. Amazing how J Christopher was the wine of the night with St. Innocent yet is the cheapest wine at the event. $18 on closeout.

2012 J. Christopher Pinot Noir Lumière - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Day 1: Favorite wine of the night along with the St. Innocent. Bright fruit, good acidity and features underbrush, floral and minerals on the palate. Medium plus finish and the most Burgundian wine of the six. Excellent! 93 points (93 pts.)

2013 Martinelli Pinot Noir Moonshine Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Day 1: Big but not alcoholic like some over the top Cali Pinots. Floral, sweet fruits, brown sugar, bacon fat and raspberries. Medium plus finish. Hope this settles down on day 2/3 as this could round into an excellent wine. 90 plus. (90 pts.)
Oregon 2 to California 1.


Pinot Noir Flight 4
Peake Ranch 5 votes while top ten of the year Wine Spectator got only 2 votes.

2015 Colene Clemens Pinot Noir Dopp Creek - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
Day 1: Very good showing. Minerals, earth, raspberries, spice. Multilayered finish and complex overall. This should age nicely and should really improve over time. Great score now but could improve on day 2/3. 92 points (92 pts.)

2015 Peake Ranch Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Day 1: Cranberry, spice, wafer and earth. Powerful wine but balanced overall. Medium to long finish. Good acidity and would pair nicely with a variety of dishes. Drink now to 2022. 93 points (93 pts.)
Oregon 2 and California 2.


While it was 2 to 2 on the flights the overall votes stand as:
Oregon: 16 votes
California: 12 votes
Fun event!

14

[quoteI am going to say, the best wines.][/quote]
My favorite wine was the St. Innocent but the cheapest Pinot Noir J. Christopher was the big winner by a slim margin over the St. Innocent.

15

my prediction is with normal wine drinkers California will come out on top. typically I find that california pinot is more fruit forward and regular wine drinker friendly. personally, my house tends to prefer oregon though.

The only fruit forward wine of the bunch was the Martinelli. I am drinking some of the left over Peak Ranch right now and it is gorgeous. Certainly not Burg like but not a fruit forward wine either. The Thomas Fogarty was the tightest of the bunch and I have another taste of each for Sunday to see the evolution on day 2.

16

[quoteFlight 3 - I have friends that love Colene Clemens but I have not generally been moved by the wines. I have never heard of Peake Ranch. ][/quote]
Never heard of Peake Ranch either but a local wine shop had it for around $35 a bottle. Did a little research it is a really good bottle especially at that price point. I am always amazed at how many wineries are out there that I have never heard of but are certainly worth seeking out. [cheers.gif]

17

Did you set up this tasting?
J.christopher going up against martinelli?
You probably can’t chose 2 completely different styles and vintages…

I would say, depending on the drinkers that Oregon would come out on top, if this was a sweet fruit crowd, Cali wins…

No offense, but this is a crappy line up, if you’re going to match martinelli up with anyone, you better include archery summit or domaine serene, at least it’s a fighting chance…

Martinelli got crushed by J. Christopher. I personally can’t stand the style Martinelli makes in regards to Pinot Noir but I wanted to through in an over the top Pinot Producer into the tasting.

J. Christopher for me makes way better Pinot Noir than Domaine Serene (like them but prices are too high) and not a big fan of Archery Summit.

18

Jay Somers is a former Cameron-ite and has been doing his own thing, largely under the radar, for 20+ years. His wines are very reasonably priced for the quality and are typically balanced and restrained…which apparently includes his work with the ripe 2012 vintage.

RT

19

Jay Somers is a former Cameron-ite and has been doing his own thing, largely under the radar, for 20+ years. His wines are very reasonably priced for the quality and are typically balanced and restrained…which apparently includes his work with the ripe 2012 vintage.

I will have to seek out other vintages. I have always bought just the base bottlings every vintage and are always solid. Thanks for the info.

20

J. Christopher did an amazing job in 2012 across the board, and Oregon 2010s are mostly gorgeous with Temperance Hill having great pedigree. Note also that the Dopp Creek is an entry-level $25 Oregon pinot noir, while the Peake Ranch is circa $50-60. That’s a tough gap to cross. Wine Spectator’s list is “most exciting” wines, not “best” - they probably figured a $25 Oregon pinot noir with prod’n of 3,000 cases that was balanced is hard to find, hence its placement on the list.