IPNC Weekend 2018
Linfield College, McMinnville, OR
Tasted July 26, 2018 - August 2, 2018 by rocknroller with 518 views
Introduction
This was our first time venturing out for IPNC. We had a really fun group with Siggy, Candace, Lonny, Matt L, Jason and Tracy G, and Vicki and I. It was a wonderful experience to bask in the glory of Oregon wine country and enjoy talking with the winemakers and growers in such an up close fashion. The food through the weekend was outstanding too with many area chefs contributing to the event's success. It is also amazing to see the number of volunteers that make this event happen. A special shout out to our favorite flashy Somm "Ric Ecrane" who really made our experience fantastic all weekend long. Hopefully no one will glean his true identity. We'll be back at some point to do it all over again. I tried to document as many of the wines as possible. Many notes are very brief and gut impressions.
Flight 2 - Bistro Maison (10 notes)
Northern Rhone Theme
Rosé - Sparkling
2008 Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage Rosé
France, Champagne
Just had this last weekend and for the sake of completeness I'll share that this was delightful again. Didn't quite reach the same height, but that may be the setting and pairing, or lack thereof. I wish we'd have had this with the watermelon and feta-mint salad, it would have rocked. As it was, the raspberry fruit was quite distinct tonight. 91 to 92pts.
White
2007 Didier Dagueneau Silex
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
Light gold color. Simply stunning tonight and a brilliant pairing to our oyster course. This has such focus and precision, it has balance to the nth degree. I love the earth, dank nose with crushed crustacean minerality, lime, citrus and wet stones. This adds a honeyed note on the nose that is quite captivating. This has such nice acidity, very pretty and it just resonates. SB doesn't get much better.
Red
1985 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Côte-Rôtie Les Jumelles
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Dark bricked red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. Enticing nose of mushroom, wet leaves, soil, red fruits, pepper. The palate is medium bodied, well integrated tannins, cassis, anise, red cherry, graphite, damp earth and cedary spice. This bottle was in a good spot, and I don't think I'd push it a lot further.
Red
1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This bottle was ok on the nose, but the palate was suffering from alcohol, a lack of fruit and seemed disjointed. A bottle just a week or two later was exceptional.
Red
2010 Delas Frères Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Very dark red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. There's a mix of red and black fruit on the nose along with orange peel and peppered spice. The palate shows restraint, blackberry, fairly soft mouthfeel, pepper, spicebox, soft silky tannins. 91+ to 92pts.
Flight 4 - The Grand Seminar: Two Vineyards/Six Hands (6 notes)
This seminar was a focus on the Bella Vida and Temperance Hill Vineyards and winemaker influences
Red
2016 Dominio IV Pinot Noir The Violet Hour Bella Vida Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Medium dark red color. Drank 1 glass over an hour. Slightly tight on the nose, subtle cedar, touch funky, deep red berries emerge with more dried earth. The palate is somewhat herbal, dill weed, red cherry, a little spicy, fine grain tannins, mouthwatering acid and a touch of citrus. Evolved nicely over the hour.
Red
2016 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Bella Vida Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Medium dark red color. Drank 1 glass over an hour. In the style, deeper and more intense, love the nose, crushed flowers, dark berry, hints of blue fruit, vanillin, and the dry earth note emerges gradually. Deeper on the palate too, nice acid, tart dark berry, that gets brighter, hints of green tea.
Red
2016 Belle Pente Pinot Noir Bella Vida Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Medium red color plus. Drank a glass over an hour. Very different, blood orange on the nose, stems, dark red fruit, medium body, tart and tangy, more tannnin, but still sleek, good acid, mineral, almost kir like in some ways. Somedidn't like this at all. I found it intriguing in a good way.
Red
2016 Lumos Wine Company Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Part of a trio of THV's from 2016 with Lumos, Walter Scott, and Bergstrom. The nose is cedary, brambly almost mountain berry fruit; palate darker berry and black cherry, framboise, and hints of tart strawberry. Good, falls off a bit, as it appears to shut down.
