'07 Definitive Willamette; This would be the bigger of the two under discussion. Saw it at a table behind us at our favorite casual hangout and it was not on the list. Asked the owner about it and he said “just try it-it’s too easy to drink”. He’s largely right. Very elegant and graceful dark fruit, not particularly herbal or earthy and certainly very minimally oaked, it somehow was still clearly Oregon pinot, perhaps due to the slight briary character and the zippy acidity on the finish. This is apparently the second label of Ancien wines, and presumably the first Oregon sourced wine of this California winery. I think this goes for around $28 or so. Stylistically, this could be thought of as a Soter Beacon Hill Jr.
'07 Zoot Allures Willamette; This was recommended by Michael Alberty of Storyteller Wines, whom I have hoisted to the top of my mail order retailer list, limited such as it is. It is less dark than the former, and more funky, earthy, and oaked. Just the same, it is more elegant. Less velvet, more angles. Ironically, the acidity is more integrated and less obvious. What killed me is that with air, this $18 wine begins to grow and take on added levels of complexity and the finish begins to creep up on you to the point that by the last glass the finish goes on seemingly forever (will, 30 seconds or so). In an $18 pinot? Can’t be true. Another second label here, this being from the very fine J. Christopher winery. Highly recommended, but there is not a lot of it out there and I hope to get my case before you do.
The Definitive I am not familiar with. Here in Oregon we do not get Ancien. I am very familiar with Zoot Allures and J. Christopher. Jay Sommers makes their wines and also Holloran. He is a very talented winemaker.
I haven’t seen the Zoot, but I haven’t been paying a lot of attention, either. I did pick up a bottle of the '08 Castle Rock Willamette Valley. I’m not terribly hopeful but we’ll see.
The '07 Evesham Wood, Belle Pente and Cameron Willamette Valley bottlings are all under $20 and excellent. I think we’ve had threads on them.
The '07 Evesham Wood, Belle Pente and Cameron Willamette Valley bottlings are all under $20 and excellent.
Yes, I’ve had all three of these, and bought quite a bit of the Evesham and Cameron. Of the three, the Zoot Allures most resembles the Evesham, though the Evesham has
a bit more strawberry-redder fruit. Evidently, Jay Sommers is a Zappa fan. I’m fine with that.
BTW, Bob, from my view of the world here in the barren midwest, it seems like a shame for you to be picking up Castle Rock (readily available in our supermarkets) when you are a Portlander and can be rooting out the little known QPR gems. I gather from your many posts that you are-to analogize to fly fishing-an opportunistic feeder. Nothing wrong with that.
For the price I had little to lose if I bought one to see if it was any good. If not, I’ll cook with it. I picked up several of the Camerons when Melissa discovered that one of our local markets had it marked down to $13.99.
That '07 Zoot Allures Pinot Noir is a really nice bottle for cheap. The '07 J. Christopher is a step up and also a relative bargain. Apparently no designated bottlings in '07 from Jay because of the economy, not the wine.
A couple of other under $23 2007 would be Witness Tree Chainsaw, Stafford Hill (2nd label of Holloran), Beacon Hill Chehalem, Coeur de Terre, and Four Graces.
![[highfive.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/db21b9263a9105e51f6f8b11e61dd4de095611f9.gif "highfive"){kind=small}
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}