Important Update From the Founder Read message >

Willamette Valley for Memorial day weekend and a peak at 2012

Tasted May 25, 2013 - May 26, 2013 by David Paris (dbp) with 909 views

Introduction

I always enjoy going out this weekend as there are a lot of wineries that aren't usually open to the public that are open, plus many spots are giving barrel samples of the new vintage. I've heard several people talk about how 2012 is going to be the best vintage yet, even better than 2008. After my brief peak today, and talking to folks in the Northern parts of the valley, I'm not so sure that's going to be possible. Things were way hotter than I thought, and I heard many people talking about picking at 24.5-28 Brix! This does not sound like what I seek in Pinot Noir. Based on what I tasted I am definitely skeptical of the vintage. Yes, it will be ripe and forward, and if you like such things, perhaps you'll like it. However the wines I had not only had high amounts of alcohol they had very odd, light, out of balanced acidity. I'll reserve judgement for now, but I'm currently not very excited. Even more reason to stock up on any remaining 2008s and 2010s, which I thought did quite well in the Northern valley.

Flight 1 - Harper Voit (4 notes)

Drew Voit has been making wine under his own label for a few vintages, but he has officially left Shea Wine Cellars at this point and only consulted for the 2012 harvest. He now has his own space, shared with WildAire, and he has several clients using the facility and Drew is the consulting winemaker for those labels. Today was a nice opportunity to check out the new space and try some wines I've never had before. I definitely think this is a space to watch.

For the Harper Voit wines specifically, I found the Riesling to be on par with the best I've had in Oregon, and the Pinot Blanc was far and away the best Pinot Blanc I've ever had from Oregon. I just loved the finish on that wine. I look forward to watch this label evolve.

White
2012 Harper Voit Riesling Maresh Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
90 points
I think someone said these were own rooted Riesling vines, but I'm not sure. They certainly are some of the oldest Riesling vines in the area. The aromas on this were very soft and light. The palate was light in flavor again, with nice pleasing body. Supposedly this has 9 grams total acidity, but you'd never know on the palate. However, the finish absolutely explodes with acid. Like the volume just got turned up. Very interesting how soft it is on the palate and then this eruption on the finish. An odd personality, but I quite like it.
White
2011 Harper Voit Pinot Blanc surlie USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
90 points
I'm never a fan of Pinot Blanc from Oregon. Checking my CT notes, this is the best one I've had, by a long shot. This was aged for 7-10 months on the lees, and barrel fermented with no malolactic fermentation. The aromas are very softly fruited. The palate is quite lean and has a slight chunky texture I often associate with Pinot Blanc. It also has a pretty good bit of aggressive minerals that keep it interesting. Tons of acid on the finish, sweet minerals, and pretty gritty and cutting. This tastes like eating a metal saw blade. Really crazy and interesting.
Red
2011 Harper Voit Pinot Noir Strandline USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
88 points
A little funky on the aromas, with sweet strawberry fruit covered in tar. The palate is soft, with mild acidity, and overall a light personality with some slightly green fruit. Good grittiness on the finish and soft fruit lingers. This is really mild and light overall, but well balanced.
Red
2011 Harper Voit Pinot Noir Old School USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
89 points
Nice spicy, thick red fruits on the nose, coupled with slight earthy notes. Pretty elegant. The palate is decent, with soft texture and quite a bit of minerals. Decently bright fruit and gritty texture. Good grittiness on the finish with soft acidity. Gritty tannins. Decent structure but very tight right now.

Flight 2 - Boulay / Walnut Hill (2 notes)

These were separate folks, but each only poured one wine. The Boulay wine sounds very interesting, and I look to see what happens with in future vintages. It's a bit pedestrian at current.

White
2012 Boulay Wine Company Riesling USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
86 points
This was not a vineyard designate wine, but I gather it all comes from a 1 acre parcel of the 6 acre "Mrachek" vineyard, planted in 2004, supposedly the only truly terraced vineyard in the Northwest, grown on a 30% slope, as you would find in Germany or Austria. The grapes were picked in November and 20% of the clusters were botrytis effected. The aromas are very soft and even here some detection of the 3.5% residual sugar is noted. Palate is soft and fairly generic of decent Riesling. Very slightly gritty, with mild acid on the finish, but overall this is incredibly lean and straight forward. Hopefully this could develop more depth in future vintages as the project continues.
Red
2011 Walnut Hill Winery Pinot Noir USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
85 points
This is own rooted Pommard. The aromas are soft and mild with some slightly green fruit semblance. The palate is decent, soft, and slightly gritty. An odd, lean texture is a little distracting. The finish is puckering, soft, showing decent acidity that dials up. Non-offensive, and decent for the reasonable $21 ask.

