Creating this thread to prevent drift in the California Pinot Noir thread.
I don’t know much about Oregon Pinot Noirs, but I’m generally curious what people consider the top producers to be and what the house styles are. Any thoughts about the different regions within Oregon and the flavor/aromatic profiles of those regions would be interesting as well.
“Top” producers by sales might be easy to generate. Is that what you’re after?
People’s top 10 favorite producers (the one’s they like and why they like them)
Eyrie has always been up there for me, especially since they started moving back to everything being estate. I had the privilege to visit the property and try each single vineyard on the respective vineyard and you really get a sense of why they are different.
As I did with the top ten CA Pinot thread, I’ll list only one and say that it would be hard to beat Vincent Wine Co. for OR Pinot.
But, of course, what I really saying is that their style is my favorite and, to that end, I buy a good bit of it.
I’d love to see some insights on overall style trends, both by producer and time/vintage, if anyone has some thoughts on these subjects.
I have fairly limited experience with Oregon Pinot, but among those I’ve really liked are Kelley Fox, Goodfellow, and Patricia Green. Visiting and tasting is really easy and casual for us west coasters. Definitely worth a trip (or many) if you want to explore the wines of the region,
Based on my cellar, Goodfellow, PGC, and Kelley Fox are far and away the top producers and represent a significant difference in character to satisfy various needs. Number four would be Evesham Wood. I have some Eyrie, Vincent, Violin, Biggio Hamina, Mckinlay, and others, but they are token in quantity. I once bought widely; now I pretty much focus on the top three. But I also drink less and less red wine now.
Based on my cellar, my top five, in no particular order:
Goodfellow
Cameron
Patty Green
Eyrie
Brick House
The top 4 are clear for me in no particular order:
Kelley Fox
Cameron
Goodfellow
Thomas
After those 4 in no particular order:
Arterberry Maresh
Patty Green
Belle Pente
Brick House
Eyrie
Walter Scott
Kelley Fox and Antica Terra are my top two.
Kelley Fox’s various Maresh blocks are stunning wines. Very Freddy Mugnier in style to my palette.
People love to hate on Antica Terra, but most people have spent a lot more time judging the winery, than they have spent tasting the wines. Maggie’s single vineyard wine Antikythera is a truly singular expression of Pinot Noir - there is nothing like it.
I would also consider in no particular order:
My experience in Oregon is way behind that in California, but I can say that Vincent, Goodfellow, and Patricia Green would all make my Top 10 US Pinot Producers list.
I have had very mixed results with the small handful of Eyrie wines I have tried, and I stepped away from St. Innocent probably 10 years ago when the wines were just not working for me.
Not 10 yet, but my favorites and top in the cellar;
Thomas
Kelley Fox
McKinlay
Prive
With the following 3 (first two just tasted from BD15) blowing me away over the first bottles. I will be re-ordering many more;
Schone Tal
Perkins Harter (Braken)
De La Boue
For me these are small lot wineries that immediately jump out of glass as Oregon/Burg…
I really only have a top 5 looking at my collection, very Berserker-centric.
Goodfellow
Kelley Fox
Patricia Green Cellars
Vincent
Violin
But would add Thomas, Arterberry Maresh, Walter Scott, Evesham Wood, Trathen Hall as others I’ve enjoyed.
We know stuff.
Two additional names to add are J.C. Somers (his J. Christopher wine is also very good) and Belle Pente. Of the big-time producers, I like Domaine Drouhin the best, but I prefer most of the artistic producers mentioned in this thread.
While I do think the producer is important in setting an overall aesthetic, I do not think about Oregon Pinot solely in terms of producers because the region’s vineyards are so young. In my exploration, vine age is a critical determinant in elevating a wine. I thank Jim Anderson for making both the Bishop block and Madrone blocks at Durant and his old vine and regular estate for driving this point home for me. I’ve bought some older Archery Summit Arcus wines based on the vineyard’s strength, not on the producer.
The next most important factor for me has been the length of time a producer has had a vineyard source. I get the distinct impression that quality improves with time spent using a site, e.g., Marcus with Whistling Ridge or PGC with Ridgecrest/Wind Ridge. I hesitate to purchase some of my favorite producers during their inaugural vintage (or 2) with a new vineyard site. Maybe I’m too cautious here.
TL:DR Is Cameron a top producer in Oregon? I’m not sure I care because Abbey Ridge is such a great pinot site.
If I understand you correctly, I find this statement rather shocking. No one makes wines that taste like Kelley Fox’s or Marcus Goodfellow’s and the touch of those winemakers is reflected across all the vineyards they work. Conversely (without naming names), I have had plenty of wines from excellent vineyards that were ruined by the winemaker. I could taste the great raw materials underneath, but the wine itself was awful stylistically. I believe that a great winemaker can make great wines with less than top tier/old vine vineyards. The opposite is absolutely not true.
And yes, you are being too cautious. Jim only started working with Ridgecrest and Wind Ridge in the last year or two. IMO, they are both as good as wines from vineyards that he has worked with for 20 years.
I see lots of lists but not much discussion of the style of these producers. My impression is that there’s a wide variation of approaches within most of these lists. I’d be curious to hear what people have to say about the styles.
Quick note on style for one producer: Goodfellow. I blinded a very experienced wine professional on a Goodfellow Pinot and a Jouan village wine. It was difficult for the professional to stylistically separate the two. Notes from that evening are up here somewhere…
@John_Morris see this link: TN: Blind Tasting Practice (Desire Lines, Weltner, Massican, Goodfellow, Jouan, Walter)
Odd I’ve never had Goodfellow’s Pinots, but I love their Chardonnays. I will have to rectify that.
Based on my cellar:
Patricia Green (I have a lot by far)
Purple Hands
Bethel Heights
Elk Cove
Brittan
Schone Tal
Lingua Franca
Ponzis
Perkins Harter
Eyrie