An Offer of Awesome Burgundy Inspires A Day of Tasting In the Willamette Valley

On Friday, dbp informed us that Scott Paul Wines was going to open some awesome 07 Burgundy for a Valentines weekend tasting. That was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so gripNsip joined us for a day in the local wine country. I love Oregon.

I've been looking forward to a visit here for a while. The owner apparently does a lot of work and charity for non-profits in the Portland area, and I like the idea of supporting good people. I've had some enjoyable wines from them in the past, and heard great things about the single vineyards. I was happy to discover the rumors to be true.

• 2008 Lemelson Vineyards Dry Riesling 85 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Pears, some honey, and a hint of floral aromas come through on the nose. It's clean on the palate, with mid strength acid that dries out nicely. Some pear flavors appear early and late, but they fade fairly quickly.

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• 2008 Lemelson Vineyards Pinot Gris Tikka's Run 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  The nose is very light on this wine. I get a faint note of apple and apple peel, but nothing else. The flavors are also quite light. Some clean apple flavors appear on the mid palate, and some green apple skin shows late. The flavors are all light, but the acid is solid and makes the wine nice and dry.

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• 2007 Lemelson Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Red apples, bananas, and oak appear on the nose. Some cleen green apple flavors appear on the palate. The oak is full and enjoyable on the mid, but it totally dominates the finish.

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• 2007 Lemelson Vineyards Pinot Noir Six Vineyards 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Rich cherries and nutmeg based oak appear on the nose. It delivers some bright cherry flavors on the palate along with a bit of tobacco. The acid is nice and even, and the oak on the finish is quite full.

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• 2007 Lemelson Vineyards Pinot Noir Thea's Selection 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Lovely blackberry and cranberry scents greet you when you smell the wine. Some nice oak appears on the nose as well. The fruit is even on the palate with bright and light cherries showing up. Some oak appears on the finish along with a nice tangy note that I can't nail down.

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• 2007 Lemelson Vineyards Pinot Noir Meyer Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  This has an interesting nose composed of raspberry, roasted pork, and campfire smoke. Some nice raspberry fruit along with a hint of stems shows up on the palate. A nice mineral note appears as well along with rising acid that runs out very nicely as the fruit fades. The oak is apparent, but balanced well. 90+

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• 2007 Lemelson Vineyards Pinot Noir Stermer Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Deep cherries, rhubarb, and dark earth come through, and together they make a pretty enjoyable nose. This wine delivers some nice texture on the palate with full tannins that dry out gently. Bright cherry fruit leads off with a hint of something tart appearing on the mid palate. The evolution of the texture is enjoyable, as are the fruit flavors.

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• 2007 Lemelson Vineyards Pinot Noir Cuvée X 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Pomegranate scents appear on the nose along with some stemmy notes and a little bit of mushroom. Full oak appears on the palate with lots of raspberry and stem flavors. This is a big, beefy pinot. The tannins become very full toward the finish, and are a bit distracting for my tastes, but know some people really like this. 89-

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• 2004 Lemelson Vineyards Pinot Noir Jerome Reserve 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Lovely tart blackberries and some apple notes appear on the nose. A hint of oak structure appears as well. This may sound like I'm describing the nose of a cabernet, but I'm not, I just need to work on my descriptions. :p The nose is excellent. The wine is lovely and firm on the palate with apple skins and dark cherries making up the fruit flavors. The tannins are full and the structure is "big" through out the whole experience.

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4 wines were poured, and they served as a great warm up for the serious Burgundy to come. I've come to like the La Paulee more and more every year. At their price points, all of these were solid.

• NV Domaine Huber-Verdereau Crémant de Bourgogne 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Crémant de Bourgogne

  Crisp green apples and pear skins appear on the nose. The wine delivers some lovely ripe apple flavors and some nice acidity. It has a good length on the finish too. Nothing crazy is going on, but this is a nice, solid, sparkler.

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• 2006 Philippe Chavy Bourgogne Blanc 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

  Asian pears and apples appear lightly on the nose. The palate delivers crisp Asian pear flavors right away, and nice red apple flavors later. The acid contributes some firm structure on the end. 88-

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• 2006 Domaine Francois Lamarche Vosne-Romanée 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée

  The nose is big and full of blackberries, steak, and distinct red earth. (I was relieved to later discover that Vosne Romanee actually does have read earth!) This wine is very clean and even on the front with light cherry flavors coming in on the mid palate. The flavors never get too big, and the red earth appears as the nose suggests it would.

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• 2007 Scott Paul Cellars Pinot Noir La Paulée 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Full on cherry scents fill your nose accompanied by black truffle scents! Even cherry flavors deliver on the palate with some nice acid coming in toward the finish. The truffle flavors come through, and I'd characterize the wine as "earth driven", but it's not overwhelming. The acid evolves as the finish progresses.

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What a treat to get to try all of these side by side! I rarely drink in this price range, so this was a tour de force of tasty juice! I liked the Echezeaux more than my associates apparently, but I'm going to stand by my enthusiasm. I couldn't get enough!

