Spring Bacchanal with Winemaker Ken Wright

Billed as a tasting but more like a rock up and get drunk session. Really good food, free beer on tap as well and a series of interesting wines that I had never had exposure to before. I went with Tutu and he gave me an hour head start to get into my tasting. Missed out on the Syrah as time was pressing.

Given a glass of indifferent fizz

• NV Sokol Blosser Evolution Sparkling Wine

  USA, Oregon

  Savoury but with a Moscato like flavour and texture. Meh

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Hmm. This selection reinforced the fact that, for me, Australia is the best producer of new world Chardonnay. Nothing really to get excited about here for me. The Waterbook Melange Blanc 2007 was still rather surprisingly showing plenty of primary fruit. The Ken Wright Pinot Blanc was also impressive. I tried the semillons and blends prior to ploughing through the chardonnays.

• 2011 Anthony Barton Bordeaux Blanc

  France, Bordeaux

  gooseberry, cream, oak, clean, very slight green apple. In the mouth tart apple with herbaceous notes, very slight vanilla and mid palate phenolic Meh

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• NV Sokol Blosser Evolution 16th Edition

  USA, Oregon

  slight white pepper, grapefruit and orchard fruit. In the mouth a slight Muscat quality, touch of candy flossed fruit, a little short. Nah.

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• 2011 Torii Mor Chardonnay

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Cream, vanilla butterscotch. Butterscotch on the palate with butter and cream…no fruit…pointless for me.

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• 2012 King Estate Pinot Gris Signature Collection

  USA, Oregon

  candied pear and stone fruit, very fruity nose. Sweet pear fruit dominates followed by some mid palate grip which all disseminates quite quickly on the short finish. Simple.

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• 2010 Willamette Valley Vineyards Chardonnay Estate Vineyard

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Slight lemon citrus and confected peach with cream, butter and vanilla. Bitter notes dominate vague fruit and slightly rancid butter. Nah.

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• 2012 L'Ecole No. 41 Sémillon

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Sweet apples, slight toast notes, cinnamon hints. In the mouth confected apple completes with bitter and burnt notes. Nah.

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• 2012 Woodward Canyon Chardonnay

  USA, Washington

  Muted peach/nectarine, cream, slight hints of buttered toast. In the mouth the fruit is washed over by oak and malolactic and what fruit that there is comes over a touch bitter. Lacks harmony and balance - needs time but lacks fruit and acidity for me.

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• 2012 Dunham Cellars Chardonnay Shirley Mays Lewis Vineyard

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Toast, peach, butter, slight sweet spice and vanilla notes Promising. In the mouth there are flavours of butter tending to butterscotch, very slight fruit, tannic mid palate group. A little disappointing.

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• 2012 Casa Smith Pinot Grigio VINO

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley

  Rock melon, touch of spice here as well. Medium plus acidity, tart melon then cream and vanilla. Odd. Out of whack.

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• 2011 Waterbrook Chardonnay

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Flabby peach, butter, spice - almost ginger. On the palate there are flavours of peach and butter that drop off quickly. Meh.

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• 2007 Waterbrook Mélange Blanc

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Oak water with herbaceous elements. With continued agitation I start to detect a touch of sweet passion fruit and apple here and tiny hints of melon. In the mouth the with has sweet melon fruit and touches of apple and with drop leaving slight phenolic grip and medium plus length jubey melon on the finish. Interesting.

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• 2011 Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay Clarksburg

  USA, California, Central Valley, Clarksburg

  Lemon and vanilla custard notes, spicy, touches of oak. In the mouth there is medium plus acidity, a slight herbaceous quality as well as lemon citric notes and spice encroaches on the finish. Okay.

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• 2011 Ken Wright Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  pear over peach, slight citric tang, touches of wet stone and warm spice. Textured palate, slight cork taint, cream and vanilla with tangy, spicy orchard fruit and slight lemon notes. Young. Complex. Okay.

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• 2010 Ken Wright Chardonnay Celilo Vineyard

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Cheese, herbs - thyme and sage, tangy. Medium minus flavour intensity with touches of butter. Meh. Possibly Chardonnay palate fatigue kicking in.

