Some respected tasters opined here they had never really liked an Oregon Pinot
Noir. I really liked one last night. Betsy had a long day of rehearsing
yesterday, then promised David she would give him a driving lesson - dinner was
left to me. I grabbed some steelhead trout, squash, and portabellos at the
store. Marinated the trout briefly in a soy/mirin mix. Everything went on the
grill, and served with leftover cabbage and orzo. I like PN and salmon, and as
steelhead is a lot like salmon went with the 2000 St. Innocent Temperance Hill
Pinot Noir. I remembered this as a light-bodied ON, but this has picked up some
body in the bottle. Earthy nose. Very attractive raspberry fruit, moderate
acidity balancing the sweetness of the fruit. Light cedar notes (label says 30%
new oak). Fresh and delighful. Really maybe the best under $20 Oregon Pinot
I've had. Why did I only get one!?!?A-/B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a
good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where
it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy,
and certainly not of consistency.
Dale

Dale Williams
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PS: I realize that 2000 doesn't have the rep as most stellar of OR vintages,
but this makes me want to try more St. Innocents from "better" vintages.
Dale

Dale Williams
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PS: I realize that 2000 doesn't have the rep as most stellar of OR vintages,
but this makes me want to try more St. Innocents from "better" vintages.
Dale

Dale Williams
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Dale Williams wrote:

Some respected tasters opined here they had never really liked an Oregon Pinot
Noir. I really liked one last night.

Hmmm... Dunno if that was my post, but in case it was: it's not that I
haven't liked any Oregon Pinots; rather, I find the ones in my desired
price range ($30 per bottle) to be usually rather dull. I've had some
very good PNs from Oregon (Dom. Drouhin back in the '80s and early '90s
for instance), but typically in the $40 per bottle range, which IMO
forces the QPR question vis-a-vis what one can get from Burgundy at that
same price point. There are, however, notable exceptions to the
generalizations I've stated above.

2000 St. Innocent Temperance Hill
Pinot Noir. I remembered this as a light-bodied ON, but this has picked up some
body in the bottle. Earthy nose. Very attractive raspberry fruit, moderate
acidity balancing the sweetness of the fruit. Light cedar notes (label says 30%
new oak). Fresh and delighful. Really maybe the best under $20 Oregon Pinot
I've had. Why did I only get one!?!?A-/B+

Sounds like a winner. I'll have to hunt it down.

Thanks, Dale!
Mark Lipton

Dale Williams wrote:

Some respected tasters opined here they had never really liked an Oregon Pinot
Noir. I really liked one last night.

Hmmm... Dunno if that was my post, but in case it was: it's not that I
haven't liked any Oregon Pinots; rather, I find the ones in my desired
price range ($30 per bottle) to be usually rather dull. I've had some
very good PNs from Oregon (Dom. Drouhin back in the '80s and early '90s
for instance), but typically in the $40 per bottle range, which IMO
forces the QPR question vis-a-vis what one can get from Burgundy at that
same price point. There are, however, notable exceptions to the
generalizations I've stated above.

2000 St. Innocent Temperance Hill
Pinot Noir. I remembered this as a light-bodied ON, but this has picked up some
body in the bottle. Earthy nose. Very attractive raspberry fruit, moderate
acidity balancing the sweetness of the fruit. Light cedar notes (label says 30%
new oak). Fresh and delighful. Really maybe the best under $20 Oregon Pinot
I've had. Why did I only get one!?!?A-/B+

Sounds like a winner. I'll have to hunt it down.

Thanks, Dale!
Mark Lipton

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 12:09:05 -0500, Mark Lipton
wrote:

Dale Williams wrote:

Some respected tasters opined here they had never really liked an Oregon Pinot
Noir. I really liked one last night.

Hmmm... Dunno if that was my post, but in case it was: it's not that I
haven't liked any Oregon Pinots; rather, I find the ones in my desired
price range ($30 per bottle) to be usually rather dull. I've had some
very good PNs from Oregon (Dom. Drouhin back in the '80s and early '90s
for instance), but typically in the $40 per bottle range, which IMO
forces the QPR question vis-a-vis what one can get from Burgundy at that
same price point. There are, however, notable exceptions to the
generalizations I've stated above.

2000 St. Innocent Temperance Hill
Pinot Noir. I remembered this as a light-bodied ON, but this has picked up some
body in the bottle. Earthy nose. Very attractive raspberry fruit, moderate
acidity balancing the sweetness of the fruit. Light cedar notes (label says 30%
new oak). Fresh and delighful. Really maybe the best under $20 Oregon Pinot
I've had. Why did I only get one!?!?A-/B+

Sounds like a winner. I'll have to hunt it down.

I've had some good experience with Oregon PNs, but must confess that I
seldom find them off-the-shelf at the local merchant. The mass market
OR stuff usually comes across to me as watery, and similar to cherry
Kool-Aid. But, there's some great dark, rich, full-blown OR PNs being
made. One place that has proven very reliable both for shipping and
shopping with a very informative web site has been Avalon Wine
(http://www.avalonwine.com/).