Flight 3 - Eminent Domaine (4 notes)

First time I've had these wines. The estate on Ribbon Ridge was planted in 2009, and while they were awaiting it to come online, they decided to make some wine from purchased fruit. I'm not so sure that was a good idea... these wines were made at a large commercial facility, without any kind of winemaker care. I found the 2009 and 2010 wines quite messy. The 2011 made from the first estate crop was much better, and the 2012 barrels (the first vintage Drew Voit consulted on) show real promise. Considering what I'd run into later in the day, this may have been the best 2012 promise I saw.

Red
2009 Eminent Domaine Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, McMinnville
78 points
Nice vibrancy of aroma, showing some thick aromas that are nearly coming across as creamy. Interesting, like a toasted marshmallow. The palate immediately attacks with a hot, steamy booze character. Thick, spicy, and stewed fruit. Really mean and thick on the finish and fairly off putting. Pretty nasty stewed, overripe fruit flavor.
Red
2010 Eminent Domaine Pinot Noir Willakia USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
82 points
Thick, stewed fruit aromas. Soft palate and again stewed fruits in alcohol. Very spicy, alcoholic finish, but otherwise pretty lean.
Red
2011 Eminent Domaine Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
86 points
The first vintage of the Estate vineyard, poured from bottle. Very dark aromas with huge spicy fruit. The palate is gritty but soft and mild without too much depth or flavor. Decent spice on the finish, which also offers decent acidity. Tartness lingers along with acidity. Pretty gritty.
Red
2012 Eminent Domaine Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
91 points
Barrel sample at the winery. 2012 is the first vintage made by Drew Voit. The Pommard barrel had intense color and was very richly fruited on the nose. Clean. Huge, vibrant, lush red fruits on the palate. Clean acidity, very soft and balanced with impressive fruit. Very big acids on the finish. The 777 barrel (1 year old oak) was slightly green on the nose, and offered very lush palate texture and impressive ripe red fruits. Very pretty, nearly floral flavors. Soft and vibrant finish with a lingering deliciousness. The 115 barrel was all about structure. Green aromas and a very tight palate, showing heavy tannins and balanced acidity. Really great backbone of acidity on here. These components put together will make a pretty good wine. Ribbon Ridge was pretty hot in 2012, but I didn't detect any problematic alcohol in these wines. Will have to check into this in bottle. This is far more compelling stuff than was previously released under this label. (90-92 points)

Flight 4 - WildAire Cellars (6 notes)

White
2012 WildAire Cellars Viognier Ellis Vineyard USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley
80 points
This had 24 hours of skin contact and finished with .8% RS. The aromas are fairly sweetly fruited. Like a yellow gummy bear. Similar flavor on the palate coupled with a nice creamy texture. Nice viscosity. Just when I thought this was going to be quite fine, the second you swallow a really rancid funk takes over. There's no hint this is coming on the nose or palate, but it really tastes a bit like I vomited a minute or so ago. Really kills an otherwise pleasing wine.
White
2012 WildAire Cellars Riesling Wagging Tail USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
86 points
Soft, slightly funky aromas that are nice overall. The body on the palate is nice, with soft pleasing quiet fruit on a soft, nearly elegant texture. Nice acidity on the finish, and generally very soft. Not much in the way of complexity, but soft and nice.
Red
2011 WildAire Cellars Pinot Noir Timothy USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
87 points
Softly fruited aromas, but offering generous, nearly candied red fruit aromas. Decent fruit on the palate, which is hugely drinkable. Some green fruit too, but I like that. The finish is gritty and pretty mild. Decent stuff for the price.
Red
2011 WildAire Cellars Pinot Noir Zenith Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
85 points
Soft aromas, some green fruit. Lean and gritty and otherwise nondescript palate. Cutting and lean profile on the finish without much fruit (or interest).
Red
2011 WildAire Cellars Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
85 points
Soft and lean aromas with nice green tinged red fruits. Soft palate, but I detect alcohol even though this is listed at 13.1%. Mild spice as well. Definitely tastes like a Shea on the finish, with smooth slimy fruit and very gritty and puckering. Not very interesting.
Red
2012 WildAire Cellars Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
This sample was pulled from a Wädenswil barrel which was sulfured 3 weeks ago, though this is a worthless note because it wasn't showing much at all. Quite shut down and lean throughout, with a bit of perceptible alcohol and not much else. Big structure on the finish, though. He mentioned that the fruit here came in at 25.5-28 Brix. y0wza, and whoops.

