Vintage Oregon

[Nevan]

Oohh, big step . . . a total eGullet newbie (this what, my third posting?) and I'm starting a new topic?!?

Craig Camp suggested that I post notes from a visit to Vintage Oregon trade/public tasting held in Portland last night. So, OK! And, I thought it might kick-off some Oregon wine discussion . . .? Anybody?

While it was no Taste Washington (about 1/10th the size), Vintage Oregon was a congenial affair. Food pairing highlights included Dungeness and Pinot gris and Painted Hills Beef and Pinot noir--though there were at least a dozen other good offerings to be had. About 40 wineries poured . . . some of the biggies were missing, but some of the best quality wines were still there . . . plus a couple of just-getting-started ventures. The whole thing felt like a family affair--which is good and bad. Good because the atmosphere was friendly, but bad because that friendliness was mostly due to the fact that most attendees were trade--there simply weren't enough public attendees and that IS bad.

My personal favorite wines were as follows (not in order of preference but in order of tasting).

>Hamacher 2000 Chardonnay. WOW! Fruity, flinty, bright and vivacious. Better than his '99. Probably the best of the vintage (and I can say that having just also tasted through about 45 other '00 Chards). One local writer told me it was the closest OR Chard to burgundy he's ever had. Hard to arugue against!

>Holloran 2000 Riesling. Best Riesling I've had in awhile from PNW. His '99 was killer too. Best thing about it is it is D-R-Y, and T-A-R-T, but with great fruit and a pleasing weight in the mouth. Minerals and flowers! Beats the underwear off the thin off-dry Rieslings so many folks like to make (I guess because so many folks still like to drink them). Bill Holloran says just wait, he's got some new vineyards producing fruit he thinks is even better (some old vine, some new vine). OR Riesling is today where OR Chards were 7 years ago (i.e., out of fashion, generally high yield and off-dry) . . . but this Riesling is where OR could go in the future.

>Broadley '01 Claudia's Choice Pinot noir. Bodacious sweet fruit is clearly focused, with a great floral overlay on the nose and tongue. The wine has a nicely viscous mouth feel with some light cocoa overtones to the plump blackberry fruit. REALLY drinking well right now. It's always been a favorite, but seems even more so now (and the '02 in barrel might even be better).

>Torii Mor Pinot blanc (ok, so how can you not jump between reds and whites at an event like this?). Uncutous texture and fruit (ML? Wood?) makes the wine feel heavy, but with some great vanilla and ripe peach flavors. Some OR blancs are finally getting there. For a different style (more austere but still very fruity) I also liked the Amity p. blanc a lot.

>Lemelson. All three of the '00 pinot's were really tasty. Thea's Selection is meant for more current drinking. Lots of blue and black fruits with hints of coffee. Soft tannins, but the overall structure and balance were very pleasing. Stermer Vineyard was stouter, with similar fruit character but more acid, and very flavorful (a bit weightier in the mouth). Jerome Reserve was the ageworthy big brother in this batch. Strong tannins, but not out of balance to the big mostly blackberry and plum fruit. Some black pepper and spice, could it be cardamom?

>Raptor Ridge. They were carefully pouring their sold-out '00 Murto Vineyard Pinot noir, which is a wonderfully supple and fruit-sweet pinot, but most folks wanted their Shea Vineyard (it's gotten some good ratings and write ups), which was quite elegant, with velvety texture, dark red cherries, earth, and a sense of roses on the nose.

>Coleman Vineyard. Their '00 Reserve Pinot noir was one of the best of the vintage (now, they tell me, all gone). The '01 Pinot Reserve was a bit tight, but showed good balance and controlled fruit with some grounding spice notes--needs a bit more time, but seems as if all the good stuff is there.

There were lot's of others, but those stood out for me . . . at least last night!

One last note. I talked with Steve Vuylsteke, general manager at Erath. He was naturally glad to have the Gaiter & Brecher article pick their Pinot as one of the best in their "under $20" Pinot roundup . . . but he was naturally a bit sad that it was a 1998 they reviewed. "People are calling wanting it," he said, "and of course we don't have it any more!" Apparently, though, some bottle shops do!

Anybody else had any good Oregon wines lately??

-Nevan

[Claude Kolm/The Fine Wine Review]

Nevan -- There are many nice wines in Oregon, and there is a refreshing lack of hubris among the winemakers that contrasts with what one frequently encounters in the state to the south.

On the minus side, there as been a recent escalation of price to the point that a fair number of the Pinot Noirs are overpriced, that is, one can get better quality Burgundies for the same amount of mone.

I've had the Hammacher Chardonnay that you mention, and it is a very nice wine. Broadley, too, produces very good wines. My current favorite in Oregon is McKinstry. Also, Au Bon Climat, in Santa Barbara, makes excellent Pinot Noir from Oregon.

Best regards,

Claude Kolm

The Fine Wine Review

[Nevan]

Hello Claude:

  My current favorite in Oregon is McKinstry

I'm wondering, do you mean "McKinley?" His wines are certainly hard to find, and in my experience good to great in quality, but distinctively, well, distinctive--he's a bit of a character and so are his wines. I saw that he was at the event Monday night, but I didn't get to his wines in time.

Yes, price is a major issue here. As I mentioned in another post, some of it is purely because of the intensive and expensive farming and winemaking that is pretty much the norm--so likely we will always be on the high side, especially because only a precious few wineries here have the economies of scale to bring to market decent quantities of inexpensive wines. But that doesn;t explain all of the pricing. Just like the big national magazines are still full of ads today for Rolex watches and Viking ranges, so some of our wineries continue to markt $65-$100 pinots! Some of our winemakers need a little more of that hubris stuff!

Even so, I can tell you for a fact most winemakers here are definitely sensitive about pricing issues. Some producers of great quality have rather reasonable prices: Patricia Green cellars, Broadley (on futures), Cristom, Evesham Wood, Westrey, Bethel Heights all rush to mind.

-Nevan

[Claude Kolm/The Fine Wine Review]

Sorry, I did mean McKinley -- slip of the mind.