Willamette with a touch of Wedding Planning (or vice versa)

Willamette Valley
Tasted Wednesday, July 2, 2014 - Friday, July 4, 2014 by MC2 Wines with 809 views

Introduction

Spent the week before the 4th looking for wine venues in the Portland area and given our love of wine 'had' to take a tour through the Valley (and since we were there... 'had' to drop by a few spots to check them out). Amazing the breadth of wines served. More used to Napa where we might try one wine from a few vintages or maybe 2 wines, but here we were tasting 6-7 per winery.

Flight 1 - Zenith Vineyards (3 Notes)

A frontrunner for the venue location so all of these wines were tasted with an eye towards whether they'd work at a wedding or not. On the whole, very reasonable drinking wines. Not anything I'd write home about, but something I'd be ok serving to a bunch of guests.

  • 2012 Zenith Vineyard Pinot Noir White Veil 88 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/2/2014)

    Was tasting this with an eye towards 'potential wine to serve at a wedding'. For that purpose, it seemed great. Easy drinking white wine, ~2% residual sugar which tends to please the masses, wasn't over the top and had enough acidity to balance out for the more discerning wine drinkers. Mostly citrus flavors. Easy to drink.

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  • 2011 Zenith Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate 88 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/2/2014)

    Tasted as a potential wine to serve at a wedding. Pnp'ed. A bit of cherries, some pepper, currant. Very light wine (typical of the Pinot variety). Would work for a large group. Not a bad wine.

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  • 2012 Zenith Vineyard Tempranillo Estate 89 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/2/2014)

    Again should note tasted these as potential wines to serve at a wedding. Much bigger and spicier than the Pinot Noir. Less fruit. More earth and wood. Stronger tannins as well. Would go well with a heavier meat.

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Flight 2 - Cristom Vineyards (6 Notes)

Had a Cristom a few weeks ago at a dinner at Atera in NYC and really enjoyed the wine. It was versatile enough to pair well with the fish crudo courses and some of the heavier meat courses. So when it was right around the corner from Zenith seemed worth a drop in. I think the key to these wines is getting some age on them. They have a really strong oak flavor young which can overpower some of the other pieces poking through. Feels like more of a Cab drinker's Pinot - a bit heavier. Still interesting. Thought the 2010 Sommers Reserve was especially so.

  • 2013 Cristom Pinot Gris Estate 88 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/2/2014)

    Nice and easy refreshing white wine. Seems like a perfect sipper on a hot afternoon. Good level of acidity, mostly lime fruit. Just a touch of sweetness, but not overpowering. Nothing complex or busy about this wine, but I enjoyed it (prob because it was a hot afternoon).

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  • 2011 Cristom Pinot Noir Mt. Jefferson Cuvée 88 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/2/2014)

    Much fuller bodied than what I typically associate with a Pinot Noir. LOTS of oak - this is prob the oakiest of the bunch. Hard to really parse out the other flavors as a result. Maybe there's some pepper in there? Fruit is not really evident. Not sure on the ageability on this though. I think it's more for those who like a woody Pinot Noir.

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  • 2011 Cristom Pinot Noir Louise Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/2/2014)

    After the 2010 Sommers Reserve, this was my favorite of the tasting. Really nice spiciness that is immediately evident. Oak still present (as with all of the Cristoms). Fruit more muted, but I'd guess it would come out over time. I think this has a longer drinking window than CT would suggest (prob needs more like 5-8 years)

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  • 2011 Cristom Pinot Noir Sommers Reserve 90 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    First taste was licorice. I still get the strong oak (seems to be a Cristom style). Maybe some green pepper? The pepper (as in salt & pepper) is a bit more muted in this one than some of the others. Would need a fair amount of time to integrate I think although even some of the slightly older vintages felt like they'd found their feet a bit more.

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  • 2010 Cristom Pinot Noir Sommers Reserve 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/2/2014)

    As with the 2011, this needs more time in the bottle. The fruit is starting to poke out here though. Mostly cranberry. Still some strong black pepper. Still the oak. A bit softer than the 2011. Would be interesting to see in more like 8-10 years of age.

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  • 2009 Cristom Pinot Noir Sommers Reserve 89 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/2/2014)

    Very interesting to do the vertical with the 2011 and 2010 (2010 was my favorite of the group). This had lots more fruit than either of the above. Still the oak and spice. To my taste the 2010 was the best balance across the flavors. This one did feel more approachable - prob the extra year helped, but potentially also the warmer vintage. I'd still lay it down a bit more, but would expect you would drink this with less age than the other two.

