Wines of Oregon at 18 Reasons
18 Reasons, SF
Tasted Tuesday, May 12, 2015 by RajivAyyangar with 351 views
Introduction
Pamela Busch @ 18 Reasons, SF
Pamela was knowledgeable and frank as a host/tasting leader. The tenor was mostly for the layman, with a few more experienced (though not super-technical) tasters present. The format was superb - they provided spittoons, bread, and water, and the pace left lots of room for discussion and questions.
A few takeaways:
-There was more experimentation in the 1990’s, but recently vintners have been more orthodox, retreating to less wood, and the organic principles of David Lett (Eyrie).
-Oregon does Pinot Gris, but not quite at the level of Alsace.
-Oregon Pinot is slightly cooler climate compared to California > Sonoma. New world style. Many producers are doing a terroir-driven, low oak style, and overall Pamela thinks the quality is higher than CA and a bit higher than NZ.
-LIVE Certification seems to have some weight. Encourages organic viticulture (not as stringent as organic). 35 of ~500 wineries have LIVE certification.
Notes on regions:
Columbia Gorge AVA, Walla Walla AVA - on the border with Washington, and most of each AVA is actually in Washington.
Willamette Valley AVA - largest wine region. Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay. Also Riesling, Gamay, Pinot Blanc, Gewurz, and some others. Subregions include Chehalem Mtns, Ribbon Ridge, Dundee Hills, Yamhill-Carlton District, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville.
Umpqua Valley AVA, Rogue Valley AVA - southern regions. More rhone-like climate.
The Wines:
Overall I didn’t find much to really get excited about, especially for the price, but the Pinot Gris and the Grenache were pretty solid.
2009 Teutonic Wine Company Riesling Brut - Methode Traditionelle Crow Valley Vineyard 80 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Clear, day bright. Light plus concentration, pale gold with reflections of green in the glass. Bubbles, no sediment.
Aromas are somewhat funky, with a hint of lambic character and some TDN/Petrol (I’m a bit hesitant with the TDN - it didn’t remind me of clear plastic pool toy like the Hugel, and it was closer in direction to the waxy/beeswax and ultimately saffron-botrytis end of the spectrum. But ultimately it was far from saffron - inorganic and gasoline-like). Definitely some funky stuff going on here. Not Brett, but maybe bacterial flaw or other weird yeast?
In the mouth, dry, light bodied, with small-ish bubbles, nice texture, and ripping malic acid on the finish. The overall impression is too lean, too austere, too tart, too malic. No phenolic bitterness.
I don’t know what to make of this. It could have used more fruit and more tartaric rather than malic acidity. But a lot of things about this are nice. It’s cool to smell Riesling and taste bubbles.
Score: around 8.
Methode Champenoise, dosage includes inoculation with yeast from the vineyard.
$50
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2013 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris Dundee Hills 85 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Summary: A solid and varietally correct Pinot Gris! Nothing complex going on here.
Score: Around 8.5
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Full Sensory:
Clear, day-bright. Medium Gold, L+ Concentration in the glass (a bit lighter than I’d expect from an Alsace PG, perhaps?). M+ tears [I think I was biased, expecting a higher alcohol wine].
Nose: Medium intensity, peach, nectarine, very ripe notes - sort of like overripe banana, but maybe more in the direction of peach. Ripe and a bit savory. Hint of lemon spritz on the back end.
Youthful, pretty straightforward - not complex.
Palate: Dry, medium plus body, moderate plus alcohol - 13.5? [actually only 12.5% - I think I have a bias expecting higher alcohol because it’s New World - actually it’s pretty cool up there.] Weighty, textured, with balanced moderate acidity - just enough to give it some brightness, low+ phenolic bitterness. No evidence of oak.
Balanced in a slightly rich way. Low complexity. Finish is moderate plus in length.
$20
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2013 Big Table Farm Edelzwicker 80 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Summary
Nice aromatics. Very light palate balanced with phenolic bitterness. Simple.
Score: around 8.
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Full Sensory:
Light gold with reflections of green in the glass.
Nose: Elevated intensity, clean. Very bright, high-toned terpenes. Fresh roses just sprayed with water. Secondaries of fresh grapefruit pith (bitter thiols).
In the mouth, Moderate plus alcohol (13%) [only 11.3% - totally off! Next time pay attention to the weight, not just the overall balance which is affected by low acidity.]. Light all around. Moderate phenolic bitterness. Acidity is moderate minus. Overall balance is light and bitterness-driven, not acid-driven. Finish is mostly phenolic bitterness.
$30
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