Had two pinot noirs last night, delivered in a different format. Both were very delightful and show the range of this great varietal.
2008 Archery Summit Vireton Rose.
This is a classic “bleed off” pinot rose. The pinot noir juice was bleed off after about 24 hours on the skin to help concentrate the remaining juices in the pinot vats. This wine was serve well chilled on a warm summer afternoon day and was extremely delightful. It had flavors of dark fruit, a hint of strawberry, with mineral notes and very racy spices. It was great served alone, but screamed “Yes, I am a pinot”, when paired with truffled goat cheese and walnuts, a wonderful pairing. Just a great afternoon wine. If it has any downfall, to me, it’s the 13.9% alcohol which can be a bit heavy on a warm day. I generally prefer my roses lower. But with it’s orgins that what one should expect. GF rating 89 points.
2005 Domaine Serene Couer Blanc (pinot blanc from pinot noir)
This was truly a WOW wine!
Decanted about thirty (30) minutes before tasting. Seductive golden hue in the glass. It has an incredible mouthfeel that coats the mouth with flavors of smokey pineapple and green apple that are almost champagnish. It has a silky texture with a spicy character. There is a floral note on the finish that goes on and on begging for another sip. This wine continues to improve with bottle age. I had my first about 9 months ago and each one has been getting better with a little more age. The wine paired magnificiently with the veal chop with shittake mushrooms marinated in a garlic wild mushroom sauce. A pinot that loves mushrooms, imagine that.
This wine is just a wonderful expression of pinot that doesn’t have a match in the US, imho. It gets 15 months of oak and then 12 months in the bottle before release. GF rating 94.
I’m waiting for the release of the 06, impatiently. This is always a beautifully well done wine!
I’m not sure how this is possible…Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir are two different grapes…you can’t get one from the other.
Thanks for the notes. I think I had the Serene white pinot a few years ago … and although very nice, it was around $50 IIRC. No where near worth that price.
Jason
Micheal;
The Couer Blanc is from pinot noir grapes that is pressed, but the fruit sees no skin contact so keeps its white color.
Jason, this is an incredible wine at this part of its life. For this quality of wine, I personally disagree with your QPR statement, but QPR is a very personal thing. For some, no wine over $15 is worth the price. I was only giving my evaluation of this wine as it drank last night. And it was WOW!
Gordon, having recognized I might have been a little harsh previously, I posed a serious question to you about Rombauer that you’ve chosen to ignore - which was about heavily-oaked chardonnay with seafood. That said, I’m thinking I was right all along.
Face it, you’re in love with the “more expensive and we have a gaudier winery” school of Oregon wine, which translates to “I’m an Archery Summit and Domaine Serene whore”. I can think of at least 100 white wines I’d rather have than a $50 “white pinot” (I had one out of barrel that was an interesting intellectual exercise, if that) and at least as many roses I’d rather have than a $25 rose of pinot noir . . . no matter whose name is on the label.
There’s one reason and only one reason some people think Oregon offers crappy QPR, and that’s the constant bleating about the most expensive and overdone wines in the valley - AS, DS, BF and Bergstrom - none of which would be on my “buy list” if they were half the price they are now.
Mr. Wood;
To answer your orginal question why I suppose I missed. I believe that my friend’s grilled lobster tails with garlic drawn butter went magnificently with the Rombauer Chard she served for dinner. The buttery flavor in the Chard also cut the tangy spices in her cocktail sauce served with chilled shrimp in a very interesting way. It may not be to your taste, but of course, you we’re there to taste it.
People on many of these threads rave on and on about blind tastings. They crucify Parker in never ending bashing threads about the purity of his blind tastings. What part of blind tastings do you hang the price tag out front on the brown bag?
I personally thought the wine (Couer Blanc) was spectacular last night, both singularily and paired with the meal. I made no mention of its price. I only personally gave it a 94. There are a lot of wines that other rates highly that I might disagree with but realize it is personal taste. I DON’T CALL THEM WHORES! because I might disagree with their tastes however. But you have repeatedly demonstrated that is not your style.
Yes, I like DS,AS, BF, Lemelson, Soter, Shea, and others that may not be your style or within your pocketbook. So, what’s your point? Once I could afford 1st Growth Bdxs, but they have now move beyond my williness to pay. That doesn’t mean I berate the wines or those that do choose to buy the wines.