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Flight 3 - Domaine Serene (5 Notes)

Good thing we literally passed right by this on the way to Vista Hills (another wedding spot). It was hands down my favorite place of the day. Wine were generally very elegant and balanced. The Monogram was a 'knock your socks off' level. We'd been debating whether to buy anything or not, but that one was just special.

  • NV Domaine Serene "R" 90 Points

    USA, Oregon

    (7/2/2014)

    One of those wonderful fruity and yet very dry Roses that seem to be becoming more ubiquitous these days. It's got Pinot in it, but apparently the winemaker reserves the right to mix whatever others in there and terms it a 'proprietary blend'. This was from release number 6 although all are NVs. Get a great guava and maybe some stone fruit flavor in there. Only downside is $35 seems a bit steep to me for a Rose.

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  • 2011 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvée 88 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/2/2014)

    This is Domaine Serene's 'entry' wine. Very smooth drinking. Mostly get cherry although there's a backbone flavor that holds it together. Could prob go a few years, but this is not a wine for serious aging.

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  • 2011 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Evenstad Reserve 92 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/2/2014)

    Much more going on here than the Yamhill. I get a great pepper on the mid-palette. Lots of currant and cranberry. Too young to be drinking, but lots of potential. Aside from the Monogram, this was my favorite of the tasting.

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  • 2011 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Two Barns 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

    (7/2/2014)

    This was much too young and really not ready yet, but lots of promise. Much less fruit than some of the more entry Domaine Serenes. It had a lot of earthy flavors and woody characteristics. Oak was more apparent here. Suspect it would be enjoyable in some years though.

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  • 2003 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Monogram 94 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/2/2014)

    Poured from a Coravin and aside from a few swirls we drank almost immediately. This was a 'wow' wine - my favorite of everything we tasted that day (we found out the price after the fact and it was also the priciest wine we tasted by far so I suppose it ought to have been good). This was heading the way a nice aged Pinot does - clean and crisp on the palette with that sleekness that you get in a good Burgundy after you've been patient. A background flavor of cloves was the first sense I had, but then I was aware of some mildly sour fruit (think slightly unripe cranberries, currants, etc.). Very balanced. Very elegant. Delicious.

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Flight 4 - Saffron Fields (1 Note)

I didn't take great notes here as we were looking at it as a wedding venue spot and so talking through a lot of that with a wine glass in our hands. My general impression is wines were all fine (similar to Zenith notes above). I think we saw the pricetags were a bit higher and not sure they should have been in the $50 range.

  • 2011 EIEIO Pinot Noir Saffron Fields

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    A fine Pinot - on the outset I did get a touch of alcohol which is maybe what the previous note was alluding to, but over time that went away. It was fruit (currant, rhubarb) and cinnamon and a touch of spice. Relatively one dimensional - didn't see a lot of evolution in the flavors.

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Flight 5 - Eyrie Vineyards (7 Notes)

Visited the tasting room in the McMinnville area. This place was one of the founding fathers of the Willamette Valley and thus is one of the few wineries in the area that really has a library. Interesting to try some of the older wines. My favorite was the 2011 Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Original Vines Reserve, but was fun to taste through the group and esp liked a chance to try the '93 Pinot.

  • 2012 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris Dundee Hills 88 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    Completely fine drinking wine for warm summer days. Get some lemony notes. Medium level palette - not quite as light as some of the others that we've had. Something holds this one together a bit more.

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  • 2012 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Blanc

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    This is just not my wine varietal and so take the following with a grain of salt since I have yet to have a Pinot Blanc that I really enjoy. It's nice and crisp, but I'd like to see some more fruit characteristics and a bit more nuanced flavors.

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  • 2013 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosé 89 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    Nice backbone and acidity to this. I get some nice strawberry flavors, good tartness. In general I don't love Pinot Noir Roses, but this one was pretty reasonable.

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  • 2010 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Black Cap

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    Very much your daily drinker of Pinot Noirs, but it would do a good job of that. Get some red plum, pepper, not overdone though. Basic and not much evolution in the glass, but it's easy to drink.

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  • 2011 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Original Vines

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    My favorite of the Eyrie wines. We tried @ the winery. Bright red current, good white pepper, lots of spice cabinet on the nose and the palette. This is a wine to lay down for some years to let it integrate, but lots of good ingredients there.