Flight 5 - Leah Jorgensen Cellers (2 notes)

I loved talking to Leah, and she seems like a very passionate individual. She loves the wines of the Loire, and wants to make similarly styled wines in Oregon. I too love Loire wine, and drink it (from my own cellar) far more frequently than I do Oregon wines... so after hearing her speak for about 10 minutes about her project I was excited to dive into the wines. I think there's lots of passion here, so we'll see if these wines can develop some similarly strong personality as she refines her vision.

White
2012 Leah Jorgensen Cellars Blanc de Cabernet Franc Mae's Vineyard USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Applegate Valley
83 points
Very very intriguing stuff here. Leah seems very passionate about what she's doing here and I was very eager to try this. The fermentation on this wine was done in neutral oak. The aromas are very lean and mild. Soft palate entry with a sweet candied gummy fruit flavor and very soft textually. Lots of odd wet cracker flavor on the finish. I mean.. it tastes exactly like a wet cracker, nothing else. I was expecting this to be more mineral driven and acidic than it was, as it showed virtually none of that character. It was very soft and non offensive, but also showed no compelling character. One has to think whenever a wine like this shows up, they've been growing Cabernet Franc for a thousand years in France... I'm sure somewhere along the line they would have figured it out if making dry white wine from this grape is interesting, and there's probably a reason why this is the first commercially available white still Cab Franc. That said, I hope this can develop some interest in time and can become compelling.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2012 Leah Jorgensen Cellars Tour Rain USA, Oregon
This was pulled from barrel and was in the middle of malolactic fermentation. Said to be a "Red Table Blend," this is 66% Cabernet Franc and 34% Gamay, inspired by similar blends in the Loire. The aromas are a little funky, but I like it, as it smells like grilled fish skins. The palate is mild, with soft fruit, but not much depth or interest. Some sour grittiness on the finish, but again, a pretty straight forward effort. Nothing bad about this, but nothing interesting. Call it 83-85 points based on this sample.
1 person found this helpful Comment

Flight 6 - Eisold Smith (2 notes)

A husband and wife team who moved back to Oregon to make wines from around here. However, while their Oregon wine is still brewing, they're offering these wines they made from California fruit.

Red
2011 Eisold Smith Syrah Swan Song Brosseau Vineyard USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County
84 points
Vineyard was planted in 1972. Impenetrable color. Smells like soapy bubbles... really, just quite soapy. The palate is very lean with a soft texture but not much expressiveness. Mildly stewed, alcoholic fruit on the finish.
Red
2011 Eisold Smith Barbera Viani USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County
85 points
Supposedly this vineyard was planted in 1866. I wonder how many of those original vines still stand, though. This came in at 13.8% alcohol. The aromas offer mild spice and dark fruit. This wine is fairly monolithic and straight forward throughout, offering decent palate presence and fruit, but nothing really differentiating.

Flight 7 - Beaux Frères (8 notes)

I actually quite liked these wines in 2007 and 2008, which is why I've been back every year since. The 2011 and 2012s seem to the the weakest back to back they've yet had. Nothing was worth acquiring, certainly at these price points. The son's wines were actually better today.

