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| September, 2008 Membership E-Newsletter |
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Shipping Time is Here
 The northern third of the country has cooled off, with high temps generally in the 70s. We have begun shipping boxes to those areas, including the Northeast, that have shipping routes entirely within the cooler zone. If you have any shipping concerns - new address, vacations, etc. - please contact us immediately.
Alas, those of you in more southerly places will have to wait just a bit longer for ground shipment! As always, just call Sarah in the office if you would like to discuss other options, such as air shipment.
WINE CLUB MEMBERS NOTE that we will be consolidating all wine club shipments held over the summer, and shipping them in one box as weather permits.
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Cool Summer Means Grape Maturity Still Lags
 After a cool, rainy fall, Oregon winegrape growers entered July perhaps thirty days behind "normal," according to many sources. That was followed by a warm, sunny July that helped the vines "catch up." The fruit set was strong, even, and the vines enjoyed relative health and vigor through July.
Alas, a cool and unusually rainy August retarded progress towards ripening. Now Oregon seems to have fallen into an early fall weather pattern, with temperatures in the 70s and cool evenings.
At this stage, the vines could use a string of warmer days, and some growers have estimated that they need at least six weeks of continued clear weather to consider beginning harvest. The long range weather forecast is favorable, but it's not over until the grapes are picked. Stay tuned as we cruise towards Oregon's '08 harvest.
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Domaine Serene Sues Former Winemaker
Oregon vintner Domaine Serene has sued recently departed winemaker Tony Rynders, accusing him of numerous offenses in a 24-page complaint filed in Hennepin County, Minnesota, home of Domaine Serene owners Ken and Grace Evenstad. The lawsuit comes just weeks after a cheery press release to the wine trade press announcing an orderly, friendly exit for Rynders.  "I have done nothing wrong," Rynders commented on the suit. "This is a frivolous lawsuit intended to limit my ability to make wine. I'm confident that it will be resolved quickly as their claims have no credible basis." The complaint includes a lengthy list of alleged wrongdoings, including that Rynders "secretly made his own wine in 2007 that would compete with Domaine Serene" and that calls Rynders proposal that he be granted a consultant's contract an "extortion attempt." Also at stake in the suit is incentive pay not yet tendered to Rynders, and Domaine Serene's desire to protect the winemaking process of their Coeur Blanc white pinot noir. The winery says that these offenses have caused Domaine Serene to suffer "immediate and irreparable injury, harm and damage," and the winery seeks "damages greater than $50,000" as well as forfeiture of salary already paid for "the period of disloyalty." Rynder had planned for some time to "transition out of Domaine Serene" to start his own business, he says. But when he presented the owners with a proposed a severance timeline that asked for a consulting contract at a rate 20% above his existing salary, the owners balked and "escorted me off the premises." "I did not make wine for myself during the time I was at Domaine Serene," Rynders says. "This is about control. I decided to leave, and they want to continue to control my actions. They made this lawsuit big and onerous so it is difficult to defend." Kenneth Evenstad of Domaine Serene declined to return a reporter's phone calls. Rynders joined Domaine Serene in 1998 after stints at Argyle and Hogue Cellars. He has started Tony Rynders Consulting ( www.tonyrynders.com). Among other projects, he plans to produce one-barrel cuvees of high-end pinot noir for private buyers.  Domaine Serene has been producing wine in Oregon since the 1991 vintage, and sell a range of pinot noir and chardonnay bottlings, as well as Couer Blanc, a white pinot noir. Domaine Serene principals Ken and Grace Evenstad are also owners of the privately-held Upsher-Smith Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company with facilities in Minneapolis and Denver. Over the past decade, their company has been involved in lawsuits involving branches of the federal government as well as other drug companies. As Domaine Serene, the Evenstads have also sued other figures in the Oregon wine industry. . |
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SEPTEMBER WORLD CLASS WINES
 2006 QUAILHURST PINOT NOIR
Price: $50
Production: 377 cases
Drinkability: Big and lush
Availability: Good for now
When a property owner describes their operation as an "estate," one has to wonder what the hoopla is about. A house and a barn do not an estate comprise. But my recent visit to Quailhurst confirmed that Marvin and Deborah Hausman have indeed created an estate worthy of the name.
The hilltop property up on Parrett Mountain certainly has a vineyard. The 12-acre plot of grapes has been in production since 2001. The Houseman's currently sell all of their fruit to Joe Dobbes, who bottles a Dobbes Family Estates "Quailhurst" pinot, and makes pinot under the Quailhurst label, too.
