Tasting the wines of Oregon

At the end of the summer, I had a call from our friend Jean-Frédéric. His brother and his wife — both wine lovers — were coming from France and he was wondering whether we could organize a wine tasting at his place sometime during their visit. We agreed that we should taste some wines from Oregon since I had visited a few Oregon wineries earlier in July. Moreover, his brother and his wife were not very familiar with Oregon wines.

While wine grapes have been grown in Oregon for nearly two centuries, it is only since the 1960s that wine production has become a significant industry in the state. Oregon is now the 4th largest wine producing state in the US, after California (89% of the wine production), New York, and Washington. In 2006, it had more than 370 wineries, up from 70 in 1990, and only 5 in 1970. In 2007, four grape varieties made up more than 80% of the state's wine production: Pinot Noir (55%), Pinot Gris (17%), Chardonnay (5.6%), and Riesling (4.2%). Additionaly, Oregon has recently become a leader in green viticulture and winemaking with more than 140 vineyards and 20 wineries certified by LIVE: Low Input Viticulture & Enology, Inc.


Oregon Wine Regions

Oregon's largest wine producing region is the Willamette Valley, which runs from the Columbia River in Portland to the Calapooya Mountains outside Eugene. The valley has a relatively mild climate with cool wet winters and warm dry summers. The long growing season enjoys warm days and cool nights, allowing the grapes to develop their flavors while still retaining their acidity. The Willamette Valley AVA includes six sub-appellations: Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton District, and Chehalem Mountains.

Here are the wines that we tasted:

• 2009 Evesham Wood Blanc du Puits Sec: founded in 1986, Evesham Wood Vineyard makes Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Gewurztraminer in the Willamette Valley near the town of Salem. The estate vineyard is located on a low terrace (300-420 ft. elevation) on the eastern side of the Eola-Amity Hills ridge. It was named Le Puits Sec, which means the dry well in French, because there is one in the vineyard. The winery and Le Puits Sec vineyard are certified organic. The wine is a blend of 80% Pinot Gris and 20% Gewurztraminer with minute quantities of Rieslaner and Kerner, two German varieties. My notes: very pale color, a bit shy on the nose, more mineral than fruity. The guests didn't find it very exciting.

• 2008 Chehalem Reserve Dry Riesling Willamette Valley: Chehalem is a small winery established since 1990 in Newberg in the Northern Willamette Valley. It produces wines from Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, and Gamay Noir. The Reserve Dry Riesling is produced in very limited quantities and is sourced from the Corral Creek vineyard that surrounds the winery and Stoller Vineyard, a 175-acre vineyard on the southern slopes of the Dundee Hills in Yamhill County. My notes: light color, mineral nose with aromas of honey and tart apple, medium-bodied, crisp on the palate with stone fruit flavors, lively finish, tasty.

• 2009 Evening Land Celebration Les Gamines: Evening Land Vineyards is based in both Oregon and California. It owns two vineyards in California, Occidental Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast and Odyssey Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills. In Oregon, it leases Seven Springs Vineyard, a 65-acre Pinot Noir vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills appellation. The Oregon wines are made by winemaker Isabelle Meunier with the help of consulting winemaker Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes-Lafon in Burgundy. Inspired by the Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains, Les Gamines is made from a small block of Seven Springs Vineyard old vine Gamay Noir (60%) and Pinot Noir (40%). My notes: medium purple-pink color, bright strawberry nose, fresh aromas of plums and berries on the palate, quite pleasant.

• 2007 Argyle Pinot Noir Willamette Valley: owned by Petaluma Winery of Australia, Argyle Winery was founded in 1987 by Australian vintner Brian Croser and winemaker Rolin Soles. Housed in a former hazelnut processing plant in Dundee, the winery is well known for its still and methode champenoise sparkling wines. The Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is sourced from the Knudsen Vineyard in the heart of the Red Hills of Dundee, Argyle's primary vineyard source since 1987. My notes: medium color, fresh fruity nose, soft texture, mid palate on the light side, easygoing and not really popular among the guests.

• 2007 Ponzi Pinot Noir Willamette Valley: founded in 1970, Ponzi Vineyards is one of Oregon's oldest wineries. It is located just 30 minutes from downtown Portland in the city of Beaverton. The Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is a blend of several 100% Certified Sustainable vineyards. The fruit is hand sorted and destemmed and then fermented in small lots with five days of cold soak to increase aroma and color. The wine is aged in French oak barrels (30% new) for 11 months. My notes: medium garnet color, attractive nose of red and black cherry, medium-bodied, well balanced acidity, quite tasty, more complex than the Argyle.

• 2008 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Willamette Valley: Shea Wine Cellars was founded by grape growers Dick and Deirdre Shea in 1996. The winery produces wines from the Shea Vineyard, a 200-acre vineyard property located in the Yamhill-Carlton District that also supplies fruit to several of Oregon's and California's premium wineries. Roughly 25% of the vineyard production is used by Shea Wine Cellars for its releases. My notes: dark color, sweet nose of blackberry and spicy cherry, full-bodied, more power than finesse, somewhat too bold for a Pinot Noir.