Red
2012 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Willamette Valley USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Barrel sample. Crazy dark intensity of color for the WV. The aromas are spicy, tart, slightly mineral, and offer plenty of dark fruits on a soft frame. The mid palate entry is a little lean, and not much intensity (quite soft, nearly flabby). Soft texture is nice, but there's not much depth and only mild acidity. Tart finish, mild, and lean, and overall quite awkward and out of balance. (85-87 points)
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2012 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Beaux Frères Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
Soft aromas, offering generous deep strawberry fruit. Mild palate entry with nicely integrated fruit. Pretty soft and mildly structured. Feels rather warm on the palate. Very soft finish with moderate structure. Pretty lean texturally, but at the same time fairly alcoholic (it was said to be 14.1%). This wine feels rather flabby and lean on structure for a Beaux Frères Vineyard bottling. Not sure where this is headed, but I always much prefer these wines in cool years, so this may be one of my least favorites since 2006. (86-89 points).
Red
2011 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Willamette Valley USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
86 points
From bottle. This offers an odd grilled asparagus covered in balsamic aroma that I like. It's fairly soft and slightly green, but nice pleasing aromas. The palate is very lean, nearly thin in texture, and mildly tart with fairly soft fruit. The finish is really lean. Soft and mild with only moderate structure. Nothing compelling.
Red
2011 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Beaux Frères Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
83 points
Soft aromas. Lean, mild, and tart. Similarly lean on the palate and really not much flavor, period. Something's in my mouth but I don't really care what it is (wine you say?). Soft finish, slightly green, tart and very lean. This really headed down hill from the barrel sample last year and became completely hollow.
1 person found this helpful Comments (1)
Red
2009 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Beaux Frères Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
85 points
This has headed down hill in the last few years, as have other 2009's I've had from hot sites. The aromas here are dark, slightly stewed, with light bits of minerality. The palate is soft, showing steamy dried fruits and a nice texture. Unfortunately it's also really spicy and hot due to the alcohol. Good dark fruit on the finish with some tartness, but again the alcohol totally gets away from this one and pulls the other elements out of balance.
1 person found this helpful Comments (1)
Red
2011 Coattails Pinot Noir Horsetail USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
88 points
Very soft aromas with delicate fruit. Impressive balance and depth for this level. Very soft palate offering nice big body and good soft texture. Not too much structure here, but for an opulent drink now wine, it's pretty good. Similar finish, soft, with impressive fruit.
Red
2010 Coattails Pinot Noir USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
89 points
Very soft aromas, nicely textured with pleasing fruit. Voluptuous body on the palate, with nice balance of fruit and gritty tannins. Very pure expression of fruit, though overall pretty mild. Nice texture left on the palate after swallowing, and luscious fruit. Definitely more of a drink now style, and I even liked this more last year.
Red
2010 Etzel Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon Lisa Chu USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
88 points
Dark and inky color, with penetrating aromas. Intense flavors on the palate, like a mix of glue and dark berry jam. Despite the jamminess, it's also showing some nice tartness and some lean notions. Very juicy finish, but some acidity balances it out. Fruit forward to drink in the short term.

Flight 8 - Shea Wine Cellars (7 notes)

As mentioned, with Drew gone, there's a new winemaker from New Zealand. I tried to chat him up about his wines and the vintage but he just seemed unwilling to engage in conversation. Kind of an odd personality with this first meeting. I found the 2012s on the scary side of the heat spectrum. This vineyard is a very ripe one in general, but it does tend to be able to hide some of that heat. This year it may not be able to pull it off... we'll see when they hit the bottle.

White
2011 Shea Wine Cellars Chardonnay Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
86 points
Very nice spicy oak aromas. Moderate palate, but overall fairly quiet showing just a bit of toasted oak funk. Decent acidity and tartness on the finish, but fairly straight forward this year.
Red
2011 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
84 points
Lean and light aromas. Nice soft fruit, but it's a bit jammy. Soft and lean on the palate, with an odd chunky texture and mild fruit. Decent at the end, but overall this tastes watery.
Red
2012 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Block 5 Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Barrel sample. Softly fruited aromas that are fairly juicy and do a nice dance. The palate is soft, with nice fruit balance. Good structure/fruit balance with decent acidity. Quite tart and lean on the finish with good acids. Nice depth. (89-91 points)
Red
2012 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Block 7 Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Barrel sample. Softly fruited on the nose, and fairly quiet overall. Tart palate with really gritty tannins. Quite lean and tart, offering puckering fruits. Very gritty and grippy on the finish. It's tight and ripping on the finish despite the dark leaning on the palate. (87-89 points)
Red
2012 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir West Hill Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Barrel sample. Vibrant aromas of deep, rich fruit. Very darkly complected. Soft palate texture, which is cutting, but not too much depth here. Feels stemmy. The finish is lean but the overall notion of this wine is of quite a monster (of alcohol). (86-89 points)
Red
2012 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Block 23 Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
Barrel sample. Very nice vibrant fruit aromas. Pleasing and beautifully soft aromas, but there is certainly a sense of extraction. Rich, vibrant palate and quite modern. Soft but it feels soft to the point of being dull. Decent acidity and moderate length on the finish, but there's a lot of alcohol and strange leanness considering the round ball of fruit this is. (87-90 points)
Red
2012 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Homer Shea Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Barrel sample. Very softly fruited aromas and massive size. The palate feels densely extracted. Huge texture and lots of alcohol. The booze stings. Again, despite the large alcohol, there's a strange leanness and doesn't really feel in balance. There's tons of alcohol on the finish, with decent fruit but again huge extraction. No alcohol stated, but this is surely over 15. These wines seem like perhaps they had high amounts of acidification happening to attempt to pull things in balance. Considering the monster that this wine is, I actually don't mind it very much and could even see myself drinking a glass. (87-90 points)