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I liked the Ken Wright Pinot's as a group. Of the Cabs and Cab based blends, the OS winery BSH was good, the L'Ecole Merlot nice and the Textbook, well, quite like a warm climate ripe textbook cab sav…Generally I thought the cabs better than the Pinots though all three Ken Wright Pinot's looked good.

• 2010 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Savoya Vineyard

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  Spice, red berry and cherry…as well as a smell I associate with Oregon Pinot Noir. On the palate there were tart red berries, quite light and approachable but a little short.

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• 2010 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Canary Hill Vineyard

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  slight dusty notes, cream, red berry, spice, Oregon. In the mouth the wine is very spicy with red current over berries an, perhaps touches or residual sugar or, perhaps, over ripe fruit. Plenty of tongue coating tannic grip. Hmm.

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• 2011 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Toasted berries, sweet spice slight Christmas cake notes, very ripe. In the mouth the wine has juicy red berry fruit, spice, mid and front of mouth tongue coating grip. Good in a very overworked style

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• 2011 Anthony Barton Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux

  France, Bordeaux

  graphite, pencil shavings, slight rhubarb notes. In the mouth the wine is tart and tannic and forgettable. Nah.

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• 2009 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvée

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Green, herbaceous notes, cream, slight leather, and meaty notes all mask touches of black cherry. On the palate the black cherry is more dominant and takes on a fleshy weight. Cream, vanilla, spice and plentiful alcohol heat encroaches on the finish.

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• 2010 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Delinea 300

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Clove, smoke over red berries - especially unripe strawberries - and cream. Very juicy, unripe red strawberries with plentiful, slightly course tannic grip. Hmm.

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• 2011 Torii Mor Pinot Noir

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Medium minus red berry and cherry slight sesame notes (?) Juicy but leathery and tart. Unforgiving with alcohol heat and spice on back palate and finishes with cream notes. Nah.

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• 2008 King Estate Pinot Noir Domaine Flawed

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Slight burnt spice over cream and medicinal notes - lacks fruit. Touches of cream, bit corky, not nice. FLAW

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• 2011 J. Christopher Pinot Noir

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Leather, red currant, slight medicinal and herbaceous notes. On the palate there are flavours of strawberries and herbs with front of mouth, talc like tannin. Hmm.

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• 2008 OS Winery (Owen Sullivan) BSH

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  rounded and smooth nose with aromas of cream, vanilla, very slightly confected black currant and slightly burnt notes. Spice and cedar. In the mouth there are flavours of juicy blackcurrant, fine tannin, slight leather and herbaceous notes here as well - touches of mint. Well balanced and quite long. Nice.

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• 2010 Snoqualmie Vineyards Whistle Stop Red

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Blackcurrant, vanilla, ripe fruit, pencil shavings, clove, spice, complex nose. In the mouth there is ripe black fruit, chocolate, and firm talc like tannin. Medium plus length. Quite nice.

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• 2010 L'Ecole No. 41 Merlot Columbia Valley

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  slight graphite, chocolate and red berry notes. More of the same on the palate. Juicy and spiced on finish. Nice, simple.

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• 2010 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series

  USA, Washington

  Chocolate, smoky, brambles, cream, vanilla…in the mouth jammy blackcurrant married to bitter and very chewy tannin. Not very nice at this moment in time.

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• 2008 Waterbrook Merlot Reserve

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Cream, vanilla, spice, confected plum fruit over cedar notes. Concentrated, slightly off dry, ripe, plummy fruit. Smooth textured with fine, talc like tannin. Mouth filling long finish but a certain anonymity. Perfectly fine, well made wine.

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• 2011 Bogle Vineyards Pinot Noir

  USA, California

  Meaty and reductive, smoky notes. In the mouth the wine is smoky with residual sugar, anonymous…actually worse than that. Awful.

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• 2011 Bogle Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel

  USA, California

  Plum, leather, black currant. In the mouth there are flavours of spiced plums, chocolate, leather, slight blackcurrant and a slightly tart finish. Hmm.

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• 2012 Textbook Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  pencil shavings, ripe blackcurrant, cedar, cigar box. On the palate there are flavours of ripe blackcurrant and tight, tough tannin. Nice enough but quite young.

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Interesting tasting - not much worked for me but I was recoving from a bit of a head cold so I'm not sure if that impacted anything - it hasn't really affected my nose or palate in any other way, though. Most wines were from Oregon or Washington and reflected the imports of Orca International to Japan.