Random tasting in the Willamette Valley with Ken

We decided to use this cold, rainy day to go out tasting, which we hadn't done together in a year or so. It was a nasty, foggy day, but an enjoyable time.

I had never been here before, but but it was just a big yellow barn on the side of the road. We arrived at 12:30 and we were his first people of the day, so he basically opened up the wines when we arrived. Some pretty good Pinot Noir. He has been here for 20 years, and even has some 40 year old Riesling vines! The Riesling should come out shortly. Most of the fruit here is own rooted, which is rare for this area.

• 2008 Cleo's Hill Pinot Gris Murto Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  One of the better Oregon Pinot Gris' around. This showed really nice soft fruit. Nice lychee, cantaloupe. Nice acid and pleasing soft fruit on the palate. The finish expresses nice acidity, just slightly off balanced, but nice building acid. The end I get a funky pumpkin that's interesting.

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• 2007 Crumbled Rock Pinot Noir Juliard Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Really quite a large, pleasing nose for a 2007. It was quite upfront, showing some bubble gum and deep ripe red fruits on the nose. The palate was also up front, showing good amounts of more candied red fruits. The finish was similarly fruity, with mild acid showing up. A great quaffer.

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• 2008 Crumbled Rock Pinot Noir Juliard Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Surprisingly, softer and less interesting than the 2007. This was even tarter and thinner on the palate than the '07, but did have some nice acid and mild fruit. On the finish it's tart and a little bitter; slightly green even.

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Right across from Wonderlea, which was packed, and we were the only people here. A really pretty spot, overlooking lots of vines. The label was cool, but the wines weren't all that great.

• 2007 Barrel Fence Cellars Pinot Noir 45 North 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Funky medicinal notes on the nose; a rubber band. More on the palate, some pretty sweet fruit with some of the same funk. Again the rubber band on the finish... really funky, almost like a wet stale car cover.

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• 2008 Barrel Fence Cellars Pinot Noir 45 South 87 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  Better than their Oregon wine (they really are totally different wines, though; different wine maker and all). Pleasing, typical fruits on the nose. Mild on the palate, again showing good typicity with some funk and mild fruit. Nice and spicy into the finish.

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Maresh fruit is renowned all over the place, but they really just don't make good wine from their fruit. Quite surprising for one of the better known names that they don't put more effort into their own wines. Always disappointing, and I find the guy behind the bar quite unfriendly. As we were on our way out Ken said buy about three times without the guy acknowledging us (no one else was there), Ken then commented on how good the crackers were, the guy now chimes in with, "Yeah and they're like $9 a tin so they aren't cheap!" OOOkkkk... .

• 2008 Maresh Pinot Gris Red Hills Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Light on the nose, green, and mild crisp fruit. Thick on the palate though, almost creamy, showing nice texture and tasty lemon with mild acidity. Big acid on the finish, but pleasing overall. Their best wine?

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• 2007 Maresh Chardonnay Red Hills Vineyard 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very light aromas (but MAN do these glasses suck). The palate shows some buttered acid, tart fruits, and a little off balanced. Tart on the off balanced finish, with mild acidity.

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• 2007 Maresh Pinot Noir Select Red Hills Vineyard 83 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  A mix of tart fruit and mild astringency on the nose. The palate is tart, bright, and a bit green. more green tart fruit on the finish, which is also fairly bitter.

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• 2008 Maresh Pinot Noir Red Hills Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very light aromas and flavors... just generic Pinot Noir. The finish is quite a bit more interesting, though, as good acid and really nice tannic structure balance each other well. There's lingering acidic red fruits that are fairly pleasing. Too bad this is so boring to start.

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• 2008 Maresh Pinot Noir Reserve Red Hills Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  $55, and... well... A bit more expressive on the nose than some of the other ones, with some floral aromas, something slightly herbal, and nice red fruits. The palate is pleasing and soft red fruits. It carries into the finish with good lingering flavors. Nice structure, but fairly boring for the tariff.

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Never liked the attitude here. They think because they have a massive distribution they can cop an attitude. Well, the wines still generally suck.

• 2009 Erath Pinot Blanc 82 Points

  USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon

  Some squash on the nose. Mild. Tart green fruit on the palate. Mild acid, and tart finish. Pretty boring and typical.

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• 2008 Erath Pinot Gris 82 Points

  USA, Oregon

  Nice, big grapey fruits, some funky melon on the nose. Funky fruits but really off balanced on the palate and finish. Really can't get into this.

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• 2008 Erath Pinot Noir Oregon 78 Points

  USA, Oregon

  They make 100,000 cases of this wine annually... how they can sell this much of a wine this bad is amazing! There's any number of Pinot Noirs I've had around $15 that are way better than this. Just goes to show what marketing and distribution channel can do for you. This was tart, green, thin, tart, and just pretty nasty throughout. This is what generic supermarket wine tastes like... and I guess that's where you get this wine all over the world. Good for them for some how succeeding with this effort.

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• 2008 Erath Pinot Noir Estate Selection Willamette Valley 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Pretty good for the price. Really quite nice up front fruit on the nose, some tart funky fruit. The palate is mild, some green nature, spicy fruits, tastes of whole cluster (though they say it is not). Tart lingering acid on the finish but not much evolution to bring this to the next level.

