2007 St Innoncent Wine Makers Cuvee: Awe the enticing smell of extremely young pinot. The wine has great balance and already confirming that 2007 will have the “edges” I am looking for.
2007 St Innocent Shea Special Selection: A beauty. Man this wine smells good.
2007 St Innocent Momtazi Special Selection: A bit of a discussion on the aromatics. Very different than the previous wines. It reminds Mark of 7 Springs in its earthy dusty quality. Tim is not so sure. I like it but I do notice a lot of oak that may bother some at this stage. This is a fairly dark and bruising wine.
2007 Zenith Vineyard – Zenith: A chance to taste Zenith’s second vintage from barrel. The vineyard distinguishes itself here. We tasted a used barrel and a new barrel. I loved both. This wine is prettier, more tart and red fruit focused than the previous wines. I know this is early and has a way before it is a finished product, but for me the 07 shows more character than the 06.
On to dinner. We had the 06 Zenith Barrel Select and 06 St Innocent 7 Springs. No notes on these as this was time to chat and eat. My only comment will be that the both still show tons of primary fruit. I was happy to find more tannin on the Barrel Select than I had noticed in my prior tasting. The wines had similarities but the mid palate on the 7 Springs showed a better although still suffering as do most of the 06s wines I have tasted. But I think the 7 Springs is the best 06 I have tasted to this point. The next day the Belle Pentes would rise to the same level.
Next day - Off to Carlton. The new Scott Paul facility is great. We went through a bunch of burgs from his import company, all of which were fantastic. This was my first taste of the 06 Red Burgs and it seems like it will be a very nice vintage.
Scott generously opened the 07 Audrey. This is a beauty and I hauled off and bought a 6 pack of futures. This wine will wear its name well and even though I will probably open a bottle right away, wisdom would say wait another 2-5 years or even 8-10.
Todd showed up and the party was on.
- 2007 Biggio Hamina Cellars Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (12/5/2008)
2007 Willamette: The prettiest of the Pinots. A refreshing wine that is easy to drink and not shy on flavor. The type of wine I enjoy most days of the week. Doesn’t challenge the intellect, rather it adapts itself to the situation. - 2007 Biggio Hamina Cellars Pinot Noir Ana Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (12/5/2008)
I didn’t make a note on this one but I recall this being somewhere between the WV and Momtazi. - 2007 Biggio Hamina Cellars Pinot Noir Momtazi Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, McMinnville (12/5/2008)
Whole Cluster to the max. I guessed 60 but it is actually 90. I really liked the aromatics. Nice spice and vegetation but you have to like WC. Nice texture and flavors. The fruit is underneath the WC at this stage. Nice rusticity. Look for this in 3 to 4 years. - 2007 Biggio Hamina Cellars Melon de Bourgogne Deux Vert - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton (12/5/2008)
My first Oregon Melon. A very cool wine. I really don’t drink much Muscadet so I can’t speak to its representation … I’ll just say I liked the wines texture and briny attitude. - 2007 Biggio Hamina Cellars Syrah Deux Vert - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton (12/5/2008)
This has a good amount of Viognier (8%?). I don’t recall the exact amount. I have only had a couple of WV Syrahs but this was the best I have tried. Should be tasty from the get go. Interesting white fruit element.
Popped over to the Carlton Wine-Makers studio before going up to Belle Pente. I tasted 3 more 06 Pinots. 2 of them I did not care for as they tasted and felt like most 06s but I was pleasantly surprised by the Lazy River Estate Pinot Noir. Never heard of the wine (they are part owners of the Studio) but I thought it had nice balance and mouth-feel.
My first time to Belle Pente. It was a beautiful day to taste there while staring out at the sheep. We tasted 5 wines which all worked well for me. - 2006 Belle Pente Riesling - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (12/5/2008)
No notes on this one, I just remember I liked it. - 2006 Belle Pente Pinot Gris Reserve - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (12/5/2008)
Wow. This one grabbed me. I kept going back for more. This baby is ripe and has a touch of RS. I would like to see more of this from Oregon. Lots of richness while the tropical fruits go bouncing across the palate. The finish is still on the short side but pleasing all the same. I would assume this will improve over the next few years. - 2006 Belle Pente Chardonnay - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (12/5/2008)
Again no notes but a solid balanced Oregon Chardonnay. Give it a few years.
2006 Murto and Estate: No notes but 2 very nice wines. So different. 2 of the better 06 pinots I have had. The brake the homogeneous mold that most of the 06s are showing. Outstanding bargains.
I batted nearly 1000 on this trip. More reason to love Oregon wine.
Jason