Their page offers a lot of profiles of OR (and WA) winemakers with
loads of information beyond basic pricing and availability. A couple
of wines that I've enjoyed were from Andrew Rich Winery. He offers a
number of varietals, but his PNs are the ones I've liked best. And,
strangely enough, his "Cuvee B" bottling appeals to me more than the
pricier top end line.

They will also tip you off on the Web site to second bottlings from
some premium producers which offer excellent QPR. One that worked for
me was Jezebel PN.

For off the shelf PN, I tend to go with Russian River or Carneros
producers and agree with both of you that the $20-$30 price point
takes a bit of work to find good stuff.

A recent discovery here has been Laurier Los Carneros, 2001 Pinot Noir
at $12.99. A bit lighter than I like but with a nice body, pleasant
warm berry nose and a smooth finish with a mouthful of dark cherry and
cassis. A nice wine that you don't hesitate to pull another cork for
an extra glass based on price.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
"Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights"
Both from Smithsonian Books
***www.thunderchief.org

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 12:09:05 -0500, Mark Lipton
wrote:

Dale Williams wrote:

Some respected tasters opined here they had never really liked an Oregon Pinot
Noir. I really liked one last night.

Hmmm... Dunno if that was my post, but in case it was: it's not that I
haven't liked any Oregon Pinots; rather, I find the ones in my desired
price range ($30 per bottle) to be usually rather dull. I've had some
very good PNs from Oregon (Dom. Drouhin back in the '80s and early '90s
for instance), but typically in the $40 per bottle range, which IMO
forces the QPR question vis-a-vis what one can get from Burgundy at that
same price point. There are, however, notable exceptions to the
generalizations I've stated above.

2000 St. Innocent Temperance Hill
Pinot Noir. I remembered this as a light-bodied ON, but this has picked up some
body in the bottle. Earthy nose. Very attractive raspberry fruit, moderate
acidity balancing the sweetness of the fruit. Light cedar notes (label says 30%
new oak). Fresh and delighful. Really maybe the best under $20 Oregon Pinot
I've had. Why did I only get one!?!?A-/B+

Sounds like a winner. I'll have to hunt it down.

I've had some good experience with Oregon PNs, but must confess that I
seldom find them off-the-shelf at the local merchant. The mass market
OR stuff usually comes across to me as watery, and similar to cherry
Kool-Aid. But, there's some great dark, rich, full-blown OR PNs being
made. One place that has proven very reliable both for shipping and
shopping with a very informative web site has been Avalon Wine
(http://www.avalonwine.com/).

Their page offers a lot of profiles of OR (and WA) winemakers with
loads of information beyond basic pricing and availability. A couple
of wines that I've enjoyed were from Andrew Rich Winery. He offers a
number of varietals, but his PNs are the ones I've liked best. And,
strangely enough, his "Cuvee B" bottling appeals to me more than the
pricier top end line.

They will also tip you off on the Web site to second bottlings from
some premium producers which offer excellent QPR. One that worked for
me was Jezebel PN.

For off the shelf PN, I tend to go with Russian River or Carneros
producers and agree with both of you that the $20-$30 price point
takes a bit of work to find good stuff.

A recent discovery here has been Laurier Los Carneros, 2001 Pinot Noir
at $12.99. A bit lighter than I like but with a nice body, pleasant
warm berry nose and a smooth finish with a mouthful of dark cherry and
cassis. A nice wine that you don't hesitate to pull another cork for
an extra glass based on price.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
"Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights"
Both from Smithsonian Books
***www.thunderchief.org

Dale Williams wrote:

PS: I realize that 2000 doesn't have the rep as most stellar of OR vintages,
but this makes me want to try more St. Innocents from "better" vintages.

In talking with the winemaker (Mike Vlossak) at St. Innocent some years back, I
believe he stated that he spent a fair bit of time in Burgundy "studying" their
methods and tried to capture a "Burgundian character" in his wines.
Furthermore, he believed wine is meant to be drunk with food. Thus he crafts
his wines with "food-friendliness" in mind (as opposed to in-your-face,
overextracted musclers). I have found that though they tend not to be as "big"
as some of my favorites, (such as Panther Creek, for example), they are
well-made, well-balanced, go well with food, and are generally a very good
value. And, in thinking about it, I think all his Pinots are single vineyard
offerings. I don't believe he blends.

Incidentally, look for the 2001 and 2002 Pinots from Oregon. My sampling to
date indicates a couple _very_ nice vintages.

And for Mark L., who, I believe, complained about the prices of the "good"
Oregon Pinots, I've actually seen some prices come down a bit in the last few
years. Whether this is from oversupply or my being in the right place at the
right time, I have no idea. Don't know if it's actually a trend or not, but we
can dream. :-)

--
Regards,

- Roy

=*=*=
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark
Twain
The truth is rarely pure, and never simple. - Oscar Wilde

In article , Roy
writes:

think all his Pinots are single vineyard
offerings. I don't believe he blends.

I think you're right in general, though I know he made a 2001 "Willamette". I
remember hearing reason, but can't recall now- grapes he didn't have enough of
to bottle seperately, some young vines, or whatever.
Dale

Dale Williams
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