Red
2016 Walter Scott Pinot Noir Temperance Hill
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Part of a trio of THV's from 2016 with Lumos, Walter Scott, and Bergstrom. This was singing, and singing my song loudly. Just a great nose, deeply earthy on the nose, what I call a classic Oregon signature, damp earth, perfumed, beautiful strawberry fruit. The palate is briary, sous bois, red raspberry, cherry, medium body and lithe. This is so tangy, with delicious ripe tart fruit, lifted, baking spices, and hints of blue fruits. Impressive showing and my wine of the trio.
Red
2016 Bergström Pinot Noir Temperance Hill
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Part of a trio of THV's from 2016 with Lumos, Walter Scott, and Bergstrom. This has even more fruit than the Walter Scott. Red berries, great purity and focus, slightly dusty and rather floral, hints of blood orange. The palate has dried earth, saline, cedarbox, great purity, herbs, medium body and harmonious. This may be the ultimate winner with some age. 92+pts.
Flight 5 - Lunch on the Lawn (9 notes)
Red
2013 Westcott Pinot Noir Reserve
Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Vinemount Ridge VQA
Tasting pour. Woody, wood spices, clove, subtle, light cherry, rose hips. there is a lighter bodied elegance here. Prefer to the '15 by a fair bit.
Red
2015 Westcott Pinot Noir Reserve
Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Vinemount Ridge VQA
Tasting pour Light medium red color. Dried herbs, slightly green, an interesting soil note, a little vanilla, tight, muted fruit.
Red
2006 Soléna Pinot Noir Cellar Crawl Pack Lia's
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
Tasting pour. Good, a fun wine, dark fruit core, resolved, might be a little past peak. Bethel Heights, Cristom, Kew Wright, and Penner-Ash collaboration. Just a really cool project that could maybe only happen there.
Flight 6 - University of Pinot: #301 Viticultural Legacies (12 notes)
A focus on six wineries and the transition from one generation of winemaker to the next.
Red
2012 Domaine Chevrot Maranges 1er Cru Le Croix Moines
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Maranges 1er Cru
Small glass over an hour. Alright now, nice open nose, tons of mineral and iron, firm round tannins, lots of roses and floral notes on the nose about 45 minutes in, deeper red fruits. 90+ to 91pts.
Red
2010 Domaine Valentin Zusslin Pinot Noir Bollenberg Cuvée Harmonie
France, Alsace
Small glass over an hour. In a better place than the '15, this has nice spice, complex, soil, mineral, ferrous, red cherry, very bright, good tannins, medium bodied, transparent, the fruit may be a little thin in the middle.
Red
2009 Domaine Jean-Marc Boulay Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Small glass over an hour. Medium dark red color. Just a lovely nose, very floral, rose petals, leather; nice acid, red cherry, transparent, fine tannins, mineral dense, medium plus body,long and resonant finish. 92+ to 93pts.
Red
2009 Domaine Jean-Marc Boulay Volnay 1er Cru Les Carelles
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Small glass over an hour. Medium dark red color. Lesser known then Chenes, doesn't see the U.S. typically. Spice, sous bois, more feminine than the Clos des Chenes and very floral. Very good.
Flight 7 - Alfresco Tasting #1 (21 notes)
Red
2014 Big Sky Wines Pinot Noir Te Muna Road
New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
Tasting pour. I like the nose more than the palate, it is rather earthy with good aromatics, the palate has a green quality to the darker tart red fruits.
Red
2015 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Tasting pour. A riper Cali style, but not overdone, medium full bodied, some vanillin with the ripe berry aroma and flavors, forward.
Red
2015 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Pas de Nom
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Tasting pour. I expected to like this a lot more than I did, kind of so-so now. It was larger scaled, not really unexpectedly, quite a bit of vanilla now, ripe darker fruits, compote. I'd let this sit for awhile myself.
Red
2015 Hyde Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir Larry Hyde
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Tasting pour. Medium red color. We both really liked this, ripe berries, but so deeply earthy and damp, balsamic, sappy red berries, but not at all heavy, delicious stuff. 91+ to 92pts.
