Eola/Amity + 2 others

Today my goal was to visit all wineries that I hadn't been to before, and heard little to nothing about. It was a fun trip.

The tasting room here is open all but 5 days a year. Friendly behind the counter, this was a nice first stop. Nothing really stood out, but these are generally all solid wines and priced reasonably.

• 2008 Redhawk Vineyard Pinot Gris 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Light citrus and melon aromas in a very mellow package. Lemon on the palate, which is lightly tart and very softly textured. Some mild funky melon on the finish.

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• 2009 Redhawk Vineyard Riesling 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Smells like melon flavored hand soap. The palate is tart, with heavy green apple, and a touch of sweetness. Feels like there's some slight residual sugar on the finish, with sweet lemon and apple at the forefront. A pleasing wine.

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• 2007 Redhawk Vineyard Chardonnay 83 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Tart smelling... and that's about all. Steely, funky green notes on the palate. Really strange on the finish, and a little off balanced. Not sure what's going on here.

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• 2007 Redhawk Vineyard Chardonnay Barrel Fermented 78 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Raspy oak, almost some weird stringy moldy smells, seaweed. Similar flavors on the palate, all trailing into a funky finish.

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• 2009 Redhawk Vineyard Pinot Noir Rosé 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Pleasing candied strawberry shortcake flavors on the nose. Light, soft feeling on the palate with pleasing texture. Soft berry flavors on the finish.

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• 2008 Redhawk Vineyard Pinot Noir Grateful Red 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Light oak spice, light berries, tart nose. Really thin in texture, some candied fruits, but it tastes and feels like it's actually watered down. Not much going on with the finish besides some spice.

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• 2008 Redhawk Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Crisp red fruits on the nose. Very light palate, with mild red fruits and tannins building. Lots of structure on the finish with tart tannins. Seems to he hiding a bit today and will open up with a few years age.

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• 2008 Redhawk Vineyard Pinot Noir Pataccoli Family Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Tart cranberries on the nose... very mild mid-palate. Some tart cranberry skins in the finish with building tannins and mild berries into the finish. Nice structure, but lacking much depth of flavor.

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A really pretty spot; I should have taken photos. You arrive to a monstrosity of a house with big pillars overlooking a fantastic view of the valley and Mt. Hood. Cubanisimo because the owner is Cuban. He immigrated when he was 9, and is a neurosurgeon in Salem (hence the house). They do quite a bit of events here, and even offer dance lessons a few times a year. Nice value driven wines; I'll definitely be back.

• 2007 Cubanisimo Rosado de Pinot Noir 85 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Nice pleasing candy red fruits, pleasing, and a little bit medicinal. Similar medicinal quality on the palate. Soft and mild finish.

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• 2008 Cubanisimo Rosado de Pinot Noir 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Tart green apples on the nose and palate. Nice red apple mixed with lemonade and a splash of berry on the finish.

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• 2009 Cubanisimo Pinot Gris 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Some squash aromas. Pleasing, soft and creamy on the palate, with some residual sugar adding texture, but it doesn't taste like sugar until the finish, which is mildly tart showing some sweet green apple.

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• 2008 Cubanisimo Pinot Noir 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Some bubble gum flavors on the nose, coupled with berry fruits. Very mild on the palate, but nice red fruits, expressing sweet tart red fruits into the finish. Overall nice balance.

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• 2007 Cubanisimo Pinot Noir Estate 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Tart, a little green stems on the nose. Very mild fruits on the palate, showing a medicinal character. Green stems on the finish, tart apple, soft tannins.

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• 2008 Cubanisimo Pinot Noir Estate 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Bigger red fruits on the nose. Very nice palate, soft, pleasing red berries, and light apple. Bigger into the finish, showing its tannins, cherry skin, great acidity throughout. Should be quite good in 3-5 years. 89+

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The first stop outside Eola Amity. I didn't really like the vibe here, and I didn't really like the wines. Definitely a bit snootier yet in a trashy kind of way. Nice spot, though.

