WTN: 2006 Freja Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley)

2006 Pinot Noir, Freja Cellars, Willamette Valley, Oregon:

Picked this up on a whim: an estate bottled PN from a small producer in a good year and only $17 - why not try it?
Good color for Pinot, still very young looking. Nose is shy but promising, spicy. Good fruit on the palate, primarily strawberry and black cherry, some baking spice (allspice?). Ripe but not gobby, oak is restrained, clean and precise, could pick out as Oregon. Very good balance but primary. Would be interesting to taste some again in 5 years or so. Certainly better than the run of the mill bottlings from some well known producers, and probably better than many lauded single vineyard bottlings. If all Oregon PN had this QPR I'd be a bigger fan.

[Jenise]

In Washington we have state run liquor stores and which also sell wine, but typically the wines aren't that interesting so I'm only in there when I need real hooch or cooking sherry. Freja is a brand I remember seeing there some time ago, and I actually fondled a bottle but then my head went something like, "Oh heck, at that price and considering it's here it's probably pretty boring stuff." And I passed. Next time I won't--thanks for the note!