Red
2015 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Original Vines
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Tasting pour. Excellent, great depth, medium red color, one of those pristine wines of sheer beauty that is already evident. These always age great and this will be no different. 92+ to 93pts.
Flight 8 - The Grand Dinner (15 notes)
Red
2012 Hyde Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Medium red color. Drank a glass over an hour with Chris Hyde. He was our winemaker/table ambassador for the Grand Dinner at IPNC. First of all, Chris is a super guy, very humble and genuine, and his wines are well made impressive examples what the Hyde vineyard can do with Pinot Noir. I found the style to be rooted in Burgundy and a far cry from what so often comes out of California these days. I appreciate the transparent style and mid-weight wines that reflect the terroir and respect the grape. This is earthy and well balanced; very complex and pure, with a lovely fruit expression while not being heavy and extracted. Some scorched earth and smoke too. The cool night breezes of the vineyard show through in the acid and vivacity of the the wine. The '15 Hyde we had earlier had the same profile, so this is not a one hit wonder. 91+ to 92pts.
Red
2005 Domaine Rossignol Trapet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Prieur
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Dark red color. Drank a glass over 45 minutes. More ready than the last bottle, this showed the same profile of deep red berry, soil and iron, with a distinct spiciness, but it was much more giving and lively. Probably still not all the way there yet, but this was a PNP. 91+(+)pts.
Red
2007 Domaine Tortochot Charmes-Chambertin
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Medium red color. This bottle was opened about an hour before serving. Drank 1 glass over 60 minutes. Same bottle as Bellissino and the same experience. We've had this a several times now and it has been a consistent charmer to say the least. Great perfume, red berry, mushroom, currants, damp earth and soil infused minerality on a medium frame. This was rocking.
Red
2010 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir
New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
Small glass. Rather earthy, pepper, good texture, meaty on the nose, slightly angular finish. Good. 88+pts.
Red
2004 Cristom Pinot Noir Signature Cuvée
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Translucent bricked red color. Randy was wandering around the grounds pouring this from a double magnum. Wow, this was head turning and gorgeous, aged and elegant, mouthwatering, orange peel, citrus, tart cherry, pomegranate., dried earth and florals. One of the highlights of the evening. 93+ to 94pts.
Red
2014 Roco Pinot Noir Private Stash
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
Small glass over 20 minutes. Good, spicy, pepper, a mix of dark red and black fruits, young though. Give it 18 to 24 months. 90+pts.
Red
2006 Escarpment Pinot Noir
New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
Drank a glass very late in the evening. We had been badgering our Somm supreme, "Ric Ecrane", to see if he could find us some DRC and low and behold he found what we suspect to be a counterfeit bottle of 1996 La Tache. The dead give away was the hastily crossed out Escarpment label and the Sharpie written "1996 DRC La Tache" over it. Names have been changed to protect the creatively innocent. Imagine our disappointment :). There was wine in the bottle, and I think it tasted like Pinot Noir from far south of the border.
Flight 10 - Vineyard Tour & Winery Lunch: Alexana (5 notes)
Host by Dr. Madaiah Revana and winemaker Brain Weil at Alexana Vineyards
Red
2013 Alexana Pinot Noir Signature
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Dark red color. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. Top 10 barrels of the Estate wine. To be honest, I was expecting more from this wine. In retrospect, I should have realized that a '13 Alexana was not going to be showing great yet. It is a cool vintage and Alexana tends to need some time to flesh out anyway and particularly in the cool years. This was further evidenced by the '11 Revana I picked up while we there for the salmon bake later that evening - it was much better two days later. This was very firm and structured and showing some heat too. Dark red fruits and oak spice dominate currently.
Red
2016 Duck Pond Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Reserve
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Purple hued medium dark garnet red. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. Very young, wood, soft mouthfeel, spices and warmth on the palate, brooding ripe black cherry. concentrated, a big ripe wine with some heat presently. Hard to see through this right now. I'm reserving judgement for now, but as is 88 would be reasonable.