• 2007 Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Cherries, apples, and a hint of spruce needle scents on the nose. This has a lovely mouth feel with some good acid and soft even tannins. Hints of black pepper and raspberry flavors show up and linger nicely through the finish. 90+

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• 2007 Lucien Le Moine Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  This wine has a deep and heavy nose for a white, suggesting crisp buttered toast that was toasted over a fire, not in the cheap toaster you got at Goodwill for $5. Light butter and crisp apple notes appear when tasted. It's full of firm acid which makes the wine super clean and lingering. Some rich tangerine flavors appear late. 90-

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• 2007 Lucien Le Moine Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Cherries dominate the nose, bolstered by a hint of molasses and fresh radish. On the palate, it shows even, delicate cherries framed by firm acid at the perfect intensity. The acid holds on while raspberry flavors linger. The structure plays nicely with the wide variety of flavors exhibited. Throughout, I noticed rich apples, black pepper, and minerality along with the flavors mentioned above.

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• 2007 Lucien Le Moine Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Épenots 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru

  Apples and mellow cherry scents are framed by some nutmeg scents delivered by the barrel. The wine starts out just lovely, and great acid comes in on the mid palate and makes the mouth water. I love that sensation! Some nice apple flavors show up, and vanilla oak provides some excellent body. The tannins are soft, and I really like the body on this wine. Gorgeous!

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• 2007 Lucien Le Moine Echezeaux 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Deep cherries and dark earth come through directly on the nose. Wow. Lovely cherry flavors wrapped in bright acid roll out onto the palate. Dusty skins with mellow tannins show up later and dry the palate very gently. There's a hint of raspberry on the mid palate as well. Wow. The structure here is excellent, and it dries the mouth out exactly enough to make you reach for another sip immediately. The mouth feel is wonderful and long, and the cherries are juicy and spectacular. Awesome!

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This is a beautiful estate that I had never visited. I had tasted Le Nez somewhere before, but it didn't really stand out. The people in the tasting room were very friendly, and the Karen's Pommard was a really enjoyable wine. This is no small compliment considering that these were tasted immediately after the big dogs above.

• 2007 Lenné Estate Pinot Noir Le Nez 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Light cherries show up on the nose. Simple cherry flavors appear on the palate along with some nice acid. The wine is clean across the palate. 87+

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• 2008 Lenné Estate Pinot Noir Le Nez 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Dusty cherries make up the nose here. Similar to the 07, this shows decent acid and good cherry flavors.

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• 2007 Lenné Estate Pinot Noir 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  This nose is slightly brooding with some good dark cherries and some dirty dust scents. The cherries on the palate are lovely, juicy, and consistent all the way through. A little bit of stem shows up toward the finish. 88+

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• 2007 Lenné Estate Pinot Noir Karen's Pommard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  Dark cherries and raspberries work together on the nose, and they are supported by some enjoyable funky scents. The cherry fruit is quite nice on the palate. The tannins are light, but they still do their job. This wine is even and pure across the palate and the fruit flavors are quite delicious.

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• 2008 Owen Roe Syrah "Lady Rosa" 87 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  The nose suggests a monster in the glass, with blackberries and cedar all smashed into a big glass of dark, porter style beer. The blackberries and the porter come through on the palate. The oak is evident, but contributes well to the overall experience of this big, rich wine.

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• 2008 Owen Roe Cabernet Franc Rosa Mystica

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  Tar and blackberries appear on the nose, but distinct green pepper scents dominate. Juicy blackberry appears on the palate with the expected green bell peppers. The structure is tangy and full making for an interesting wine. There was lots of chatter at the table at this point, so I couldn't nail down a score.

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Penner-Ash was doing a 3 year vertical, which is always interesting. I love their facility, it's just gorgeous! The 08 was hands down my favorite of the 3. We snuck out to the car and drove around the corner so gripNsip thought we had abandoned him in wine country. Lulz.

• 2006 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Smoky nose on this wine. It also shows some heat, and some big dark fruit. Lovely dark cherry flavors show up on the palate along with some nice acid and tobacco. The heat makes a brief appearance as well.

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• 2007 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Raspberries and violet scents make up the bulk of the nose while a hint of forest floor lies low, appropriately. The raspberries deliver with crisp acid and tannins on the palate. There is a hint of something green, and the tannins become full and heavy late.

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• 2008 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Dark blackberries and an enticing hint of rhubarb show up on the nose. Some lovely dark fruit shows up on the palate along with firm tannins mid to late. Everything is balanced, and the fruit is dominated by dark cherry flavors. Nice wine. Definitely my favorite of a 06, 07, 08 vertical.

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The Burgundies were fantastic, and I'm really impressed at how well they were showing despite their young age. It was a treat to visit Lemelson, as they've been on my list for a while, and it's nice to know that Lenne is making some solid wine too. It's such a treat to get to try these wines side by side.