IPNC final

WINE TALK
,
1

My second and apparently last IPNC. (And please no fights over my comments on the natural wine panel.)

IPNC - McMinnville, Oregon (7/24/2024-7/28/2024)

The final IPNC in current format.

Morgen Long

Seth is OBSESSED. Wines were terrific albeit very expensive.

  • 2022 Morgen Long Chardonnay - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (7/24/2024)
    A little tropical on the nose. Very clean. Bright acid profile, very lemon, chalk.
  • 2022 Morgen Long Chardonnay Witness Tree Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (7/24/2024)
    Bit of matchstick. Impressive acidity, minerality, a real saltiness. Bit of vitamin on the palate with almost an oatmeal (?) element. A really dominant acid profile.
  • 2022 Morgen Long Chardonnay Temperance Hill - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills (7/24/2024)
    Less reduction. Much more pop, very juicy, "juicy fruit gum" sort of flavor, really nice profile, great acidity, bright, very pleasing.
  • 2022 Morgen Long Chardonnay X Omni - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills (7/24/2024)
    Explosively bright nose, passion fruit?!? Wow, this pops. Seth explains this has 70% new oak, and without being at all oaky I would imagine this is what lends to the more exotic profile. Really bright on the front of the palate and still quite steely, mineral, mmmmm spicy. Quite a bit more rich than the previous wines, long finish, mouthwatering. This really works well.
  • 2022 Morgen Long Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills (7/24/2024)
    Wow, this also quite juicy, really balanced but showing more of the acid profile over time.
  • 2021 Morgen Long Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills Extended Aging - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills (7/24/2024)
    Wow, so juicy, perfectly balanced, lots of structure and impressive grip on the finish. Impressive.
  • NV Morgen Long Chardonnay Memorie III - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (7/24/2024)
    33% 2022, 33% 2021 and 33% 2014-19. Very brisk with a Chablis profile.
  • 2022 Morgen Long Chardonnay Pink Label - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (7/24/2024)
    4% Pinot Noir must. Punchy and bright. A hit of watermelon. This really tastes like a Chardonnay, but the glowing pale pink really makes my brain conjure some faint red fruit notes. Quite fun.

Arterberry Maresh

Really nice to visit the Red Barn. Just so gorgeous.

Goodfellow

Marcus is so precise and passionate. The 2022's seem to be in a somewhat tough to judge state at present.

Joel Palmer House

Absolutely fantastic meal and even better wines.

Hundred Suns

We had a really fantastic visit with Grant and Renee. These wines are the real deal, and these folks are really great!

Seven Springs Vineyard

We were lucky to attend an outstanding lunch in the middle of the gorgeous Seven Springs Vineyard feature Chardonnay from Evening Land Vineyards, Antica Terra, Cristom, Audeant and 00 Wines. These are currently all of the producers utilizing the Seven Springs fruit.

Below are the wines we tasted, all of them terrific!

Martin Woods (Hi-Fi)

We had a small window of time in town and stopped by Hi-Fi for a pre-arranged visit and tasted a flight of Martin Woods wines.

Chardy Party

The night before IPNC kicks off, join Hazelfern, big table farm, Hundred Suns, and Walter Scott for a night of finger lickin’ good vibes and ice cold Chardonnay.

On Thursday, July 25th, join us at the Hazelfern Barn in Newberg, Oregon for a good ole-fashioned Willamette Valley Chardy Party!

Tons of bonus bottles floating around, an impressively alive 1981 Amity Vineyards Pinot Noir and a stunning 1993 Amity Vineyards Pinot Noir. 2012 and 2013 Beaux Freres Chardonnay, 2003 Chevillon NSG 1er Les Perrieres, 2014 Bertheau Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes, 2005 and 2010 Jadot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru. And so much more

THE WINE: Chardonnay from Hazelfern, big table farm, Hundred Suns, and Walter Scott (don’t be surprised if a pinot party also breaks out). In the spirit of IPNC, feel free to bring a special bottle you’ve been collecting and want to share.