Red
2010 Alloro Vineyard Pinot Noir Justina Estate
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
Light medium transparent ruby color. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. This was the ringer in the bunch as it was the one wine with age on it. I'd never had this producer before, and I was duly impressed by this bottle. This has a classic Oregon feel to it, with that lighter weight, earthy with perfumed red fruits, floral with dried roses; on the palate this has a pretty red raspberry fruit, light medium body but plenty of energy and intensity along with some zippy 2010 acidity. I'd like to try more and see if this is a consistent style. Excellent, right in my wheelhouse.
Red
2015 Côtiére Pinot Noir
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
Medium red color. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. Very pleasantly surprised by this, earthy up front, tangy red fruits, a little vanilla, medium weight, has some grip on the tannins. It will be better in another year I think. Tasty.
Red
2017 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir
South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Medium red color. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. Good, red fruits, a bit more austere, soil, mineral driven, spicy, has some power and bigger structure, very young, very Burgundian. 91(+)pts.
Flight 11 - Winery Lunch at Alexana (6 notes)
Guest Chef: Sarah Schafer of Irving Street Grill in Portland, OR
White
2017 Alexana Pinot Gris
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Drank a glass upon welcome at Alexana. Easy drinking on a very hot day, crisp and lively, pear. 88+pts.
White
2015 Alexana Chardonnay Terroir Series Willamette Valley
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Drank a glass with lunch at the winery. 70% malo, 70% oak, 5% new. Very nice, medium bodied, just enough texture, still decent acid despite the warm vintage, crisp, cut pear, tart.
Red
2016 Alexana Pinot Noir Revana Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Deep ruby hue. Drank a glass with lunch at the winery. Herbal, red fruited, plush texture, plenty of spice. This is pretty darn young, but still good. I sense a trend coming here.
Flight 12 - Alfresco Tasting #2 (16 notes)
Red
2016 Bergström Pinot Noir Bergström Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Tasting pour. Totally captivating, alluring silky texture, damp earthiness, very pretty red fruits, elegant and impeccably balanced. Can't wait to see where this goes from here, stunning right now. 93+ to 94pts
Red
2015 Walter Scott Pinot Noir Sojourner Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Tasting pour. I like this, very young right now with firm tannins, medium weight, red berry, tighter on the nose, but everything seems to be there. 90-92pts potential.
Red
2016 Kelley Fox Wines Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Tasting pour. I really like the nose here, very aromatic and enticing, but the palate is quite brooding, lots of wood, grippy tannins, dark red fruits. Has very good potential.
Red
2016 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley
USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley
Tasting pour. This hit a cord for me, and maybe it was talking with Brian Talley while sipping, but this had nice red fruit, round and pleasing, with some tannins that will sneak up on you. Give this 12 to 18 months.
Red
2015 Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir Estate
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
Tasting pour. Oh, this was really good, great structure, firm but not grippy, great forest floor character on the nose and palate, dark berries. 92+(+)pts.
Red
2015 Roco Pinot Noir The Stalker
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Tasting pour. This had some blue fruit, blackberry liqueur, woody, some floral notes and dried herbs. Good, but maybe not my stylistic preference.
Red
2016 Johanneshof Reinisch Pinot Noir
Austria, Niederösterreich, Thermenregion
Tasting pour. Really dank and horsey, and that's coming from someone who likes their Brett, also more thin on the palate yet it manages to be really grippy. The nose is better than the palate. 86 to87pts.
Red
2015 Tyee Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Barrel Select
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Tasting pour. Never had this producer and was impressed by this wine and at a good value. As the name would suggest, a selection of top barrels, vines planted in '74, '81, and '82 I believe. This was very well balanced, elegant style, medium body, red fruited. Very nice. Really nice people and a place I want to visit next time back. 91+pts.
Flight 13 - Northwest Salmon Bake (11 notes)
White
2014 Ermes Pavese Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle
Italy, Valle d'Aosta, Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle
Pale gold color. From magnum. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. Northern Italy, 3400 feet elevation. I loved this, just great minerality, seething with ocean tastes and smells, tart, sterling acid, citrus. This a match made in heaven for shellfish and grilled fish.
