WTN: Suitcase reds in Oregon

[Jenise]

Meeting up with friends in Oregon, the early arrivees blew through a bunch of bubbles and then opened a few reds:

2014 Roth Estate Zinfandel Smokey Ridge Vineyard Dry Creek Valley
Very good. Oak seemed to stand out more than I like, but this had rich fruit and that wonderful Dry Creek bramble. Would stand in line for another glass.

2013 Jaxon Keys Assemblage Mendocino County Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel
Very credible with good fruit typicity and Mendocino structure and acidity. Not special, but priced for value; good QPR.

2012 Mullan Road Red Blend, Washington
I brought this, thinking that it being Cakebread's new Washington endeavor would strike a chord they could relate to. Funny, I had thought this wine too soft and fruity when I tasted it previously, but this night it showed strongly acidic. There was a suspicious pickled taste to that acidity as well.

2013 Rocca Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Tesorina Yountville
We killed a baby. Huge, concentrated, classy, probably expensive, but too early to appreciate properly.

2012 Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Tonella Vineyard Rutherford
What a shame. Corked.

2011 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
I've long had a soft spot in my heart for Groth cabs, but this wine didn't remind me why. Overall kind of short on flavor, length and substance. Not a good vintage for them.

2012 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Wapato Ridge Yamhill-Carlton
You know those nights where you're sitting around drinking with your buddies opening bottle after bottle and then someone gets out something that makes everyone go OOOOOH. Well this was that bottle. Unabashedly new world Penner-Ash may not be everyone's favorite style of pinot and in fact I didn't think it was mine, but this wine flawlessly impressed with bold, concentrated plummy Oregon fruit, Asian spices and super silky tannins. There just wasn't a bad thing you could say about it.

2011 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
I've long had a soft spot in my heart for Groth cabs, but this wine didn't remind me why. Overall kind of short on flavor, length and substance. Not a good vintage for them.

2012 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Wapato Ridge Yamhill-Carlton
You know those nights where you're sitting around drinking with your buddies opening bottle after bottle and then someone gets out something that makes everyone go OOOOOH. Well this was that bottle. Unabashedly new world Penner-Ash may not be everyone's favorite style of pinot and in fact I didn't think it was mine, but this wine flawlessly impressed with bold, concentrated plummy Oregon fruit, Asian spices and super silky tannins. There just wasn't a bad thing you could say about it.

I generally enjoyed Groth as well, although it has been years since I have tasted one. Opting for wines like Saddleback, which are in the same range but superior quality.

As far as the Penner-Ash, I don't recall hearing of that Vineyard. Her wines have always left me a little wanting. Solid but to date, never moving. Sounds like she is continuing to progress and that is probably a vintage suited to her style. The one time I tried to visit, they got flooded and I couldn't make it to the winery.

Jason

[Jenise]

Jason, I recall my friend Suzanne, whose bottle that was, asking about Wapato at the winery when we visited the next day. I don't recall the exact conversation but the server said it was a one-off or close to it. As for the winery visit, I guess I haven't done up the notes yet, virtually every wine impressed in a similar way to the night before's wine but all were just a little large for me. Deeply colored and elegant with big fruit and a tad more oak, a tad more extract than I like. Seductive, but definitely more sipping wine than food wine. (And I couldn't stand her whites--I can take the Mae West treatment on pinot noir but not on riesling or viognier. I bought a single bottle.

Then we went to Lemelson. Different story. Those wines really spoke to me and the case I bought was delivered on Friday.