THE FOOD: Chefs Sarah Schafer and Brett Uniss from Humble Spirit + the Ground will be shucking oysters and frying up buckets of finger lickin’ chicken. We’ll also have all the classic farm fresh fixins too.

THE VENUE: We’ll gather at The Hazelfern Barn - just up the road from The Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg, Oregon.

Absolutely magical!

IPNC Grand Tasting

Three separate panels of four wines.

We are honored to introduce you to the six panelists for our 2024 Grand Seminar: IN TECHNICOLOR! Dominique Lafon (Domaine des Comtes Lafon), Ian Burch (Archery Summit), Megan Gunderson (WALT Wines), Melanie Chester (Giant Steps), Michael Brajkovich (Kumeu River), and Naomi Smith (Champagne Laurent-Perrier) will be joining us for a multi-hued discussion about Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, breaking through the singular color palette of years past.

  • 2023 Kumeu River Chardonnay Rays Road - New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay (7/26/2024)
    Very bright aromatics, grassy, 200 meter elevation vineyard, limestone, really brisk, zippy, lime zest, very tart and clean. Evocative of Chablis.
  • 2022 Giant Steps Chardonnay Sexton Vineyard - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley (7/26/2024)
    Struck match, definite bit of reduction. Mmm, Steve sez "green apple" which nails this. Really tart and fresh, good snap and pop, mouthwatering, but surprisingly mouth-filling and full as well.
  • 2020 Kumeu River Pinot Noir Rays Road - New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay (7/26/2024)
    A bit of a brown edge. Graphite and smoke, very tart, cranberry, austere, focused. Some ash notes continue.
  • 2022 Giant Steps Pinot Noir Applejack Vineyard - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley (7/26/2024)
    Glowing color, lovely. Slightly perfumed, some stem, nice red fruit with tartness but leaning to a hint of strawberry. Nice Pinot twang, sweet and sour, really good zingy energy. 25% whole cluster.
  • NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature - France, Champagne (7/26/2024)
    Yeasty, nicely brisk, limestone and citrus. This is delicious.
  • 2021 Walt Chardonnay Bob's Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (7/26/2024)
    A little reduction moves to some buttered popcorn. Quite full and rich, very mouthfilling, long. It's not the stereotypical California Chardonnay by any measure, but it is quite rich nonetheless.
  • NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne CuvĂ©e RosĂ© Brut - France, Champagne (7/26/2024)
    Always nice, fairly weighty, mmm, strawberry, a terrific wine.
  • 2021 Walt Pinot Noir Bob's Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (7/26/2024)
    Boisterous, cherry cola moving to root beer, quite sweet with some sour, it does have really nice (added?) acidity and definitely some green elements.
  • 2022 Archery Summit Chardonnay Summit Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (7/26/2024)
    Mmm, really nice green apple, good acidity, a little ash (oak?). Hmm, it is almost Jolly Rancher candy tart with time, somewhat forced, but I do enjoy it.
  • 2018 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault DĂ©sirĂ©e - France, Burgundy, CĂŽte de Beaune, Meursault (7/26/2024)
    Mmmm, crackling minerality oozes from the glass, wonderful acidity and balance, crunchy pear and then some salt. Some debate amount our group about a relative lack of complexity, but for a Village wine I thought it was terrific.
  • 2021 Archery Summit Pinot Noir Arcus Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (7/26/2024)
    Bright, punchy, a little green stem. A lot of cherry Kool-Aid, nice length, plenty of acid but not really a fan. Just too forced.
  • 2017 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er Cru Santenots-Du-Milieu - France, Burgundy, CĂŽte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (7/26/2024)
    Mmm, smoky and seductive, silky with fantastic energy, dusty, mouthwatering. Lovely, wonderfully red-fruited with sneaky dustiness of the fine tannins on the finish.

