SOME OREGON SELECTIONS

 

 

We have good access to many Oregon Pinot Noirs.
There are some good bottles in the shop, but you will find many of the postings here to have "Out of Stock" notations.
Many of the vintners have increased pricing and it seems a number of wineries have changed the style of their wines.

As wineries grow they often make changes in distribution, frequently selecting a sales company that is, in our view, not well-suited to their production.

(This is not solely the case with Oregon producers as we see this here in California as well as foreign brands.)

We have limited display space in the shop and our selections seem to rotate frequently.



Make good wine and offer it at a sensible price!
But it seems so many wineries are asking premium prices and not every wine is worth what they are charging.

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PONZI VINEYARDS

My oh my!

How things at this winery have changed.

The Ponzi Family moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon in 1969, planting vines in 1970 and making their first wines in 1974.

We enjoyed some of their early wines and appreciated the improvements over the decades as they became better grape growers and competent in the cellar.

The winery grew over the years and as sometimes happens in the world of running a winery, it's easy to get over your skis and the financial burdens can become mighty challenging.

In April of 2021 it was announced the Ponzi family were handing the keys to the cellar to the owners of the Bollinger Champagne winery.

Things are quite different today.  The Ponzi family is no longer involved, though the winery website retains mention of winemaker Luisa Ponzi as being their "legacy winemaker."

They now make at least nine bottlings of Pinot Noir.

There are three bottlings of Chardonnay.

And as they're owned by a Champagne house, Ponzi now makes a bottle fermented sparkling wine.

Oh!  After many years of making good Pinot Gris, a lovely dry white wine, the newest vintage is noticeably sweet!
We wondered why they're courting, seemingly, a different consumer these days with that sort of mass-market wine.


We still have some bottles of the Ponzi 2022 Pinot Gris, but will skip the 2023.

We wonder what the future holds for this winery.

 

 

Currently in stock:  PONZI 2022 PINOT GRIS  $22.99

 

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THE EYRIE VINEYARD

The Eyrie Vineyard was the home of "Papa Pinot," a real pioneer of a fellow named David Lett.  David, who passed away recently, was the first to plant Pinot Noir in Oregon after working to match various grape varieties to regions where the fruit would "just" attain ripeness or maturity.   

What bigger challenge than to plant Pinot Noir in a place that was un-tested?  

Lett did this in 1966 and started making wine shortly thereafter.  His early Pinot Noir wines were most encouraging and soon you had a couple of other crazy fellows in the neighborhood (those would be Dick Ponzi, Dick Erath and Dave Adelsheim).  

Lett, though, is viewed by many as the "father of Oregon wine-growing" and his wines set the standard back in those early days, bringing much-needed attention to Oregon as a potentially fine wine region.   

 

David had long been frustrated, in my view, that his wines have not been more glorified and sought-after.  We conducted a tasting some years ago and included his 'normal' bottling of Pinot Noir amongst a group of similarly-priced wines.  He sent a rather defensive note saying "this is like comparing a 'village' level of Burgundy to premier cru or grand cru wines."  I did not think the tasting was unfair, since his wine was priced in the same neighborhood as the other wines.   The Eyrie wine did not fare well in the tasting, frankly and Lett probably found selling wine to be challenging an endeavor as growing grapes and making wine.  I suspect part of the dynamic was simply a case of David being "cellar blind" and he simply was comfortable with his own wines.

David & Diana Lett's son Jason runs the winery these days.  I stopped in recently and found the wines to be, frankly, better than I'd expected.  

 

 

The estate comprises four vineyard parcels in the Red Hills area covering a bit more than 50 acres.  The wines are produced in a low-tech, traditional fashion.  Lett prefers to do minimal rackings, lengthy "lees contact" (this comes through nicely in their Pinot Gris), spontaneous malolactic fermentations, with no fining and minimal filtration.  

These are wines which are lost on those looking for fruit bombs or oak monsters.  Eyrie's bottlings are far too subtle for many wine drinkers (and certainly the critics who seem to prefer a more exuberant style of wine).   If you look at the color of an Eyrie Pinot these days, you'll find a wine that's marginally darker than some rosés.  The critics deduct points from their 100 Point Scale if the wine is not inky purple.

David Lett would defend the relative lack of color in Pinot Noir saying something along the lines of "the intensity of color in a wine of, say, the Minervois appellation is inversely proportional to the quality and complexity of that wine."