I will repeat that,imo, no one in the States makes a white pinot in the style and quality as DS. If you disagree, you’re free to name who does. I will wlecome alternatives in my ever expanding love of wine.
Gordon, I’ll admit to a certain reactionary bias to the constant attention being paid to overdone, overpriced, “over-facilitied” wines from the Willamette Valley (though Beaux Freres clearly doesn’t belong in that last category), and you’re being made to pay the price. I’m a little protective about my adopted home and the wines made by its core artisan producers, many of whom I’m privileged to call friends, and I decry the Napa-izing of the valley . . . ridiculously gaudy facilities built with money made elsewhere, $25 tasting fees, traffic jams and tour buses. I just thank God that the wineries aren’t clustered in a fashion that would allow for a macaroni maker to set up a train tour.
That said, your rather bold statement about Archery Summit vis a vis Chehalem (whose wines I’m not thrilled with either) revealed a clear bias in favor of the more expensive when price almost never correlates to quality on any consistent basis. So does your suggestion that the wines you love so much may be beyond my ability to pay when the truth is that they’re beyond my willingness to pay for what they offer, which is more often than not a California pinot noir experience. More extract, more alcohol, more oak and more color. More, more, more.
I’m not going to bite on your white pinot Rapala. Beyond AS, I don’t know anyone who’s making one in commercial qualities beyond J. K. Carriere, and that’s more of a rose. It’s easy to be Best In Show when you’re the only dog entered.
As for your outrage at being labeled (not called, there’s a subtle difference) a “whore”, I’m a Belle Pente whore and admit it freely. Clearly you don’t understand the meaning of the term in the context in which it was used and I suggest you just get over it. We’re all whores to one extent or another. A wise person once said, “We know what you are. Now we’re haggling over price.” Yours is simply higher than mine. Or perhaps it’s lower. I do know you can dish out smack quite well (see your bald insult of Melissa McCall over her obviously too-inexpensive and too-young Cameron Willamette Valley pinot) but you don’t seem to be able to take it at all.
Maybe there’s hope for you. When you have 40 years of wine experience as I do, perhaps you’ll see the light and stop letting the opulence of the tasting room dictate your opinion of the wines being poured. I prefer the barrel room or the crush pad, where I can spit into the floor drain or the bushes, but that’s just me.
Bob;
About fifteen (15) years ago or so, I first went to the WV to try out some of the wines there. I first tried to get into the 1st winery set up in the State, who had a reputation for making good wines. (Guess Who)He told me he was not open to the public, period. About ten years later, I tried again and he told me he was open Memorial Day Weekend and Thanksgiving and that was 5 days to many.
But more to the story, one of the places I was able to get an appointment and tasting with was in a two dog sleepy town ( at the time)called Carlton. Their operation was in a nondescript cinderblock warehouse building in the middle of town. Inside was as nondescript as the outside. They had an unknown (to me) winemaker by the name of Ken Wright at the time. The place seemed pretty much like your small time winery trying to do good. Oh, the owners did live out of State, but most everything was ran locally. Want to guess who I’m talking about? Since Wright left, they hired an assistant winemaker from another winery to be their winemaker, he has now left. In the beginning, they made some great wine and some poor wines, but seemed to learn in the process. Now, in my opinion, they make predominately very good wine. I’m not happy with their pricing either, but it is what it is! So is your problem with this story that they were successful and grew(they did both)? They had out of State owners with money? You don’t like Ken or Tony? They should have stayed in downtown Carlton, Or it’s just not your type of wine? Or do you prefer that everyone was like winery #1 and chunk the wine tourism. As I’m sure you’re aware the son of winemaker #1 now has a tasting room. Time does not stand still and the State loves those tourist dollars regardless of your opinion. What about Dick Shea? He came in with that nasty, filthy, Wall Street money, bought a vineyard, worked his butt off, and has done well. Do you resent him too? I’m looking for trends. I like Dick and his wines!