IPNC Lunch on the Lawn

IPNC University of Pinot: Low Intervention Winemaking and Farming with Raj Parr

Whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast or new to the world of sustainable winemaking, join us for an enlightening exploration of Pinot Noir that celebrates the harmony between nature and craftsmanship. From organic and biodynamic farming practices to natural fermentation and minimal use of additives, experience firsthand the profound impact of these mindful approaches on the sensory profile and character of the wines. Savor the fruits of each producer’s collective commitment to sustainability and enjoy an unforgettable tasting experience that embodies the essence of low-intervention winemaking at its finest. Learn how each decision made in the vineyard and cellar contributes to the purity and authenticity of the final product.

Led by wine legend Raj Parr (Phelan Farm), participants will be guided through a curated selection of exemplary Pinot Noirs, each meticulously crafted using sustainable and environmentally conscious methods. From vineyard to bottle, discover the artistry and dedication that goes into cultivating grapes and crafting wines that reflect the true essence of their terroir.

SEMINAR PANELISTS:
Raj Parr | Phelan Farm
Matt Berson | Love & Squalor
Mikey Etzel | Beaux FrĂšres
Nate Ready | Hiyu Wine Farm

OK, so above is copy & paste from the website site. Honestly, this panel was INFURIATING. Two wines were clearly and stunningly flawed. One person was spouting bullshit insanity. I have never really engaged in the natural wine debate and have certainly tasted some good examples of natural wines, orange wines and sans souffre wines. But in this case the emperor had no clothes. I really wish I could have an hour of my life back and that I wasn't sitting smack in the middle of the room.

All due respect to Nate & Raj, but what I tasted in my glass was flawed and just awful.

  • 2019 Hiyu Pinot Noir Moon Dog - USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge (7/26/2024)
    Rust and brettanomyces just overwhelms every aspect of this wine. Dry, earthy and stripped. This has a LOT of brett. Just dry, dry, dry and astringent. Awful. An utter train wreck. And Nate confirms that this EXACTLY how he wants it to taste. (NR/flawed)
  • 2022 Phelan Farm (Rajat Parr) Pinot Noir SLO Coast - USA, California, Central Coast, San Luis Obispo Coast (7/26/2024)
    Hmm, first sniff is immediate NATURAL WINE. VA that I just can't get past. Some other people said they thought it was reduced and did improve, but that was just not my experience. Very tart, a sweet tart candy sort of thing, sour, very bitter finish. So sour, so bitter, so funky. (NR/flawed)
  • 2019 Love and Squalor Pinot Noir Sunnyside Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (7/26/2024)
    Fantastic energy and purity, considerable grip, nice acidity, what's not to like? Really grippy.
  • 2022 Beaux FrĂšres Pinot Noir Beaux FrĂšres Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge (7/26/2024)
    Really quite good. A bit oaky, peppery, nice "chew" to this, licorice, but very pure and deep underneath the seemingly considerable oak treatment. Stylistically this is not my desired expression of Pinot, so I wish they would dial the oak back a bit. Thar said, it is an impressive wine.

IPNC Dinner

I did not take notes at dinner. We were sitting with a winemaker from Willamette Valley Vineyards as well as the head winemaker from DONUM. We brought a bunch of our own wines and enjoyed a cavalcade of fun things that were showing up left and right.

RĂ©sonance Seminar

We had a lovely stroll through some of the vineyards at RĂ©sonance and then sat down for a single blind panel tasting of 5 wines. I flubbed them all, but impressively each winemaker was able to identify their own wines.

(Interestingly the two wines that I was convinced had to be Oregon based on a particular aromatic note were each in fact California. So I just need to reverse that bit in my brain to hopefully do better in the future...)

RĂ©sonance Lunch

Salmon Bake

We tasted a cavalcade of wines, no notes. I was done. That includes a number of excellent wines at the Al Fresco tasting and then a whole bunch at dinner.

Champagne Brunch

One last breakfast hurrah before we hit the road back to Seattle. Laurent-Perrier Rose, Nicolas Feuillatte Brut, and a bunch of domestic sparklers.