Red
2009 Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Reserve
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Medium dark red color. Drank a glass over 20 minutes. This was one of the library wines at the salmon bake. Have not had a Mondavi pinot in some time, in fact maybe never other than at the winery. This was a pleasant surprise. In good shape, nice big dark berry fruits, boysenberry, blackberry, and dark cherries, spicy, some warmth but not in a bad way, sauvage,
Red
2007 Cristom Pinot Noir Louise Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Light medium red color. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. Poured from a Jeraboam as Randy worked the grounds at the salmon bake. Another great bottle, maybe not quite as good as the '04 Signature the night before, but damn close. Amazingly complex spices seem to dance across the nose, wow, then the pretty red fruits and floral perfume joins in and mixes with some bacon fat as this keeps on singing. As good as this '07 is now, in this large format it still feels youthful on the palate. So if you have any 5 liter bottles of this at home, you might want to sit on them for 5 years :). 93+pts
Red
2005 Dusky Goose Pinot Noir Dundee Hills
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Tasted. Very ripe, tastes more like RRV than Dundee. Maybe that's in part the vintage, but this thing is hot and presumably past.
White - Sparkling
1999 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart
France, Champagne
Light-medium golden color. Drank a glass over an hour. Our roving Somm "Ric Ecrane" found our table to see what was going down. His timing was impeccable as we'd just opened this. To quote him: " We somms have a phrase for wines like this: "Good shit". You gotta loves the pro's technical descriptions. This was one of those "good" bottles of the '99 though. Really deep and toasty, sterling minerality, energetic white fruits.
Red
1998 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Had this also at the salmon bake. This seemed off to me tonight. I was getting a fair bit of heat and wood on the palate. We've seen some bottle variation on these with some previous storage concerns.
Red
2011 Alexana Pinot Noir Revana Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Dark red color. PNP, drank a glass the first night and again the following night. I bought this at our IPNC winery lunch at Alexana for that night's big salmon bake dinner. I was looking for something with a little age on it for dinner and this was the oldest they had. I prefer the cooler vintages so I was happy to find this. At the salmon bake, this was still very tight and showing firm tannins and some edginess. I took the leftovers with me figuring this may well need some more time. Well hey, did this ever come around for day two. It's a shame everyone didn't get to see it where it ended up. The nose and palate shows a mix of dark red fruit, along with a blue fruit tinge of tart huckleberry, anise, and a dense rocky mineral laden finish. There was a striking evolution of the tannins and wood tones with the tannins becoming quite satiny vs. the grippy mess they were day one. The sense of wood and a green streak has literally fallen away. A lot of 11's are good on PNP, this clearly was not. Give this another year or so or decant generously. 91+ to 92pts.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1989 Château Suduiraut
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Capping off the night at the salmon bake. This showed lots of botrytis spice, baked apple, orange, orange peel, a little thinner on the palate tonight.
Flight 15 - Sparkling Brunch Finale (4 notes)
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Laurent-Perrier Champagne Cuvée Rosé Brut
France, Champagne
Finished off IPNC at the sparkling brunch with one of the wines we'd looked forward to all weekend. Thanks to super somm "Ric Ecrane" we had our own personal bottle to share over the morning. This is a delightful wine. Everything I want in my rose Champagne is there in perfect balance. Year in and year out what they do is quite impressive. This is delicate and elegant while offering a creamy palate with vibrant and pure strawberry fruit, hints of almond, perfect mineral notes and a great lifted feel on a the long finish. 93+pts.
Flight 16 - Dinner at The Stephanie Inn, Cannon Beach, OR (1 note)
White
2014 Bethel Heights Chardonnay Estate
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Pale gold color. Off the restaurant list. Very enjoyable, nice purity with white peach, melon, lemon and hints of lychee, mineral, medium body, very clean and refreshing. 90+ to 91pts.
Flight 18 - Dinner at Newman's 988, Cannon Beach, OR (1 note)
White - Sparkling
2014 Argyle Vintage Brut
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Pale green gold color. Off the list at Newman's 988. I'm still liking this, loaded with tart citrus, minerally, gooseberry, tart green apple, more yeasty than I recall. Very solid.
Closing
One word: "spit"
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