Having had some success with Pinot Noir, Lett planted Pinot Gris to test its ability to ripen and to produce a good white wine. It was the first vineyard of this grape in the United States and he made America's first Pinot Gris in 1970, a decade before others began dabbling with this variety.

Lett had some early success and told us he'd trade bottles of this wine with local salmon fishermen who knew to stop by the winery to exchange their catch for some bottles of David's unusual little white wine.
It was also a good match, on the dinner table, with the salmon and this wine had quite a staunch following.

Other producers followed suit and today Pinot Gris is "the" major white wine in Oregon (there's three times as much Pinot Gris planted as Chardonnay). 

 

 

As noted earlier, they have a rather minimalistic approach to making this wine.  The juice is fermented in stainless steel and they encourage the secondary malolactic fermentation.  The wine then spends just short of a year aging on its spent yeast sediment and this contributes a bit of richness to the wine.  It's dry and but mildly acidic.  It has a lightly brassy color and there's a mildly smoky character on the nose.  There are some pear-like fruit tones and the wine is dry and medium-light on the palate.   We have the 2017 in stock presently.

The current Pinot Noir is perfectly nice, but, for my taste, over-shadowed by the wines produced by neighboring vintners.  I think the wine is a bit costly for what it delivers, but it's well-made, light and elegant.  You can tell it's Pinot Noir, however.

 

Jason has been making some interesting single vineyard Pinot Noirs and he's also dabbling in other varieties.  We tasted a Trousseau bottling that was fairly typical of the wines we've tasted of that variety grown in France's Jura region.  Its $35 price tag makes it less attractive, but it's a nice curiosity.

He's also making a Chasselas...a dry white...

There was a wine called "Black Cap" Pinot Noir...

The wine gets its name from three Oregon natives:  the black capped Chickadee (a local songbird), the black-capped Morel (mushroom) and the black-capped Raspberry.  

Jason Lett had the idea of making a wine which expresses its roots.  The 2009 was a very fine Willamette Valley Pinot Noir...we liked the dark cherry notes and there's just the right amount of sweet oak lurking in the background.  
It seems this  is no longer in production.

 

Currently in stock:  2017 Eyrie PINOT GRIS  SOLD OUT
((It seems the Pinot Gris is now, overnight, a significantly more costly wine...it had been $18/bottle and in the blink of an eye, has increased to nearly $30!))

The winery tasting room is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5.
The place used to be staffed by Jacques Rendu, though I understand Monsieur Rendu has changed jobs...

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DOMAINE DROUHIN

Drouhin is a French family from Burgundy.  Their label in Beaune is "Joseph Drouhin".  The head honcho, "Dad" (Robert Drouhin) was very impressed when he tasted an Oregon Pinot Noir from David Lett's "The Eyrie Vineyards".   So impressed, he ventured to the Willamette Valley and found a vineyard site near Dundee.  Established in 1988, Robert's daughter Veronique is "Boss" in Oregon. Really.  She's married to a fellow named "Boss".  (I don't make this stuff up, you know.) 



The first wines were mighty impressive, having lovely Pinot fruit and a nice touch of oak.  

 

The Drouhin Burgundies are quite nice these days.  I wonder if having a more global perspective on Pinot Noir hasn't helped them with their French wines.  Of the large Burgundy companies, though, the current crop of Drouhin wines is reliably good.

 

The Oregon bottlings seem to take a year or two to start to blossom.  At least, I've often found I seem to prefer their Oregon Pinots when they're 3 or 4 years old.   The 2023 is their current release and this is very nice, balanced, mildly-oaked Pinot Noir.  It is a lovely wine and one which is drinkable now and should age handsomely, too.  We like the floral aspects of this wine along with classic cherry-like Pinot fruit.


Their "reserve" bottling of Pinot Noir is named after Veronique's daughter and is called "Laurene".  It is a shade more rich than the normal bottling.  We currently have the 2022 and it's a beautifully balanced Pinot Noir with mild red fruit notes and a touch of wood.

 

Chardonnay is, by comparison, a recent addition to the portfolio.  When you taste it, keep in mind Drouhin has extensive holdings in the Chablis area.   Hence, their Oregon Chardonnay is not a big, voluptuous, oaky white wine.  Like Chablis, it is a bit more reserved and subtle.
Some years ago, dining in San Francisco with a group of Italian winemakers, we ordered a bottle of a Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc.  This was roundly rejected by all and they asked if we might select another white wine.  We ordered a Domaine Drouhin Chardonnay and this, happily, met with approval from all parties.