• 2007 Left Coast Estate Pinot Gris The Orchards 82 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  As the woman was pouring this she said, "This is meant to be served HEAVILY chilled..." yes, with great emphasis on heavily. It was sitting in an ice bucket and she was implying it wasn't cold enough. Cold beer syndrome? On the nose, really funky acid, harsh, like a nasty zinc screw. Tart apples on the mid-palate, and quite a bit softer and more pleasing than expected from the nose. Funky finish, but also showing some nice sweet apple. Not wholly together, but better than the nose implied.

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• 2006 Left Coast Estate Chardonnay Willamette Valley 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Some funky acids and barrel funk coming through on the nose. Creamy on the palate, showing some vanilla, soft buttered, slightly burnt (bitter) popcorn. Not much balance on the oak (too much). Zingy acidity on the finish that's nice, and cuts through some of the oak.

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• 2008 Left Coast Estate Pinot Noir Rosé 83 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Tart bubble gum aromas. Very mild on the palate, but showing some more bubble gum and mild red berries. Good acid on the finish, but really quite non-descript overall.

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• 2007 Left Coast Estate Pinot Noir Cali's Cuvee 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Some tart green fruits on the nose that are actually quite pleasing, showing some spice as well. Overall a pleasant nose. Nice funky, light red fruits on the palate, and some green steminess. Tart green fruits mild tannins, and good acidity.

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• 2005 Left Coast Estate Pinot Noir Latitude 45 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Pleasing red fruits on the nose. Soft palate... really mellow... really boring. Better acid into the finish, but really mellow again. Surprised it's tasting so young, with no real hints of the 3 years age at all.

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Okay, so the one place I have been to before, including where I was married. I was too close to not stop in, and I wanted to try the 2009 whites I hadn't had before. Too bad the Three Barrel wasn't open; I still haven't had it.

• 2009 Johan Vineyards Chardonnay Estate 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very light aromas, though crisp. Amazingly fruit forward on the palate for a Chardonnay... fantastic fruit really, with great balance. A little harsh and grippy initially on the finish, but the acidity builds nicely. I like the tartness trailing into the finish. The fruit on this is great.

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• 2009 Johan Vineyards Pinot Gris Estate 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Soft and clean on the nose, very light, not showing much. On the palate this is very soft, and supple... this lady has quite the love handles, showing some creamy sugar. Mild acid present on the finish that lingers, but some sweetness also lingers. A bit boring.

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• 2009 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Vin Gris Estate 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Fresh and zesty red fruits on the nose, mild and soft. Some strange pumpkin thing on the palate, coupled with nice red fruits. Good acid deep into the finish along with some fruity pebbles cereal.

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• 2007 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Drinking much better than last year. Nice pleasing aromas which are quite soft, though greatly balanced. Mild, good tart fruits on the mid-palate, with pleasing acidity building. Good fruit, great soft texture into the finish. Nice balance.

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• 2007 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Nils Reserve 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very soft red fruits present on the nose. Nice pleasing red fruits, great balanced texture... quite tasty on the palate. Really good acid into the finish, which is tart, showing mild berries, strawberry... better than the last time I tried it a few months ago.

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They've been making wine here for over 20 years! How they survive is beyond me. The tasting room is nasty, and smells bad. The wines are all way below average... don't anticipate ever having these wines again.

• 2007 Kristin Hill Pinot Gris Willamette Valley 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Crisp and clean on the nose, expressing some sweetness. Similar sugar on the palate, though it's very clean... kind of boring, but also quite pleasing throughout.

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• 2007 Kristin Hill Gewürztraminer Dry Estate Willamette Valley 78 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very light nose. Clean palate, showing some slate and salt. Nice and soft. Finish falls off a cliff though, with lots of soap. Tastes exactly like you poured a cup full of tide detergent into the bottle. Crazy.