I hope that some future iteration of IPNC returns, or at least we will try to return for our own winery visits and things like the Chardy Party.

Posted from CellarTracker

9 Likes
2

@Eric_LeVine - wow! Great overview of the entire weekend. Thank you - it’s almost as if we were there.

Would have loved to have the transcript from that natural wine seminar - the fact that Nate said that the wine came out exactly as he wanted - to me that is one of the biggest challenges here. If the concept that minimal intervention wines give a ‘truer picture’ of terroir, how can something that is so seriously flawed show anything but . . . flaws?

Cheers

1 Like
3

I really don’t want a transcript
 The room seemed to very frustrated.

My tasting group makes fun of me for my general OVER-tolerance of brett in old world wines. This wine was way, way beyond that. Nate said something along the lines (sorry, paraphrase) of “worshiping at the altar of brett and doing everything he could to encourage it in the cellar, in the barrels etc.” He was overjoyed with how his wine was showing.

To each their own. Not for me, thanks.

4

You really stacked another IPNC on top of IPNC there. Sounds like you made it through without more than a scratch. Good show. One of the people staffing the natural wine seminar asked me what I thought about natural wine. I did not hold back
microbial messes run amok are not “true expressions” of anything I want to drink.

Cheers,
fred

2 Likes
5

So you feel the general consensus was that many believed the same as you or were not ‘sold’ on the language used?

My issue - and this is true with ALL wines - is that the story should be aligned with the final product. I do get that folks love ‘a story’ and sometimes that is the main point - it’s HOW the product is made, not necessarily what the final product is. And I get that as well . . . except when it comes to ‘faults’ that are easily avoidable by any winemaker who has a basic knowledge of the science of winemaking - not something they learned watching tik tok videos . . .

It’s a shame because I’m sure there were many other wines that could have been chosen that would have been better flagbearers of the concepts they were trying to get across.

And I too don’t mind ‘a little’ brett in certain wines - I do believe that it can add a nice layer of complexity . . . but as I said to RMP once about a Pegau that we disagreed about, if a wine smells and tastes like horseshit, I find zero enjoyment.

Cheers

6

Minimum stay at The Atticus during IPNC is four nights, so we pre-pended 2 days of tastings etc. It’s a lot


7

Pegau is my favorite wine. They can be variable due to the brett population. They are clean by comparison to the one wine at least. Well to my untrained consumer palate.

8

Great hotel, eh? Have stayed there twice and it was top notch both times . . .

Cheers

9

The problem with Pegau, and many other wines made in a similar manner, is their inevitable ‘variability’. The wine that RMP and I were discussing were the same - the bottles were different. His was probably sourced direct from Chateau and possibly brought back himself. Mine was procured from someone on the old board and shipped cross country. As I said, same wine but VERY different bottles.

So not only are there different opinions about brett everyone is having the same bottle - it’s impossible to have discussions when we’re having different bottles.

Cheers

10

And I too love Pegau - a 98 I had back in Boston at Troquet was one of the best and most fascinating wines I’ve ever had in my life . . .

Cheers

11

Nice notes! I didn’t attend any of the IPNC events, were there any whispers of what will happen next year?

12

Numerous people suggesting that it might be back in some form in the future.

13

They are about the story and narrative more than anything now.

14

Thank you for such a wonderful recap and notes! I’m incredibly sad I never got to attend one of these but hopefully they bring back IPNC in some form.

1 Like
15

Sorry we never connected at IPNC.

I saw you at the Chardy Party but didn’t connect who you were.

Great notes from what hopefully will not be the last IPNC. Many in the industry are working on a potential relaunch. If it comes together, I expect IPNC will include some past elements while evolving significantly.

1 Like
16

That would score very highly in a game of wine BS bingo.

What’s next. “Then we added TCA for more cartboardy complexity”.

1 Like
17

Hi Andy, I was the guy eating all the oysters and slurping your X Novo! Great event, your wines were showing brilliantly!

2 Likes