WTN: Oregon Pinots - Cristom, SI, Belle Pente, Autuer etc.

I must apologize. I totally spaced and did not got to my locker for the 2003 Brick House. I suspect, that despite the vintage, this would have been a very fine wine.

Beyond that, the 2002s were great. And I think we confirmed that all the hype about 2006 is ... well marketing bull. Well at least until the top wines are released.

• 2006 Cristom Viognier Estate - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
  My first Oregon Viognier. A nice wine but far from inspiring. A bit of cream on the nose and some heat. The palate was more Roussanne like. Not much complexity on the palate. I enjoyed this and for the price was not disappointed but I was not wowed. Drink soon.

• 2002 Belle Pente Pinot Noir Estate Reserve - USA, Oregon, Yamhill County
  Wow. This was great from the first taste to the last taste. All the way through the lunch I loved this. So smooth and seamless. I loved how it was getting comments about dark red fruit and bright red fruit. nice complexity. All about balance. Nice tannins on the finish. Should continue to improve. I really liked this.
  4 First place votes, 1 Second place vote and 1 Third place vote = 24 points - 1st PLACE WOTD
• 2002 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  This wine is exceptional. I would guess that in 5 years it would clean up in this tasting. At first pass I got a lot of oak and and empty mid-palate. Much darker than the Belle Pente and much stronger tannins. But despite being a bit vacant on the mid-palate the wine still showed complexity and nice structure. At the end of the lunch the wine really started to blossom. The oak seemed to creep into the background and the complexity of the palate filled out. I loved the 02 Belle Pente but part of me found this wine the most interesting. Hold! for at least 3 years. 2 First place vote, 3 Second place votes and 1 Third place vote = 23 Points - #2 Wine Of The Day (92 pts.)

• 2005 Coelho Pinot Noir Paciencia - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  I must say I didn't write a single note on this wine. Nice but... wanting. Nothing to grab you but not a bad wine. It is even steven. I brought the wine home and had a small glass with dinner and it was quite pleasant. Nice acid and a fair amount of tannin. Although this wine showed very little complexity it did have a few qualities that may make it last. With that in mind I could foresee new elements developing. 0 votes.
• 2005 Belle Pente Pinot Noir Murto - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
  Okay, so this wine had some funk. Some hated it. It did not bother me in the least. This is why I love Pinot. A very nice wine and despite the funk, I thought the fruit was very clean. The finish was short and somewhat boring. But this wine, like the St Innocent, certainly improved and grew on people as the day went on. Tough to say much. This wine was very young. 2 First place votes, 1 Second place vote and 2 Third place votes = 15 Points - #3 Wine Of The Day.

On to the 2006 wines. The Scott Paul was the clear class of the field IMO.

• 2006 Scott Paul Cellars Pinot Noir Cuvée Martha Pirrie - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  A very tasty wine. Even though this is supposed to be the early drinker, I think this wine needs 6-12 months. Toasty oak. Simple and tasty. That seems like what the vintage has to offer. 1 Second place vote, 2 Third place votes = 5 Points #4 Wine Of The Day. (88 pts.)
• 2006 Siduri Pinot Noir Beran Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
  Another wine I took no notes on. Out of place. So abrasive. Lots of stink and a very heavy mouth feel. More of a cocktail but while drinking multiple glasses of wine I could not handle this. Later the wine did mellow a bit. I would wait 12 months on this and plan on having the wine with some nice BBQ. 1 Second place vote = 3 Points
• 2006 Erath Vineyards Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  The nose was "pretty". I am no fan of Erath but this smelled nice. The flavors were all over the place. Tart cherries, flowers, earth etc ... but it was completely disjointed. This was a case of tasting a wine and saying ... hmmm complex yet bothersome. Time my meld these flavors an take this wine from a solid B to a solid A. 1 Third place vote = 1 Point.
• 2006 Auteur Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, McMinnville
  Wow ... this was by FAR the biggest disappointment of the day. I have been waiting to taste an Auteur wine after all the praise ... well this wine missed it. Again no notes on this one but I did bring it home to try it again. Blah... that would be my tasting note. Blah oak and blah mouth feel. Granted this is too young to be judging an Oregon Pinot ... so I am hoping ... despite my disparaging comments, Jim will let me try this again in 3 or 4 years. My guess is the wine is too soft. 1 Third place vote = 1 Point

Another great tasting. I do love Oregon Pinot, it is a way back from Burgundy but for price and reliability .... hmmm I love it. I love Cali pinot too but it was nice to have a tasting with some very fruity wines but no cloying candied fruit. I am very glad I can drink Pinot most nights of the week and have nice variety.

Cheers,
Jason

[David M. Bueker]

Nice line up. I'm holding one bottle of 2002 St. Innocent (I think it's the Shea), trying to decide when to drink it.

I actually work with the sister of the owner of Belle Pente. It's too bad the wines are not readily available in my area.

Great notes, Jason, and I don't have too much to add.

The SI Seven Springs just kept getting better and better over the couple of hours we were trying the wines. At first, the mid palate was a bit hollow, but later, it had filled in nicely.

The Belle Pontes were both very nice and way different. The Estate had an amazing nose of dark cherry and something very refreshing. The Murto also had an amazing nose... if you like the smell of a Porta Potty!! I think Murto must be how you say merde in some languange. It was really hard for me to get past that, til it mostly, but only mostly, blew off. Given that it ended up being my #1 wine, despite all my whining about the smell, I obviously did get past it, but it has waaay more stink than I would like to have.

The Auteur was a big disappointment. There was noticeable spritz in the wine too, not sure what that means or if that affected the development in bottle. There was zero complexity or layered flavors to this. Just.. well.. yeah.. blah.

Biggest surpise was the Cristom Viognier. I love Viognier, and had no clue they were being made in Oregon. Pretty good example.

Jason, thanks for the notes. A couple of years ago I was in Carlton, OR and there was a big tasting at an outdoor fair. The 2002 Belle Pente Estate Reserve was my favorite wine that day out of about 20 different Pinot Noirs. I bought a six pack for the cellar but haven't tried any since. Nice to know its drinking well.

Nice line up. I'm holding one bottle of 2002 St. Innocent (I think it's the Shea), trying to decide when to drink it.

I actually work with the sister of the owner of Belle Pente. It's too bad the wines are not readily available in my area.

The Shea is probably nearing a very good space. Usually less structure than the 7 Springs ... which still needs a lot of time.

Too bad you can't easily get Belle Pente. I don't own much but they always seem to be wonderful wines.

The Auteur was a big disappointment. There was noticeable spritz in the wine too,

Oh yeah, I forgot about that spritz thing that was happening. I didn't notice that much but most at the table did.

Jason

Jason, thanks for the notes. A couple of years ago I was in Carlton, OR and there was a big tasting at an outdoor fair. The 2002 Belle Pente Estate Reserve was my favorite wine that day out of about 20 different Pinot Noirs. I bought a six pack for the cellar but haven't tried any since. Nice to know its drinking well.

It seems like it is in a very nice place right now.

Jason