Memorial Day Weekend Wine Tour
Eola-Amity Hills
Tasted May 23, 2009 by subtlet with 680 views
Introduction
This was a great trip put together to take advantage of the holliday weekend where a few of these wineres which aren't usually open to the public were pouring flights. Traffic and lines were much more managable than I imagine the would've been in the the Dundee Carlton area as well. It was a perfect blend of 2 wineries I had never tasted before, and 2 which I had had some wines from, but wanted to experience more of. All the stops were very friendly and accomodating. I want to make note of the fact that Stangeland offers their "Reserve Tasting" not as single pours, but as a 3 year vertical of each of their top two wines. What an excellent tasting opportunity! Good wine, good hosts, and good company always make for a wonderful day!
Flight 1 - Arcane Cellars (9 notes)
This is a winery located immediately across the Wheatland Ferry. It's got a nice location right by the river. I had seen bottles from them before, but never tasted any. Most of the wines were in the sub $20 range, so it was interesting to get some exposure to some local wines at that price point.
White
2008 Arcane Cellars Pinot Blanc
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Nice direct scents of fruit and floral notes on the nose. The wine is on the lighter side, but exhibits some nice fruit, a dusty note, and some decent acid.
White
2006 Wheatland Chardonnay Oregon
USA, Oregon
The nose displays some light fruit, with a hint of an oily scent. There's a bit of citrus and bananna on the palate. It makes for decent easy drinking, but isn't exciting.
White
2007 Arcane Cellars Viognier Del Rio Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley
The nose is very clean, but doesn't have much going on. Perhaps a hint of sweetness. When tasted, the experience is similar. Very very light, with a hint of floral components, but little else.
White
2008 Arcane Cellars Riesling
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
The nose is nice with a hint of lilacs, some minerality and distinct riesling fruit. There's a hint of honey and peaches along with some nice acidity. It falls off a bit on the finish, but is very clean and enjoyable. Very solid wine for QPR ($16 from winery.)
Rosé
2008 Arcane Cellars Pinot Noir Rosé
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Oregon pinot scents on the nose along with a strange meaty funk. There's a hint of pinot flavor as well, but almost no acidity which is very strange for rose in my experience. The wine is pretty flat.
Red
2007 Arcane Cellars Pinot Noir
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
The nose is nice with funky dusty pinot fruit. Despite this, the fruit is very light on the palate. The acidity is nice, but there's a bit much heat, and all of the other flavors are very faint.
Red
2005 Wheatland Red
USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
Nice clean nose with blackberries and licorice. The wine has some nice acid, and peppery and blackberry notes but is a bit watery and has a hint of a strange synthetic flavor.
Red
2006 Arcane Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley
Nice tannic cab fruit greets you on the nose, along with some sweeter scent I can't place. The oak and tannic structure on the palate are nice, but the fruit doesn't deliver very well. It's pretty light.
Red
2007 Arcane Cellars Syrah
USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley
Dark fruit nose with a hint of candy and light earth. The tannins are nice, and there is some light dark fruit flavor, but no complexity.
Flight 2 - Stangeland (16 notes)
This was a very enjoyable visit. The view is great, the room wasn't too crowded, and they were pouring a very large lineup for only $10. How reasonable! The asst. winemaker was also kind enough to chat with us during most of our tasting giving us some great insight into the wines. I was partial to their work with the 05 vintage.
White
2006 Stangeland Gewürztraminer
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
An interesting nose with hints of nutmeg and pear. The pears deliver on the palate with a bit of acid and a creamy finish that trails off nicely.
White
2005 Stangeland Gewürztraminer
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The wine has a dusty mineral character to the nose. Pear flavors and acidity appear the palate, but the wine seems awkward and isn't balanced too well.
White
2007 Stangeland Pinot Gris
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Bright acidic nose is enjoyable. Light pear flavors with good acid and a syrupy note show up on the palate.
White
2005 Stangeland Chardonnay Estate
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The nose is light and subtle. The wine has some nice round fruit and hints of spice with the oak, which is kind of interesting, but to me doesn't seem to balance well.
Red
2006 Stangeland Pinot Noir Oregon
USA, Oregon
Very light, barely perceptible fruit on the nose. The wine has a nice tanninc structure that evolves across the palate. This is a pleasant surprise at this price point. The dark fruit flavors are pretty light, but the acidity is nice.
Red
2007 Stangeland Pinot Noir Oregon
USA, Oregon
The fruit is light but it's still a nice funky nose. Dark fruit greets you on the approach when tasted and the tannins evolve nicely. There's a hint of bitterness, but for QPR this is a solid pinot.
Red
2005 Stangeland Pinot Noir Eola - Amity Hills
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Nose of wet earth, darker fruit, and a hint of herbal scents. Nice blackberry and plum fruits are present on the palate along with the wet earth from the nose. The tannins are quite soft.
Red
2006 Stangeland Pinot Noir Vermeer Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The nose is light with hints of spice along with the fruit. On the palate the fruit is soft and dark with a nice structure and a hint of sweetness.
Red
2005 Stangeland Pinot Noir Stand Sure Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The nose has lighter blackberry with a hint of rhubarb. Wow! This wine delivers some lovely dark fruit along with a tang that's hard to place. It reminds me of grape skins as well as rhubarb flavors. Very well balanced and quite enjoyable!
Red
2006 Stangeland Pinot Noir Stand Sure Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The nose has blackberries and some rich earth scents. The wine has a nice minerality and tangly blackberry flavors. Nice, clean, and enjoyable.
Red
2004 Stangeland Pinot Noir Estate Reserve
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Bright raspberry scents on the nose. There are nice acids and tannins on this wine along with some red fruit and a strange earthy flavor. The finish is very dry.