Flight 9 - Trisaetum (6 notes)

Rosé
2012 Trisaetum Trisae Rose USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
86 points
A blend of oak and stainless steel fermentation. The aromas are nice and crisp, with soft, clean aromas. Soft palate with lean fruit and not too much minerality or acidic streak like I like in my Rose. Interesting cracker flavor on the finish. There is acid lingering here that's nice. Decent Rose, but at $24 definitely not a good QPR.
White
2012 Trisaetum Dry Riesling Coast Range Estate USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
88 points
Soft, mellow, and light aromas. Very nice palate texture with good acidity. Cutting and lean finish, but not much depth.
White - Off-dry
2012 Trisaetum Riesling Coast Range Estate USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
84 points
Soft, clean, and a bit watery aromas. Nice fruit on palate entry. Soft texture, but there's an immediate impact of gritty sugar (not smooth, integrated, balanced sugar). Soft, but on aeration this has a strange chunky texture. Decently soft finish and more odd texture left in the mouth. Mellow overall character, but doesn't feel in sugar balance.
Red
2011 Trisaetum Pinot Noir Willamette Valley USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
84 points
Soft, but very strong oaky aromas. Again soft and lean on the palate, with some tartness, but too thin in texture. Very soft, lean, boring finish. Not much balance.
Red
2011 Trisaetum Pinot Noir Artist Series No. 18 USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
83 points
Soft aromas and very mellow on the palate. All throughout this wine just didn't offer very much interest or depth, and just felt light, watered down, and not very interesting. Some odd fruit flavors linger at the end.
Red
2012 Trisaetum Pinot Noir Estates Reserve USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Barrel sample. This offered very mellow aromas, but nicely pitched dark fruits. Soft, mellow, tart, and nicely structured on the palate. I like the soft texture. Very lean and moderately tart flavors on the finish. (87-90 points)

Flight 10 - Privé Vineyard (4 notes)

This will probably be the last time I come here... I think there were a few other wines they were pouring as well, but I was so disappointed in what I had I just needed to leave. They have a little cult following for their Oregon Pinots but they don't even bother pouring them. I think they are all allocated, so if that is the case then there's no real reason to bother pouring them, I guess. But everything here was just disgustingly out of balance, on the boozy side of the spectrum.

Red
2012 Privé Vineyard Pinot Noir USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
79 points
Barrel sample that was 25% 777 and 75% Wädenswil. The aromas are soft, but offer stewed fruit aromas. Fairly decent. The palate is mild fruit, good and soft with mild acidity, but then that high alcohol also creeps in there and just builds and builds to a fairly boozy mess if you hold this on your palate. Wow, the finish just slaps you from left to right with alcohol. The underlying material here actually seems good, and there are hints of it trying to poke through, but with the alcohol everything is completely blocked. Completely brutal finish, like someone spiked my Pinot Noir with vodka to take advantage of me.
Red
2011 Privé Vineyard Syrah USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
74 points
I could not get past the wall of alcohol that was this wine. Very thick aromas. Thick and soft palate with syrupy alcohol. The finish just tastes like boozy syrup.
Red
2012 Privé Vineyard Syrah USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
75 points
Barrel sample. Slightly better than the 2011, offering some nice softer fruit aromas, but still this was an impenetrable wall of syrup and alcohol throughout. I don't know why people drink wine like this. There is nothing interesting about it. You can get wine that tastes like this for $7.
Red - Fortified
N.V. Privé Vineyard Pinot Noir Port USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
67 points
Somehow they called this the "2013 Port" since they were releasing it in 2013, but it sounded like it's a solera style, NV. And holy crap was this terrible. Just an absolute mess of alcohol. Offered no interesting character what so ever... just a big wall of booze.

