Tasted Saturday, May 25, 2013 - Sunday, May 26, 2013 by David Paris (dbp) with 913 views
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2012 Harper Voit Riesling Maresh Vineyard 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
(5/25/2013)
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.
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2011 Harper Voit Pinot Blanc surlie 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
(5/25/2013)
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.
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2011 Harper Voit Pinot Noir Strandline 88 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
(5/25/2013)
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.
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2011 Harper Voit Pinot Noir Old School 89 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
(5/25/2013)
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.
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