I had never heard of Winderlea before sitting down to enjoy a bottle sent up by a friend who recently travelled through the Willamette Valley along with the Dobbs Quailhurst I posted about yesterday. On sight, I wanted to hate it: for people who cellar wine, the extra curvy bowling-pin bottle shape is a nightmare, and it sends the message to my pea-brain that the winery owners do not intend this to be a serious wine you'd want to cellar anyway.
But alas, the contents tell a different story: the wine is red-fruited and earthy, almost savory, with a restrained ripeness and goodly amount of mushroom and spice flavors. It's interesting and balanced with flavors that linger beyond the finish, and it was a joy to drink. It really put the Dobbs Quailhurst, which we drank first (there were four at dinner), to much shame.
A bit of background, cuz I just learned this through Google: Winderlea is a new winery and 2006 is the first vintage. There are several single vineyard bottlings but the Inaugural Reserve's sources are "some of the oldest in Willamette Valley". Guess how old that is? Only 1974. The winery and tasting room are located in Dundee.