Our experience with these wines is that they start out nicely elegant and they get even better with time in the bottle.  I recall having a Pinot Noir from a prominent Russian River producer alongside the Drouhin wine.  When they were first released, the Sonoma bottling was superior.  A decade later the Sonoma wine was still good, but the Drouhin had eclipsed it, blossoming beautifully.  

 

2023 DOMAINE DROUHIN Pinot Noir  (list $48)   SALE $42.99
2015 DOMAINE DROUHIN Pinot Noir (1/2 bottles)  Sold Out

DOMAINE DROUHIN 2022 Pinot Noir "Laurene" SALE  $79.99

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PENNER-ASH

Continuing the tradition of Oregon winemakers needing to have a hyphenated surname, Ms. Lynn Penner-Ash has been a part of the Willamette Valley wine scene since the late 1980s.

She was a botany major at U.C. Davis until she changed to viticulture.  Then Lynn spent a crush season at Domaine Chandon and changed her major again, this time to enology.  After a stint at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, she was hired at the Rex Hill Winery in the Willamette Valley and made some lovely Pinot Noirs there.  In those early days, Rex Hill was a sought-after producer whose wines were amongst Oregon's best.

 
In 1998, while still at Rex Hill, she started her own label and now she does that, full time.  Lynn's husband Ron works in the vineyards and cellar, as well as handling some of the marketing duties.

They built a winery and planted a wonderful vineyard overlooking the Chehalem Valley.

The winery and the Penner Ash brand were both purchased by the Kendall-Jackson folks.  In addition to the cellar, there are 15 acres of vineyards, too.
Both Lynn and Ron say they'll stay on with the winery, at least for the foreseeable future.  We'll see.  

There are about 15 acres of vineyards on the property where the winery is located.  It's called the Dussin Vineyard and Lynn selected several clones of Pinot Noir which she felt matched the particular terroir of this site.  This is in the Yamhill-Carlton District.

They buy fruit from nearly a dozen top vineyards situated in 5 regions, including Southern Oregon's Rogue River Valley (where they source some Syrah and Viognier).

 

Currently in stock: Sold Out

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RAPTOR RIDGE

Scott and Annie Shull own this lovely winery and they've been making wine since the mid-1990s.  

They've enjoyed a fair bit of success over the years and now their business is on fairly stable footing in the Newberg area.  Previously they've rented space in other wineries and so the wines were made here and there.

Shull's day job has been (or had been) working for Intel, though today he's up to his eyeballs in wine.  His Intel gig is as a consultant.  He also consults for a few other wineries in the neighborhood and produces wine for a couple of brands apart from his own.

The Shulls recently built their own winery and tasting facility and this should also help continue their escalating the quality of their wines.

They cultivate a bit of Pinot Gris and Gruner Veltliner, but most of their home vineyard is planted with Pinot Noir.  

We're partial to their 2013 "Barrel Select" Willamette Valley bottling.  They make a number of single vineyard wines, too, but this one hits the mark for tasting like Pinot Noir and being affordable.  It's a blend of their Estate Pinot Noir with purchased fruit from different vineyard sites and numerous Pinot Noir clones.  A touch of new oak adds complexity to the wine, but it's not dominating the Pinot Noir fruit.
Some describe this as the "entry level" wine, but there's not much "entry level" about it aside from the price. 
The wine is medium bodied, showing notes of cherry and a touch of pomegranate with a suggestion of oak.  The tannins are mild, so it's drinkable in its youth. 

 

Currently in stock:  2013 RAPTOR RIDGE Willamette Valley PINOT NOIR "Barrel Select" (list $30)  Sold Out 

STOLLER FAMILY ESTATE

Located in the Willamette Valley's Dundee Hills region, the Stoller vineyards and winery is the work of home-grown Oregonian Bill Stoller.  

He's a fellow who was actually born on the family property and grew up in Dayton.  His family was in the business of raising turkeys and Stoller graduated from Pacific University in nearby Forest Grove with degrees in business and economics.  He took a job with an employment agency in Portland which fell on hard times, so that company was sold to its staffers. In 1983 Stoller and two partners founded Express Employment Professionals and grew the company to hundreds of offices around the country (and beyond).    He had made a lot of money and was an investor in the Chehalem winery.

