Wine By Joe (Dobbes) 2006 Pinot Noir, Oregon

WINE TALK
1

Picked this up in Ashland, while up there for a Micheal Franti/ Spearhead show at the Britt(a great little ampatheatre in Jacksonville).

Had this with homemade pizza- crust from Sammy’s New Cowby Bistro, homemade pizza sauce with sundried tomatoes and paste, spanish rojo garlic(from our garden), and a little pesto. Toppings- Sliced prosciutto panino,(mozzarella and prosciutto rolled up together) manchego, mazz, and parm, with sliced fresh red peppers- killer good.

The Pinot-
Aromas of bright red cherry, tomatoe leaf, slight mushroomy underbrush, damp forrest.

Nice complexity on the pal., with darker cherry, some ripe orange notes, a little cedar box, and some sweet maplewood(FF).

Decent balance for an 06’, showing little heat, with just enough acid to keep the fruit aloft, and a medium finish.

All in all, a nice little Or. Pinot with the kind of characteristics that sets Or. apart from the rest of the croud. Not bad for around $16.

2

John, thanks for the note. I see this around a lot, but the marketing and look of it has made me steer clear. Maybe I’ll give it a whirl

3

Zach, while you’re at it pick up a bottle of AtoZ and compare the two. Let me know which one you prefer in that price range.

4

Zach,
I was pleasantly surprised to find it had some complexity and typicity(a bit on the under ripe side, with the vegetal tomato notes), but not bad for an 06. I haven’t had the AtoZ 06 but I have seen the 07 all over the place. Is Sam Tannahill still envolved with the label?

5

John, Sam is not only still involved with A to Z, but A to Z (along with some additional investors) bought Rex Hill. He, Cheryl, Bill and Deb are very busy these days managing combined production of well in excess of 100,000 cases.

6

Bob, where does A to Z rank in terms of large volume Pinot producers?

I shared lunch with some Rex Hill staffers a few weeks ago and was served an 04 during the meal…didn’t like it at all. A few nights ago Scott Christie popped an 07 Rex Hill which stumped me blind (guessed Village NSG)…stunning value for $20-ish at Wine Library. Not particularly complex but very well done. Ofcourse Scott was equally fooled by an 07 Westrey Oracle [wink.gif]. The 05 Camille Giroud Maranges was the least “Burgundian” of the three with oak stepping all over an otherwise lovely and delicate Pinot.

RT

7

Being a fan of Francis Tannahill, I visited Rex Hill last October. The A to Z, Rex Hill, and F-T wines are all being made under one roof now. With Sam Tannahill’s winemaking (and his wife Cheryl’s), and the capital influx provided by A to Z sales, Rex Hill is going to be a label to watch in the future. The vineyard is the wild card-to what extent different vineyard management and expenditures will improve the quality of the fruit remains to be seen but I think it’s a safe bet the Rex Hill estate wines are going to be pretty good in the near future and only improve from there. The F-T wines, needless to say, seemed like a tiny side-project tucked away in a little recess of the cellar compared to the other wines being produced there.

8

I don’t think anyone except perhaps Willamette Valley Vineyards comes close, Rich. They made 65,000 cases of pinot noir in 2007 and I expect the number for 2008 will be substantially higher.

9

A good chunk of the elevage for A to Z took place at Rex Hill previously, and don’t forget the Hatcher brand.

10

Great to have you over here Richard! [berserker.gif]

11

Wow, busy is right. I can’t imagine being responsible for all that production. Good thing Cheryl is his partner- very tallented couple, and really nice folks ta boot.

12

Cheers John. [cheers.gif]

RT

13

I think Bob’s right. A to Z looks to be number one in pinot noir, Willamette Valley Vineyards number two. For details on the largest Oregon producer, here’s a good link to information from last year. Don’t think much has changed. King Estate is the largest, but most of the production is gris.

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I look over this information and marvel, once again, at a few things:

  1. The largest winery in the state makes 160,000 cases. Not too shabby, but there aren’t many close to that figure.

  2. The 20th largest winery produces about 20,000 cases, which surprises me once again with how the industry here is so dominated by small producers. Our climate and topography aren’t suited for mass scale winegrowing. Still, I look at this information and can’t help but think how much of a small fry Oregon is. In some ways, thank god. In other ways, there’s still so much untapped potential.