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  • 1993 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Original Vines 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    Mostly get some old attic both on the nose and the palette (but not in a bad way). This wine was aged on the lees for 2 years. Lots of pepper. Very soft and supple wine. This was very enjoyable and fun to see a 20 year old Pinot from Oregon.

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  • 1985 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Meunier

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    This was a really interesting wine to try. To be fair, I think it is past it's prime. Very brickish in coloring, fruit mostly comes across as a bit unripe (mostly I'm getting cranberry that is too young to pick). Oddly there's still some tannin background holding it together. Very different wine.

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Flight 6 - Eola Hills Wine Cellars (25 Notes)

As it was the day before the holiday and a Thursday, a lot of places were closed. Eola Hills though has a lovely satellite tasting room right on 3rd street so 3 of us split 3 tastings there and went through most of their line-up. The Wolf Hill here was great (and very interesting - different Pinot clone than one normally sees in the 667). Also fun to get to try a few desserts which was relatively unique in the valley. And first time I have truly appreciated the impact a bit of oak can have to a white wine (the Pinot Gris Reserve which was much more elegant than the standard in just stainless steel).

  • 2013 Persnickety Wine Company Pinot Gris 85 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    Very pear based, super strong acidity (almost overpowering - much more than the Eola Hills Reserve version). I usually like some good acidity in my whites, but this was over the top. One person in our group described this as the wine under a microscope so that it was just too focused in. It was an interesting wine, but I much prefered the Eola Hills.

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  • 2013 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Pinot Gris Reserve 89 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    This was one of my favorite Pinot Gris that we had during the few days in the Willamette. Typically I am not a big believer in oak with my white wines, but this was a great example where it added some complexity and pulled together flavors without overpowering. This wine is similar to the Persnickety (same winemaker) except it does spend some time on oak. This softens the wine, great apple and pear flavors, still has nice acidity, but not overpowering, comes across as a great wine for a hot day. I actually have 'yummy' written next to it in my notes.

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  • 2012 Persnickety Wine Company Pinot Noir Persnickety

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    This came across as the entry level Pinot Noir for Eola Hills. Nice bright red fruits, easy drinking wine, not complex, but not bad. The Wolf Hill completely overshadowed it.

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  • 2010 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Pinot Noir La Creole Reserve

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    Much more together than the 2011. I'd say previous tasting notes felt a bit harsh. It's certainly not a great wine, but very reasonable drinking. Get some red currant and softer spice. Would pick this one over the Persnickety any day, although the Wolf Hill was still the winner.

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  • 2011 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Pinot Noir La Creole Reserve

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    Much too young to be drinking now. The 2010 was already much more together than the 2011. Soft and velvety though good red fruits, just not as integrated as I'd like to see. But maybe with some years.

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  • 2011 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Reserve Wolf Hill 667 90 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    Clear winner of the Pinot Noirs. This was very elegant, very soft, much better level of spiciness than the others. Still the red fruits. Good wine.

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  • NV Eola Hills Wine Cellars Cuvée II

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    This was a blend of Merlot, Cabernet and I believe Cabernet Franc (can't quite remember the third). More muted than some of the other wines in this flight (we tried with the Merlot and Sangiovese). Some nice pepperiness, some good soft red fruits. Feels a bit too young. Maybe needs a year or two to come together.

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  • 2010 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Merlot La Creole Reserve

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    Liked this one more than I thought I would. Some good cinnamon flavors, some nice very deep red fruit. Thought it could make a nice daily drinker.

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  • 2011 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Zinfandel Old Vines Reserve Lodi

    USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi

    (7/3/2014)

    Comes across almost a touch sweet. Has strawberry and cherry and a more pronounced alcohol (esp at the end). Still the softer style which seems to be common across the Eola Hils.

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  • 2008 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Petite Sirah Reserve

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Wahluke Slope

    (7/3/2014)

    Was interested to try this one since different wine makers go a lot of different ways with this grape (and it's one I didn't even realize was grown in Oregon). This was nice and spicy with some good balancing fruit. Funnily enough, the one that comes through for me is red apple.

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  • 2012 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Riesling "White"

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    Generally love a nice acidity in my Riesling, but this one was way overdone. There was some residual sugar and in an effort to balance seems the winemaker might have gone too far. No real fruit or other flavors to speak of. Does come across as crisp, but prefer the German form of this wine.