In the 1990s when his family's farm was on the market, he bought that property from his cousin.  It's nearly 400 acres and they currently have about 225 acres devoted to vineyards.  Mostly Pinot Noir.

They farm sustainably and have a couple of certifications.  Solar-powered weather stations.  Rain pond water supply and wells on the property. Ecological pest control rather than chemicals...

They cultivate seven different grape varieties, but Pinot Noir is the focus with Chardonnay.  There's a tiny bit of Riesling, Tempranillo, Syrah, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.  
In 2003 Stoller hired a young lady named Melissa Burr to be his winemaker after she got her start at Cooper Mountain.  Under her stewardship, Stoller has grown from a fledgling 1000 case production to today's 300,000 cases!

The company surely has grown....it used to be a winemaker, vineyard guy, cellar person and maybe a tasting room staffer and office person.

Now they have a Vice President of Finance, a Director of Events, a Vice President of Communications, a Creative Director, a VP of Marketing, a Content Producer, a VP of Business Development, a Business Development Manager, a Business Development Executive, a National Accounts Director and a Senior Vice President of National Sales.

The distribution of Stoller has changed and these days the wines are with a new, large company that has its hands more than full.

We've not tasted anything recently and the last time we were able to evaluate these, we did not find anything compelling.

Maybe that will change?

Currently in stock:  STOLLER 2018 Dundee Hills PINOT NOIR  (winery price $35)  Sold Out

ARCHERY SUMMIT

They've been right on target for their early vintages of Pinot Noir at this modest-sized property a mile south of Dundee, Oregon.  The winery was founded by the late Gary Andrus, former owner of Napa Valley's Pine Ridge Winery.  

 

Andrus was a fellow who was viewed by his Napa neighbors as a bit of an eccentric guy. 

The wines of Pine Ridge were always a bit restrained, so it was surprising to find the Pinot Noirs from Oregon to be so expressive and lavishly oaked.   While his Napa Cabernets were a bit shy and introverted in their youth, the Pinot Noirs were extroverts.

Gary also set up a winery in New Zealand where they made some good Pinot Noirs.  This was called "Gypsy Dancer."  

The winery was owned by a big investment group, Leucadia.  It's an odd mix of "cousins," Pine Ridge and Archery Summit being loosely affiliated with a biopharmaceutical company, a Mississippi casino, an Oklahoma oil drilling company that used to be called "Goober," a long distance telecom outfit, several mining operations and they're involved in the commercial mortgage and credit business.  

These days it's owned by the Crimson Wine Group which owns Pine Ridge in Napa, along with the Seghesio winery in Sonoma.  They also own Chamisal, Seven Hills and recently purchased the Raeburn brand.

When we visited this estate in their early days, the gate was locked and you had to ring a bell and asked to be allowed to enter.
Now things are different....

 

 

I tried to make an "appointment" for a winery tour, identifying myself as a wine merchant.  The kids in their tasting room were perfectly friendly, telling me what each wine tasted like as they poured it, but when I asked about seeing the winery, I was advised to "head out the tasting room door, hang a left and open the double doors.  Have a nice day."

They have a nice little photo-op for visitors, roped off at the end as they don't want people roaming around in their winery...

 

The vineyards close to the winery are impressive and the current crop of wines is quite good.   There are approximately 115 acres of grapes and these are meticulously tended, with some vineyard hands working there since the first vines were planted.  

 

 

Today they make about 12 bottlings of Pinot Noir,  three bottlings of Chardonnay and a Pinot Gris under their Vireton label.

We had a fondness for their "Premier Cuvee," a blend of fruit from five vineyard sites, numerous clones of Pinot Noir and a significant percentage of new French oak barrels.  The wine features a sweet perfume of the toasty oak and it's a lovely bottle of wine, especially if you enjoy the wood.  I believe that now is labeled as Vireton Pinot Noir.

 

 

 

We purchased a bottle of a recent vintage of Pinot Noir and did not find it to have the style, depth and complexity of Pinots from years ago...the lavish oak treatment, their calling card, was missing.

And now they have numerous spendy Pinots, asking $75, $90, $100, $130 and $150 for those.  
It's been a while since someone visited us to show such wines.

Stay tuned.  Maybe this will change.  

Currently in stock:  2010 Archery Summit "Premier Cuvee" Pinot Noir  Sold Out

 

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