Flight 11 - Johan Vineyards (5 notes)

After the disappointment of the wines I had Saturday I called Dan Rinke at Johan and chatted for a while about the vintage. I decided to come down to Johan and get a glimpse at their three new releases and check in with some of the 2012 barrels. Again, this was another great line up. The 2007 Three Barrel is showing even more promise than the last time I had it, and could turn into a real glorious wine with due time.

The 2012 barrels here were sulfured just 3 days before my visit and while it was a very light sulfuring (26ppm), I felt it was contributing to a muted character. The structure of the wines were definitely present and noted, and of course there was no hint of alcohol in these wines since most are sub 13% still (I love this site for that), but the flavors weren't very developed at this point either. I didn't get quite the strong acidic, mineral laced character that I usually get with the barrel samples at this time of year, but again, that could just be to the phase they're in.

White
2010 Johan Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
90 points
Soft, nice mellow lemon and some spice. Mild oak aroma. Very soft palate entry with mild acids. Pretty lean overall, with soft, pretty mellow white fruits on the palate. Good bit more eruption of really creamy acidity on the finish. Impressively creamy and lush.
White
2012 Johan Vineyards Pinot Gris USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
91 points
Impressive spicy minerality on the nose, but generally things are pretty light overall. Impressive palate, with soft, luscious texture. Good ripe acidity coats the palate with a nice flavor of melon and the pulpy vein of an orange. Very thick texture and great minerality. The finish offers an eruption of ripe lemon peel with a huge squirt of meaty lemon. Fantastic initial flavor after swallowing that is a little surprisingly juicy after those lean palate flavors. Good lingering minerality here too. Could this be this good? Look to open a bottle soon.
Rosé
2011 Johan Vineyards Pinot Gris Drueskall USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
90 points
This was all concrete fermented and aged for 15 months in barrel. The most "normal" tasting Drueskall yet. I don't get, and miss a bit, those squash, pumpkin aromas that were on the previous two vintages of this. Though I think this will definitely have a wider appeal than the previous two vintages. The aromas here are only mildly funky, fairly tart, and pretty lean. Nice acidity on palate entry, with some good minerality and nice texture and flavor. A little chunky. The finish is lean. Really delicious fruity acidity with good length and moderate minerals (and slightly metallic notion). A very enjoyable effort, but not offering the levels of complexity of previous years.
Red
2011 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
89 points
Smells very minerally, with mild stemmy fruit. Soft palate entry with mild acidity and good ripe berry flavors. Slight mineral/metallic notion. Nice eruption of acidity on the finish, which also offers a good stony character on the lingering finish. Good tart cranberries which remain in my mouth for a considerable amount of time after swallowing. I've not been a general fan of the 2011 vintages on release, but this is showing better than most. Definite upside potential here with that pretty, interesting, long finish.. 89+
Red
2007 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Three Barrel USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
91 points
Yikes, did this ever smell spectacular. Very very showy aromas that are floral, decedent and thickly fruited. Think a nice deseeded raspberry strawberry concoction. Despite the massive fruit notions, this smells imposingly structured too. Impressive aromatics that I don't come across very often in Oregon (or outside of Grand Cru Burgundies). If this followed through on the palate this could be 94 points. Palate entry is nice, gritty, and showing cutting minerality as its held. Very drying but impressive lean minerality. Definitely not showing near the fruit offered on the nose. The finish does offer some delicious fruit on smaller sips, but basically it's just huge, chewy tannins. This is tight as a rock at present on the palate and finish. I could smell this for days, but it's no where near ready to drink. This still needs a 10 year hold. As those aromas often indicate in Burgundy as well, though, there is an impressive wine lying in wait... 91+, but that's a huge plus with an even greater upside than I originally thought three years ago.
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC.

Report a Problem

Close