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  • 2012 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Late Harvest Vin d'Or

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    Lots of peaches! That is the dominant flavor. With some thought maybe some pineapple. Good sweetness and length. Not a complicated dessert wine, but could be a good after dinner drink if one wanted just a touch of sweet.

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  • 2012 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Gewürztraminer Late Harvest Vin d'Epice

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    Lightly sweet, some nice guava flavors, good gewurtz spiciness. Not a great wine, but I enjoyed it.

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  • NV Eola Hills Wine Cellars Raspberry Vin de Ete

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    Thought this could be an interesting wine as I've had some really interesting fruit wine out of Long Island. Not so much here. Basically tastes like raspberries and alcohol. Less elegance than I would have liked.

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  • 2008 Eola Hills Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Port - LBV 80 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/3/2014)

    Mostly just get the alcohol on this port. Not a lot of other flavors came through. It wasn't the best.

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  • 2012 R. Stuart & Co. Big Fire Dry Rosé 85 Points

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    Soft rose, very crisp and clean, get a touch of sweet. Good porch drinking. Not super complex or interesting though.

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  • 2012 R. Stuart & Co. Pinot Gris Big Fire 85 Points

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    Very basic Pinot Gris, not a lot of differentiated flavors in it. Do like the crispness of the wine, but not something I'd seek out.

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  • 2010 R. Stuart & Co. Pinot Noir Big Fire 87 Points

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    This is meant to be the entry level Pinot and it shows. It's a bit of muted dirty red fruit and really nothing else. Suspect that is what the wine maker was going for.

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  • 2011 R. Stuart & Co. Tempranillo Big Fire

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    Much spicier than the Pinot, but seems a bit muted compared to the typical tempranillo. Ok wine, but not great.

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  • 2012 R. Stuart & Co. Pinot Noir Ana 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    This is just a pretty wine. Get some raspberry, very soft flavors, easy to drink, a bit herbaceous. My favorite of the wines we tried @ R. Stuart.

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  • 2012 R. Stuart & Co. Pinot Noir Hirschy

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    Warmer site than the Ana. This one is closer to Yamhill-Carlton. Get some chocolate and blackberry (and other black berries in general). Nice wine.

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  • 2011 R. Stuart & Co. Pinot Noir Vignette

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    This is a blend with the Daffodil Hill and Hirshy vineyards. Much more tannin and oak than in the others. More in your face. Needs more time to come together.

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  • 2012 R. Stuart & Co. Pinot Noir Autograph

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/3/2014)

    This is a blend from the best grapes of 7-9 vineyards. This is meant to be a bigger red, but it drinks a bit more mid-level to me. It's not quite ready for prime time, flavors need a bit more time to integrate. Has the right ingredients though - good pepper, strong currant.

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  • NV R. Stuart & Co. Rosé d'Or

    USA, Oregon

    (7/3/2014)

    Comes from the '98-'08 grape disgorgement. Made in typical champenoise method. Get the herbal flavors you typically get from majority Pinot Noir. Very flavorful.

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  • NV R. Stuart & Co. Cabernet Sauvignon Tawny Dessert Wine Klipsun Vineyard

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

    (7/3/2014)

    Nice and sweet, some good walnut flavors in there, good deepness of flavors, lovely wine.

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Flight 7 - Brickhouse (4 Notes)

This was the start to our only full day of wine tasting only. I think these wines are meant to appeal more to the truly old world palette which doesn't really fit with ours. Lots more of the almost unripe fruit flavors and earth characteristics. I didn't get much evolution in the glass (despite trying ~4 wines in 1.5 hours), but perhaps with some more time?

  • 2013 Brick House Pinot Noir Rosé Clos Ladybug

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge

    (7/4/2014)

    This is mostly Pinot, but added some Gamay and Chard. First time Brickhouse has made a Rose (and may be the last time). It's got some good strong acidity, get a cantalope flavor although it's not overly fruity, although there wasn't any oak in the preparation, I get a bit of a taste of it here.

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  • 2011 Brick House Pinot Noir Les Dijonnais Ribbon Ridge

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge

    (7/4/2014)

    Blend of the 113, 114, and 115 clones. A bit astringent. Less fruit and more floral and spice. A bit less flavorful than some of the other Pinots that we had.

