Over the holidays, we traveled to Oregon for Christmas, then down to San
Francisco for my mother's 80th birthday and New Years. What follows
here are the wines tasted in Oregon:

On Christmas eve, our family gathers for a dinner of lamb and salmon.
One cousin and I have for the past 5 years or so brought a few special
wines to try. This year, my contributions we

1988 de Montille Pommard 'Les Rugiens' was opened 2 hours ahead of time
and given a decant. At serving time, it had opened nicely to become a
fairly four-square Burgundy with lots of raspberry fruit and pencil lead.

1988 J.-F. Mugnier Clos Vougeot was also opened 2 hours beforehand but
not decanted. It proved to be remarkably similar to the Pommard, but
showed some oakiness and had some added spice.

(Alas, the 2005 Dönnhoff Riesling that I'd also brought was broken
accidentally by a cousin)

Both wines were very much alive and indeed might still be short of full
maturity.

On the 26th, I decamped for Yamhill County but most of my intended
destinations were closed for the day. Instead, I stopped at the Ponzi
Wine Bar in Dundee for a quick lunch and sampled their wines, finding
them pretty unremarkable (as usual).

The 2006 Pinot Blanc (13.5% ABV) smelled of apples and alcohol and light
and clean.

The 2006 Riesling (13% ABV) smelled of stones and kersosene and proved
to be a lightly fruity wine with good acidity.

The 2006 Pinot Gris (13.6% ABV) was pretty muted, but did taste of
creamy pineapple with maybe a hint of citrus.

The lone red wine at the tasting was the 2006 Tavola Pinot Noir (13.5%
ABV), their VdT equivalent. It proved to have a smoky nose, bright
cherry fruit and some oak. It would be a decent QPR choice at $15, but
at the $25 they were asking for it, it's laughably overpriced.

Moving on to Chehalem, I tried a much more interesting lineup of wines.

Their 2006 Pinot Blanc Stoller Vyd (15.5% ABV) proved to be just as good
as I remembered earlier editions of this wine to be. It has a potent,
floral nose with good minerality, good acidity, a creamy texture and
apple fruit. (It was given a sur lie treatment, which I think may have
added to the body). A lovely wine.

This led to a lengthy conversation with the pourer about my general
preference for Pinot Blanc over Pinot Gris in Oregon, a point that he
agreed with. He then stated that he felt that their Reserve PG was one
of the best in the state.

The 2006 Reserve Pinot Gris (15.5% ABV) had a mineral-laden nose and a
creamy pineapply character, but was substantially less aromatic and less
interesting than their PB.

The 2004 Ian's Reserve Chardonnay had a nose of lemons and stones and a
round mouthfeel with some lactic notes amid the white peach flavors. Not
bad for a Chardonnay, but I'll take Brun's blanc for half the price first.

The 2006 3 Vineyards Pinot Noir (14.8% ABV) showed bright cherry fruit
in the nose with a bit of alcoholic burn and proved to have good acidity
and loads of fruit. Also not a cheap wine, but one that can be drunk now
or in 5 years time.

Moving on to the single vineyard Pinots, we got to the 2005 Stoller
Vineyard Pinot Noir which was all about smoky Pinot fruit, deep and
young. An excellent example of Oregon Pinot to me.

The 2005 Ridgecrest Vineyard Pinot Noir was an interesting contrast to
the previous wine, showing much brighter red fruit in the nose, and
proving to be more acidic and tannic and less deeply fruited. Certainly
built for longer aging, this seemed far more Burgundian in character.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

In article >, Mark Lipton >
wrote:

> Over the holidays, we traveled to Oregon for Christmas, then down to San
> Francisco for my mother's 80th birthday and New Years. What follows
> here are the wines tasted in Oregon:
>
> On Christmas eve, our family gathers for a dinner of lamb and salmon.
> One cousin and I have for the past 5 years or so brought a few special
> wines to try. This year, my contributions we
>
> 1988 de Montille Pommard 'Les Rugiens' was opened 2 hours ahead of time
> and given a decant. At serving time, it had opened nicely to become a
> fairly four-square Burgundy with lots of raspberry fruit and pencil lead.
>
> 1988 J.-F. Mugnier Clos Vougeot was also opened 2 hours beforehand but
> not decanted. It proved to be remarkably similar to the Pommard, but
> showed some oakiness and had some added spice.
>
> (Alas, the 2005 Dönnhoff Riesling that I'd also brought was broken
> accidentally by a cousin)
>
> Both wines were very much alive and indeed might still be short of full
> maturity.
>
> On the 26th, I decamped for Yamhill County but most of my intended
> destinations were closed for the day. Instead, I stopped at the Ponzi
> Wine Bar in Dundee for a quick lunch and sampled their wines, finding
> them pretty unremarkable (as usual).
>
> The 2006 Pinot Blanc (13.5% ABV) smelled of apples and alcohol and light
> and clean.
>
> The 2006 Riesling (13% ABV) smelled of stones and kersosene and proved
> to be a lightly fruity wine with good acidity.
>
> The 2006 Pinot Gris (13.6% ABV) was pretty muted, but did taste of
> creamy pineapple with maybe a hint of citrus.
>
> The lone red wine at the tasting was the 2006 Tavola Pinot Noir (13.5%
> ABV), their VdT equivalent. It proved to have a smoky nose, bright
> cherry fruit and some oak. It would be a decent QPR choice at $15, but
> at the $25 they were asking for it, it's laughably overpriced.
>
> Moving on to Chehalem, I tried a much more interesting lineup of wines.
>
> Their 2006 Pinot Blanc Stoller Vyd (15.5% ABV) proved to be just as good
> as I remembered earlier editions of this wine to be. It has a potent,
> floral nose with good minerality, good acidity, a creamy texture and
> apple fruit. (It was given a sur lie treatment, which I think may have
> added to the body). A lovely wine.
>
> This led to a lengthy conversation with the pourer about my general
> preference for Pinot Blanc over Pinot Gris in Oregon, a point that he
> agreed with. He then stated that he felt that their Reserve PG was one
> of the best in the state.
>
> The 2006 Reserve Pinot Gris (15.5% ABV) had a mineral-laden nose and a
> creamy pineapply character, but was substantially less aromatic and less
> interesting than their PB.
>
> The 2004 Ian's Reserve Chardonnay had a nose of lemons and stones and a
> round mouthfeel with some lactic notes amid the white peach flavors. Not
> bad for a Chardonnay, but I'll take Brun's blanc for half the price first.
>
> The 2006 3 Vineyards Pinot Noir (14.8% ABV) showed bright cherry fruit
> in the nose with a bit of alcoholic burn and proved to have good acidity
> and loads of fruit. Also not a cheap wine, but one that can be drunk now
> or in 5 years time.
>
> Moving on to the single vineyard Pinots, we got to the 2005 Stoller
> Vineyard Pinot Noir which was all about smoky Pinot fruit, deep and
> young. An excellent example of Oregon Pinot to me.
>
> The 2005 Ridgecrest Vineyard Pinot Noir was an interesting contrast to
> the previous wine, showing much brighter red fruit in the nose, and
> proving to be more acidic and tannic and less deeply fruited. Certainly
> built for longer aging, this seemed far more Burgundian in character.
>
> Mark Lipton

I couldn't find the Chehalem tasting room when I was there. Where
exactly is it?