We're on an Oregon pinot kick here at Chez J:
2005 Coelho "Paciencia" Pinot Noir, Amity, Oregon
New winery to me. Lighter body for an Oregon pinot with solid red color, cherry and red currant fruit with tomato leaf in the mid palate and a bit of celery on the finish. Appropriate acidity and no obvious oak. Really, more Santa Barbara in style than Oregon. Reasonably priced at $25 but not a wine I'd repurchase.
2005 Panther Creek Winemaker's Cuvee, McMinneville, Oregon
This is a pendulum swing in the opposite direction from the wine above: a dark wine with a nose of roasting coffee beans. Somewhat smokey on the palate with the more typical black cherry/plum/violet thing typical of Oregon pinot. Robust body and rustic with gravelly tannins. Not my favorite style of pinot but a lot of wine for $25, and it was terrific last night with a main course of sage and Toscana salami stuffed chicken legs served on spinach fettucine. You could even serve this one with steak. A lot of wine for $25.
2005 Dobbes Family "Quailhurst" Pinot Noir, Dundee, Oregon
Now THIS is my style of pinot. It's not huge, it's not light, it's not rustic: it's elegantly sexy, harmonious, exotic. The winery was completely unknown to me when we ordered it in a restaurant last week, but it opened slowly with sedate, on-point pinot red fruit and built up slowly over two hours and several courses. There was something new every time I picked up the glass: sun-dried tomatoes, basil, cardamom spice, lavendar. Easily one of the best Oregon pinots I've ever had, and though I balked at the $65 retail and wouldn't have risked that on a mere taste, after spending an evening with a bottle there was simply no question about acquiring some. Not easy to find since it's a small production wine of around 500 cases, but worth seeking out for the true pinot fanatic (Jason, Jimmy, are you listening?) and you can order direct from the winery. The winemaker estimates the wine will peak around 2012.