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  • 2012 Brick House Pinot Noir Les Dijonnais Ribbon Ridge

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge

    (7/4/2014)

    Brightier and fruiter than the '11. Very sour red fruits, earthy, not a lot of changing flavors in the glass - comes across as a bit one dimensional. With more time in the glass it feels like it's loosening up a bit, but not quite there.

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  • 2012 Brick House Pinot Noir Evelyn's

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge

    (7/4/2014)

    Again this wine had more fruit than the 2011 Dijoinais, but fruit is still very sour, unripe Pinot, maybe some earthy flavors.

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Flight 8 - Antica Terra (9 Notes)

This was my favorite winery of the trip (although Monogram Domaine Serene was favorite wine). Most of these were too young to be anywhere near potential, but there was lots of evolution in the glass, it was interesting to taste through with the different food pairings, and Maggie was a delight with all of her stories.

  • NV Jacques Lassaigne Champagne Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs La Colline Inspirée

    France, Champagne

    (7/4/2014)

    Nice and toasty at the outset, but has some softer flavors later. Touch of lemon at the end, touch of oak at the beginning. The bubbles come across as quite light if not fine.

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  • 2012 Antica Terra Chardonnay Aurata

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (7/4/2014)

    Not a big Chardonnay drinker (esp if there is some oak in there) and so I don't have great notes on this. There is a definite oak in the finish which I suspect would not be overpowering but rather elegant for most palettes, but didn't work for me.

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  • 2006 Jean-Claude Thévenet & Fils Viré-Clessé 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Viré-Clessé

    (7/4/2014)

    I am decidedly not a Chardonnay drinker, but I really enjoyed this. During the tasting it was mentioned this was made in more of a Southern Rhone/Alsatian style and I can really see that. There's a great honeysuckle on the nose, a bit of spice to the wine (very muted pepper), soft, supple, lots going on.

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  • 2012 Antica Terra Angelicall 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/4/2014)

    One of the most interesting and different Roses I've ever had. Essentially made in a very different style to the standard approach to Rose - this wine starts the journey towards being a standard red wine before the decision is made which barrels will end up Rose instead. Thus, it comes across as almost a red wine, but with significantly less tannin. Great fruit here - get some nice wild strawberry, very soft and gentle, a touch of a backbone that holds it together. Lovely wine.

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  • 2011 Massa Vecchia Maremma Toscana Rosato

    Italy, Tuscany, Maremma, Maremma Toscana

    (7/4/2014)

    Again a very dark Rose, lightly spiced, get a bit of holiday flavor, maybe some black cherry, plum (unique for a rose). Interesting wine.

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  • 2011 Antica Terra Pinot Noir Antikythera

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    (7/4/2014)

    This is a chewier type of wine, very strong fruit which is sour and deep and yet comes across in a positive way (like a sour cherry vs. an unripe one). Get some good minerals and maybe a bit of graham cracker. It's a lovely wine, but not anywhere near ready to come together yet. Feels like this is one that will be aging for longer than the standard Oregon Pinot.

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  • 2011 Maison Anselmet Fumin

    Italy, Valle d'Aosta

    (7/4/2014)

    Get some sour cherry and dark tannins. Found the wine interesting, but not as special as some of the others in the tasting.

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  • 2011 Serafin Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

    (7/4/2014)

    Tastes like a classic Burg to me - lots of strong earthy/dirt flavors, some sour fruit. It's not exactly my style of wine (esp young), but I think can come together quite nicely with the right amount of age.

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  • 2010 Lillian Winery Syrah 93 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

    (7/4/2014)

    This was delicious and a nice break from all of the Pinot that we were trying that day. For some reason didn't take specific notes, but remember thinking it was great - very strong fruit and good earthy tones and a nice spicy Syrah flavor. Really enjoyed.

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Flight 9 - St. Innocent (10 Notes)

Split two tastings here btwn the two of us. Last winery of the trip, and it was a nice one to end on. Some very good single vineyard Pinots (esp Justice and Shea) and one of the better places to do the comparison between the cold 2011 and the warmer 2012.

Closing

Great trip and looking forward to a few returns as we plan the wedding and actually have the wedding. Great to see the variety of styles across the different locations. Have some wines we didn't get to try as takeaways and looking forward to seeing how those perform as well after they've had some time to settle from the trip back. Willamette has the lovely easy going ness of Oregon, and yet was more built out from a tasting room culture than I might have imagined (and much bigger than imagined - many places were minimum 30 minutes in between). Will be interesting to see it develop over the years.

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