Red
2005 Stangeland Pinot Noir Estate Reserve
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
There's a bit of heat on the nose with light blackberry scents. The blackberries appear very nicely on the palate along with some tannins that evolve enjoyably. There is a hint of oak as well as some flavors that remind me of aged fruit despite the young age of the wine.
Red
2006 Stangeland Pinot Noir Estate Reserve
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The nose has darker fruit and is pretty tannic with a bit of heat. The flavors are light and bright though, with a nice minerality that runs out on the finish. This wine is a little hot on the palate as well.
Red
2004 Stangeland Pinot Noir Winemaker's Estate Reserve
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Bright apple scents jump out of the glass backed up by a hint of blackberry. Fun to smell! The wine is dirty and dusty with lots of structure that overwhelms the more delicate fruit.
Red
2005 Stangeland Pinot Noir Winemaker's Estate Reserve
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Tangy blackberries and earth, which appear to be common from this vintage, make a nice appearance on the nose here. The fruit is nice and bright when tasted bringing more nice tangy pinot fruit. The tannic structure works well on the finish too.
Red
2006 Stangeland Pinot Noir Winemaker's Estate Reserve
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Dark fruit and nice tannic notes in the nose. Smooth fruit blends nicely with oak and both run out well at the finish. The tannins do something unusual near the end, but the fruit is deliscious throughout the taste.
Flight 3 - Cristom (7 notes)
It was unfortunate that we were in a hurry by this point. I would've liked to linger here and really soak up the pours a little more. The tasting room is beautiful, and the quality of the pinot noirs was impressive with each one of them being unique. I favored them based on a few experiences and word of mouth before, but am now confident that they are among the top local producers.
White
2007 Cristom Pinot Gris Estate
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Very mild light nose, not much going on. The wine is flabby in structure with very light acid and a hint of pear flavors.
White
2007 Cristom Viognier Estate
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Nice bright floral nose, that hints at a nice floral note on the palate. However the structure is flabby and the wine is a bit awkward.
Red
2006 Cristom Pinot Noir Sommers Reserve
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
The nose is dark, brooding, and earthy with hints of dark fruit. Very nice blackberry appears on the palate and evolves to a nice oak and acid structure as the wine trails off. Nice flavors and evolution! Good stuff.
Red
2006 Cristom Pinot Noir Marjorie Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Blackberries and earth on the nose. Distinct cherry and clean apple flavors accompany an enjoyable minerality. Great balance. Solid wine.
Red
2006 Cristom Pinot Noir Louise Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The nose is complex with earth, spice, and dark fruit lurking in the glass. The wine is a bit tannic and dry along with some light fruit. I can easily see this one improving with some age.
Red
2000 Cristom Pinot Noir Jessie Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Earth and subtle fruit on the nose with a hint of sweetness. The wine has some great fruit flavors and is very well integrated. The tannins are strong and the wine finishes quite dry. It's well done, but a bit beefy for me. I think it'd be more enjoyable with some food, and could probably still age a bit too!
Flight 4 - Evesham Wood (8 notes)
Another friendly place, and another winery that I had only had limited exposure to. I immediately noticed two bottles of German Frankenwine on a shelf in the cellar, and, upon inquiry, discovered that the winemake had trained for a while in germany. It was great to hear the discussions of the different wines, and, being a big fan of German wine, I'm always excited to see how skilled winemakers put those ideas into play with Oregon grapes. I look forward to drinking through more of his catalogue.
White
2008 Evesham Wood Chardonnay
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Nice lemony scents in the nose. The wine has some nice citrus and white fruits along with a floral component on the palate.
White
2008 Evesham Wood Grüner Veltliner
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
A clean crisp nose laced with minerals and fruit is quite enjoyable. The wine is creamy with hints of pine crust and a nice acidity leading to a dry finish.
White
2008 Evesham Wood Blanc du Puits Sec
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Nose contains floral and honey notes. A nice acidity that blooms late in this creamy wine. Nice white grape flavors. Fun and well balanced!
Rosé
2008 Evesham Wood Tempranillo Rosé
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
The nose is nice and bright with evident acidity and nice clean fruit scents. The acidity delivers on the palate, but the fruit is a bit weak and leaves the wine feeling a bit flabby.
White
2007 Evesham Wood Chardonnay Le Puits Sec
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Interesting nose with very light fruit and smoky scents evident. The oak is strong but well integrated on the palate. Creamy white grape flavors are quite enjoyable.
Red
2007 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir La Grive Bleue
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Funky earth and blackberry scents make for an enjoyable nose on this wine. Bright fruit blooms very nicely and is mixed with good acidity. Raspberry flavors have some enjoyable staying power as the wine trails off. Good stuff and organically grown to boot!
Red
2006 Evesham Wood Tempranillo Reserva
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Crazy nose with lots of funk... feet?... Thankfully that doesn't override the strong plum flavors and heavy acid in the wine. Some nice oak makes an appearance as well.
Closing
Final thoughts from each winery: I look forward to showing Arcane Cellars Riesling in an Oregon riesling tasting I will put together at some point. Stangeland was a real treat with huge lineup, interesting wines, and great conversation with the hosts. Amongst my most enjoyable "first visits" ever. Cristom delivered beyond fairly high expections and, in my mind, justified their high reputation for Oregon Pinot. The reds were all very solid wines. Evesham Wood delivered some nice reds and whites as well as very interesting conversation with the winemaker. It was exposure to a winery that a lot of my friends enjoy, but that I know little about. I look forward to trying more of the many wines he produces.
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