• 2006 Francis Tannahill Syrah Mason Dixon: Sam Tannahill was winemaker at Archery Summit before founding Francis Tannahill Wine Co in 2001 with his wife Cheryl Francis, who was co-winemaker at Chehalem. They are also co-owners of A to Z Wineworks. The Mason Dixon Syrah is a blend of several vineyards including Deux Vert, a small vineyard planted on a low elevation southern slope outside the town of Yamhill and the only producing Syrah vineyard in the northern Willamette Valley. My notes: dark color, pepper, plum and violet aromas on the nose, dry, complex, well-balanced palate with some good acidity, spicy finish without being very fruity, a northern Rhone style of Syrah and one of the best wines of the evening.

Related posts:
•  Touring the wineries in Oregon's Willamette Valley
•  Our Oregon trip: wine tasting at the Ponzi Wine Bar
•  Our Oregon trip: The Beaux Frères Vineyard
•  Oregon Trip: Dinner at the Painted Lady Restaurant
•  Oregon Trip: J.K. Carriere Wines
•  Last but not least from our Oregon trip: Brick House Vineyards and The Eyrie Vineyards

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Last but not least from our Oregon trip: Brick House Vineyards and The Eyrie Vineyards

You usually need an appointment to visit Brick House Vineyards and when we called the winery, it was already late in the afternoon and we were just hoping to have an appointment for the next day. Therefore, we were surprised to be invited to come right away. At the winery, we were warmly welcomed by Alan Foster, an artisanal cider maker who now works at Brick House and casually sat around a farmhouse table to taste the latest estate productions.


Brick House Vineyards


Tasting with Alan Foster

We started with the Chardonnay, made from estate grown fruits. The wine is certified organic, fermented with native yeast, aged in used oak barrels, and bottled without filtration. I particularly liked the 2008 Brick House Estate Chardonnay with its nose of pear and stone fruit, smooth and creamy mouthfeel, and mineral finish.

Then we moved to the 2008 Brick House Boulder Block Pinot Noir. The fruit comes from a volcanic hillside that greatly differs from the nearby sedimentary soils that characterize the Ribbon Ridge appellation. Columbia river basalt rocks can be found between vines throughout the parcel. These volcanic boulders are particularly good at retaining moisture and warmth during the growing season and it is usually the last block to be harvested. The cuvée is all Pommard clones — originally from cuttings imported in the 1940's from Château de Pommard — and sees more new oak than the other reserve Cuvées. The wine had a fragrant, spicy nose, a rich, fruity palate almost liqueurish, leaving a lasting earthy finish.


Basalt rocks from the Boulder Block parcel and the 2008 Brick House Boulder Block Pinot Noir

The next wine was the 2008 Brick House Evelyn's Pinot Noir. For me, it had an even stronger spicy character and a longer finish. The cuvée is named after the mother of winemaker and founder Doug Tunnell. It is a blend from selected barrels and a very limited bottling built for long-term aging.

My husband had heard that the winery was making some gamay and asked about it. The current vintage had been sold out for a while but Alan let us taste a barrel sample of the 2010 vintage. There was no banana, candy, or bubble gum quality in the wine. Instead, it had some good depth and structure with some of these aromas of tobacco and black fruit that could also found in some of the best Crus of Beaujolais.

We were also lucky when we arrived at Eyrie Vineyards' historic winery in downtown Mcminnville. The previous visitors were still in the barrel room when we arrived and we were able to continue the guided visit of the wine facility.


The Eyrie Vineyards

The history of Eyrie is now well known but still fascinating. In 1965, David Lett — locally known as Papa Pinot — came to Oregon from California with 3,000 vine cuttings and planted the first Pinot noir vines in the Willamette Valley. One year later, he founded The Eyrie Vineyards with his wife Diana and produced his first vintage of Eyrie Pinot Noir in 1970. Then in 1979, the winery suddendly caught the attention of the international wine community as the 1975 Eyrie Vineyards Reserve Pinot Noir successfully competed at the Wine Olympics held in Paris that year. This instantly put Oregon on the map as a world class Pinot noir producing region.

Lett's original plan was to build a winery on the hillside overlooking the estate vineyard in the Dundee Hills but he found no bank to loan him any money. So he ended up refurbishing an old poultry plant in McMinnville. Many years later, his son Jason Lett is still making wine in the original building with even a few barrels from the 1970 vintage still in use. The mold that grows on the walls is part of the cellar's natural environment and is thought to play a positive role during the winemaking process.


The barrel room and the mold on the walls

Here are some of the wines we tasted:

2007 The Eyrie Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir: from the four estate vineyards in the Dundee Hills. The youngest vines were planted 19 years ago. Aged in mostly neutral French oak. Fresh nose of griotte cherry, tasty, well balanced, lively finish.

2008 The Eyrie Vineyards BlackCap Pinot Noir: made with organic fruits from the Dundee Hills and Carlton-Yamhill appellations. The vines are 20-year old and own-rooted (non grafted). Dark color, more earth and spices than fruit, concentrated.

2006 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve Original Vines: from Eyrie's original planting, 40-year-old vines grown on their own roots. Aged nearly two years in used barrel, bottled without filtration or fining. Sweet nose of wild berry, creme de cassis and spices, great texture, absolutely delicious!


2006 Eyrie Pinot Noir Reserve Original Vines

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