Dundee Hills, Oregon
Tasted Saturday, February 11, 2012 by arthrovine with 785 views
All in all, a pretty mediocre visit to De Ponte. I have enjoyed their wines in the past but this go-round did not seem to be reflective of prior outstanding efforts. I would have liked to taste their more limited wines, but it was nice to taste the 07 at the same time. I love the 07 vintage and Isabelle Dutartre's work. I will seek out more of the 07.
As is usually the case with large groups, there were at least two in attendance and the lone tasting room staff (Suzanne) was barely keeping up.
That being said, I can not wait for Isabelle's take on the 2010 and 2011 cool weather vintages....
We had set this up ahead of time. The winemaker, Isabelle Durarte's own efforts, these wines were really nice and seemed a more reserved style then the De Ponte offerings.
A little sign right on 99 marks this place. We've driven by this a ton of times and never stopped. Today we did and it was really a surprise! The owner, Shelia, was really informative and we tried a great line-up of their wines. Stop by this tasting room! Nice wines and really nice experience. I will be seeking out their wines in the next few cool vintages. There was a really nice minerality featured in all of their pinots. The tannins were all unusually smooth as well.
Tyson was nice enough to meet us at August Cellars where we got to taste through several of his 2010 chardonnays and pinots in barrel. No specific notes taken though and an indelible impression was achieved. His 2010s are going to be great. The 2010 chardonnay fruit from Four Winds and his treatment of it are impressive. No mass production here...only the deft hand of a truly philosophical winemaker with a keen intuition and respect of terroir. He went over all of the details specific to each vineyard and guided us through the nuances during each taste. We did open a bottle of the 2009 Crowley Gehrts Vineyard at the end of the tasting and it was great. I can't wait for his 2010s and will be first in line for his chardonnays. Time to source his 2007 + 2008s.....
2010 De Ponte Cellars Melon de Bourgogne D.F.B. 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
This wine is always gorgeous and in a cooler year with more acidity, simply rocks. White peach, pineapple, lychee and light pear flavors. Great finish length. Pairs with anything in the white/light arena but delicious on its own as well.
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2010 De Ponte Cellars Pinot Noir Clay Hill 86 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Simple nose of red currants. Palate is also simple with some nice acidity, red fruits, a little smoke, and medium to short finish. While not much complexity, its a safe glass pour at a restaurant. Definite crowd pleaser.
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2009 De Ponte Cellars Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 88 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Nose starts with some heat and black fruit. The palate shows dark cherry skins (like you get from a Hood River tasting). Nice acidity. Fruit remains linear (whereas the 08 the fruit seemed rounder) There is also some toffee and spicebox. Tannins are firm. A bit of heat.
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2007 De Ponte Cellars Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 87 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
A little funky, hot, green nose. Palate showed nice acid with bright red and some black fruit. This wine was tense. Medium - short finish. Not a stellar 07 as I had hoped for given this winemaker's talent. Perhaps bottle variation. I am actively seeking more to test this theory.
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2008 De Ponte Cellars Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 89 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Nose was reticent. Palate was rich red almost fleshy fruit with mild acid. The latter flavor profile is characterized by some plums showing up - cool! There were nice tannins in this wine. The finish was medium length. This wine needs time to truly shine and it will - yet is very approachable now.
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