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• 2007 Erath Pinot Noir Single Vineyard Reserve Battle Creek Vineyards 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Really soft on the nose; a bit more earthy though. Some perfume flavors on the palate... green... mild... totally boring.

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I really didn't enjoy this experience today...

• 2007 Domaine Trouvére Chardonnay 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Really fruity nose, juicy, showing candied pear. The palate is soft, up front, sweet fruit. Really nice, very slightly acidic, and you can definitely tell there's some residual sugar here. The finish is tart, some austerity, but pretty generic.

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• 2009 Lange Chardonnay Three Hills Cuvée Willamette Valley 81 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  A bit more oak here. Some spice on the nose. The palate is lightly funky, oaky, mild, and tart. Really off balanced and rancid into the finish. Really unpleasant after taste... lingering 30 seconds later, I couldn't wait for the flavors to be gone.

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• 2008 Lange Pinot Noir Three Hills Cuvée 83 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  More mild, pleasing soft upfront fruit here. Soft on the palate, but again showing some off balanced acidity. The finish is tart, dry, puckering, and really really bitter. Not a pleasing finish texturally at all.

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• 2008 Lange Pinot Noir Lange Estate Vineyard Dundee Hills 83 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Mild, some funk on the nose. More generic fruit on the palate, some astringency. Bitter finish. Off balanced. Again very strange mouth feel.

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• 2007 Domaine Trouvére Tempranillo 81 Points

  USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Umpqua Valley

  Big thick fruit throughout. Spice, tobacco, and bitter astringency on the finish. Overall the texture was kind of thin and surprisingly, didn't taste too Tempranillo like... definitely reminiscent of their Pinot Noirs' style.

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• 2009 Torii Mor Viognier Cote d'Mor Joshua's Starry Night Vineyard 84 Points

  USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County

  Slightly funky melon nose. This tastes like "typical white wine from anywhere USA". Palate entry is quite sweet, but that softens, going into mild acidity, some squash, and lavender. Tart and slightly sweet on the finish, with some lingering, off balanced acidity.

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• 2009 Torii Mor Pinot Gris Reserve 85 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Tart and astringent nose, but a creamy, pleasing palate that's quite mild, expressing soft white fruits. The finish is tart, with mild acid, and lingering tartness.

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• 2008 Torii Mor Pinot Noir 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Nice up front fruit on the nose; mild oak. Nice overall. Fairly drying on the palate, mild, and really gritty, showing some gravel and soil. The finish is tart, gritty, and the gravel in the mouth notion carries through. Tart, well structure, and not much fruit showing through. This one is currently all about the structure.

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• 2008 Torii Mor Pinot Noir Hawk's View 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains

  Very fruit forward nose. Smells delicious. Luscious, soft, pleasingly big red fruits are throughout the palate and into the finish. Really nice as it leaves the tongue.

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• 2008 Torii Mor Pinot Noir Reserve Deux Verres 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  On the nose, some rocks, nice mild fruit, light pomegranate, and soft berries, almost like they've been sitting in water softening and have all glommed together in a goo. The palate shows bigger fruit, nice size and structure present. Really nice balance on the finish. My favorite of their Pinot Noirs today.

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• 2006 Torii Mor Syrah Late Bottled Vintage Port 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley

  Really quite boozy on the nose; astringent, and light on the fruit. The palate is big, rich, and coating. Zingy but smooth, and it burns as it stays on my tongue for longer than a few seconds. The finish is spicy fruit, but way too much alcohol. I'm surprised I scored this as high as I did, as thinking back I just remember the alcohol overpowering whatever fruit was of interest.

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My first visit here. I'll definitely be coming back. The Pinot Noirs were all very good, and I liked the style the wine maker was going for, despite the higher than my usual preference of alcohol.

• 2009 Vidon Pinot Gris 81 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Done in neutral oak. Nose is pretty vibrant, but the palate shows some buttery sweetness that's really not appetizing. The finish is funky and off balanced.

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• 2009 Vidon Pinot Noir Rosé 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains

  Ken didn't like this, but I found it quite pleasing. It's salmon color and it even smells like salmon. Really vibrant on the palate, with bright acidic red fruits. Pleasing into the finish.

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• 2007 Vidon Pinot Noir 3 Clones 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains

  Really vibrant on the nose, tart red fruits. Soft and mild on the palate, with really soft pleasing mild strawberry fruits mixed with some earthiness. Pleasing texturally, with an elegant and mild finish.

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• 2008 Vidon Pinot Noir 3 Clones 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains

  Milder, softer nose than the 2007. Really round and soft on the palate. Pleasing. Really nice acid and great structural balance deep into the finish.

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• 2009 Vidon Pinot Noir 3 Clones 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains

  Only bottled a few weeks ago, this is showing quite well, and the best of the three bottle vertical. All these wines were hovering around 14.7-14.8% alcohol, though they hid it quite well. This one showed a really rich and complex nose, showing salmon, red berries, and winter spices. Very pleasing balance on the palate, nice structure. Soft and elegant on the finish, good structure, and really nice balance of elements. I think this would do well as a long term ager. 90+

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