To Melissah, I’m sorry if was harsh with you. I didn’t (and still have no idea what the price of Cameron is) my comment was strictly about the young wine issue that leads to story #2. Early last fall, I went up the road from Elk Cove Winery to the winery on top the hill(You can guess the winery). They were bottling their 07’s. The wine was going out in trucks as it was bottled. I asked if was going to a warehouse for storage. They said no it was all labeled and being shipped to distributors and sold. I asked the guide “Well won’t this wine be bottle shocked for a while?” Our tour guide did not like the question and replied that it would be alright by the time it got to the customers in a couple of weeks. She then said " And anyway these are 07 Oregon pinots, everybody knows they shouldn’t be consumed immediately, not for 6 months at least!" I said “Oh really, everybody knows that do they”. About a month later, Melissah made her posting about the Cameron. I would doubt if the Cameron had been in bottle any longer than the subject wine, if as long.
I won’t beat that dead horse anymore. The greatest percent of the 07s had not been bottled when she made her postings. Almost all the better wineries hold their wines (pinots)in bottle a min of 6 months before release which would be late Spring 09. So wine reviews that early I don’t personally get, but maybe other people see a benefit to them. Again Melisah I’m sorrry if I offended you.
Its proper designation is “Pinot Noir Blanc”. And I’ve seen “Blanc de Pinot Noir”. That signifies the grape is Pinot Noir but made as a white wine,with little or no skin contact.
I usually try not to comment during posts like this, but I am wondering what winery up the hill from Elk Cove. Gordon, do you remember? I’m just curious.
up the road from Elk Cove Winery to the winery on top the hill
Also, maybe I read it wrong but I don’t equate wineries to being better if they hold wine in bottle before it is released for 6 months.
Bob;
First let me say I didn’t intentional mispell Melissa’s name. I wasn’t sure of the spelling. Hopefully, in spite of my errors, Melissa got the message.
To answer your questions as they were made:
- You’re right. Dick Shea is a great, down to earth, guy.
2.D.S. facility is opulent and a statement. The problem is that I was/am an operations and finance guy, not a marketing guy. So I haven’t a clue in these matters and don’t comment. I look at Penner-Ash. I remmember when they started out in the Carlton Wine Studio and sold wine from there. They did well and built the beautiful place on top of Ribbon Ridge. Was that too much? What kind of statement are they trying to make? What about Soter? Anything drawn from any comments we might make are purely our opinion. Marketing people make big bucks coming up with these image things. I often look at the end results and say “huh, they’re obviously not marketing to me”. But the truth is they are marketing to someone, and trying to create some buzz or impression. With you and D.S. it’s obviously true anger. You might be surprised that I like the laid back barn that both B.F and Brickhouse uses. I enjoy that atmosphere much more than D.S., but that’s only me.
- I have visited wine around the world and am far pass allowing the vista’s of the tasting rooms to make up for a poor to mediocre wine. I can rattle off many spectcluar winery tasting rooms I’ve been to where I disliked the wine. This probably came out of your question 3 above with reference to Bergstrom. First, let me say I drank wine out of Bergstrom’s trailer and last year out of his new facility and my opinion of Josh’s wines didn’t change. Some good, some terrible. But you specifically made reference to Riedel glasses. In this matter, maybe I’m a whore (to use your terms). Call me stupid (you’ve done worst), but I believe that a wine glass can change the flavor of a wine! I’ve been in Spain years ago when a wine tasting consisted of drawing wine from a barrel into a 1 liter plastic milk jug and then pouring it into a clunker water?? glass. Was that the best way to show a Pirorat? I can argue not.
. Many wineries have gone to fine stemware in the tasting rooms. One only wonders what’s going on when you receive a two oz pour (tasting) in an oversized shot glass at some wineries.
4… Never say never! I can only report what was said to me. The wine was palletized. The “ship to” address was on each pallet and several pallets had unequal container numbers on them. Maybe they were going to storage for awhile first, but again that’s not what was stated by the guide. The truck hauling them out was a 22-26 ft panel truck. It appeared it was hauling the pallets to some other trans-ship facility because a 48-53 ft tractor trailer would not navigate that hill well. Meeting tour buses on that hill is scary enought without it be a semi. So I will not “try again” as you suggested!
Hopefully, this addreses most of your questions. We can have differences of opinion, but I can drink to that. ![truce [truce.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/d33e712b50d5efc2425bf219c404fbdb7ed0ba50.gif)