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• NV Kristin Hill Fizzy Lizzie Willamette Valley 73 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  A sparkling wine made with Pinot Noir, but instead of adding sugar he adds about one ounce of cherry juice to the wine to make it sweet! Guess what it tastes like? Cherry! Well... cherry flavored sugar. It's tart and interestingly soft and mild. Tastes like candy juice to me, not like wine... almost like an Italian soda.

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• 2005 Kristin Hill Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 79 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Only 12% alcohol. Some funk on the nose, but pretty clean overall. A little funky fruits on the palate, with this strange broccoli thing going on. Weird. Similar into the finish, with some strange off balance aged character... is it possible that this wine is already going down hill?

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• 2009 Kristin Hill Nouveau 72 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  A carbonic macerated blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Gamay, released November the year of its vintage. Very fruity on the palate... smells like candy. Wow, tastes like candy too... or more appropriately, sugary jello. It's pretty darn sweet, but kind of tasty. Lots of candy into the finish... so sweet. This is "alcoholic beverage" more than it is wine.

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• 2007 Kristin Hill Gewürztraminer Spice is Nice Willamette Valley 67 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very sweet on the nose. Yuck, it tastes like the tasting room... which is to say, a dank old bathroom that needs serious cleaning. Wet and moldy. Some really funky fruits on the finish, and not at all enjoyable.

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• NV Kristin Hill Oregon Vin Doux Naturel Port 81 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Not the disaster that the previous desert wine was here... this one was textured like thin maple syrup. A 19% wine, but you'd never know it was there. Lots of spice on the palate and finish, with a little bit of smoke. Just too syrupy though.

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One of the old school spots. What I didn't realize is that they have under 20 acres here, and something like 80% of the fruit they put in bottle is purchased. Not all that great either.

• 2007 Amity Vineyards Riesling 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Quite crisp green apple on the nose, some house paint in a wood shop... pretty nice. More latex house paint on the palate, some peach and apricot. Kind of disappears a bit on the finish, but there is some funky goodness.

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• 2009 Amity Vineyards Pinot Gris Yinyang 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very clean and fresh on the nose. It's milky in texture, and tastes of egg whites. Really tart acid into the finish that's nice, but it's mild otherwise.

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• 2008 Amity Vineyards Pinot Noir 83 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Some green steminess on the nose and into the palate, which is quite light. Spicy red fruit finish but really light and mild. Pretty boring.

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• 2008 Amity Vineyards Pinot Noir Bass Hill 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  13% alcohol, though some of it comes across on the nose, which also expresses deep black raspberries. Some tart fruits on the palate, including apple. Mild red fruits again into the finish.

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• 2007 Amity Vineyards Pinot Noir Sunnyside 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Interesting and mild nose, expressing some red apples. Generic red apples on the palate, which is fairly mild and light. Some green apples now on the tart finish.

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• 2006 Amity Vineyards Pinot Noir Winemaker's Reserve 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very rich and thick, almost portesque on the nose. Soft and creamy mid-palate, showing some very ripe red berries. Good tartness, nice and soft finish. Definitely showing the hot vintage. This wine was 14% alcohol, and contained 20% estate fruit.

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• 2007 Amity Vineyards Vino 50 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  This wine is 50% Dolcetto and 50% Tempranillo, created because the winemaker ran out of space to make all of the grapes separately, so it wasn't really planned! Interesting... the nose shows some glue aromas and deep dark fruit. Green apple on the palate, which is soft and not large or over ripe as I expected. There's lots of red apple skins. Mild and soft finish, I think I could drink a case or two without noticing.

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• 2009 Amity Vineyards Riesling Wedding Dance 76 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very soft and mild nose. Sugar hits the tongue hard, also showing some mild kale, but primarily white fruits. Really sweet into the finish.

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Despite not really having any great wines (the known quantitiy of Johan aside), I had a really fun trip driving around by myself. A few friends went to Farm to Fork a week ago and I missed out, so I had to stop for some eats on my way through Dundee. One of the better meals I've had in a while. This will likely be my new stop in Dundee for a while. Fantastic duck liver pate and duck leg.