But they also house a significant horse boarding and training facility, complete with polished wood-and-wrought-iron stalls and staff for producing world-class dressage horses (that's where the horses dance around in various intricate modes - you saw it during the Olympics).
There's also a gorgeous Japanese garden and well-known rose bush collection, and a large manor house originally built, according to Marvin, for the DuPont family.
Throw in the pond, meandering paths, tennis courts, and the mushroom research business, and you have an estate indeed. That's right, mushrooms. In addition to the other stuff, Hausman is also a significant researcher into and marketer of products based on mushrooms, for both humans and horses.
Here's a blurb:
"Dr. Marvin Hausman, a.k.a. Dr. Mushroom, is the brains behind M2 ™. A respected physician and medical researcher, Dr. Hausman has devoted his life to the discovery and development of medical products that have greatly improve the lives of millions - both human and animal. New drugs developed by him over the years have been marketed through such pharmaceutical industry giants as Bristol Myers International, Mead Johnson Pharmaceutical Company, Baxter-Travenol and E.R. Squibb.
"Dr. Hausman's medical education includes graduating from New York University School of Medicine and training at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. His research is today benefitting people afflicted with such conditions as arthritis, HIV Aids and Alzheimer's disease. Horses are now the latest beneficiaries of Dr. Hausman's research. Years of research into the medicinal benefits of mushrooms has resulted in the development of M2 ™, a unique blend of organically-grown mushrooms that provides multiple benefits to horses.
"The development of a nutritional supplement for horses was a natural step for Dr. Hausman. With his wife, Deborah, he owns Quailhurst Farm in Sherwood, Oregon, with is dedicated to the breeding and training of dressage horses. Deborah herself is a successful competitive rider and one of the biggest fans of the M2 ™ developed by her husband. The Hausmans have their own stable of horses on the supplement and, hence, have first-hand proof of the benefits of M2."
In fact, the most recent winner of the Kentucky Derby is under Hausman's direction as nutritional consultant, I'm told.
But on to the wine. It's good. It is a fairly big-scale wine, ripe and extracted, with dense fruit, wood spice, and a modicum of supporting structure. It was recently awarded a Wine Spectator 92 points. Now, I'm not so sure about the "lithe" or "delicate" parts of Steiman's review - methinks Harvey drinks too many Aussie Shiraz sometimes. But the rest of it sounds good. Here are the notes: "A lithe, seductive style, appealing for its creamy texture and delicately caramel-scented blueberry and plum flavors, which this delivers in a refined style that keeps it all beautifully modulated. Drink now through 2016.
>> Buy the Quailhurst
 2006 VISTA HILLS PINOT NOIR "VALENCIA"
Price: $42
Production: 100 cases
Drinkability: Good now
Availability: Going, going . . .
Vista Hills owners John and Nancy McClintock made their money in construction, I'm told. It appears that they made plenty of it.
First, the McClintocks own Vista Hills Vineyard, a 42-acre plot in the Dundee Hills with Domaine Serene as their nearest neighbor. The grapes have sold over the years to plenty of others in the area - DePonte and White Rose among others.
The McClintocks also fund a foundation (the Clint Foundation) that grants money to working college students. Ostensibly, the winery donates 10% of its profits to the foundation.
"The Clint Foundation was established in the early 1990s to provide financial support to students pursuing higher education. Its unique approach to this support is based on one strongly held premise. The Foundation believes that individuals will benefit more from what they earn with their own efforts than from what they are provided as gifts. As such, students receiving support from the Foundation must work for a portion of their educational expenses. Those funds will then be matched by funds from the Foundation and its participating colleges," states the Clint Foundation website, also noting that students at ten different colleges currently receive the grants.
On top of all that, the McClintocks are also connected to Greenwell Farms in Kona, a notable producer of Kona coffee. The Vista Hills website says they "oversee" Greenwell Farms, while the Greenwell Farms site mentions "our friends {the McClintocks}." I'm not sure who owns what, but the coffee is terrific stuff. 100% pure Kona coffee from various producers is about the only coffee I drink, and I generally roast it myself. If the McClintocks are into Kona coffee and Oregon pinot noir . . . well, I must say I share at least two of their particular interests.
My first experience with the Vista Hills pinot noir was the decidedly poor 2003 pinot noir. It was bad enough that I resisted trying more recent vintages, until I was persuaded by their local sales rep to taste a few bottles. They were good! The goodness comes from the winemaking talent behind the wines. Not having a staff winemaker, Vista Hills has commissioned various winery clients to create pinot noir cuvees on their behalf. This Valencia pinot noir was made at DePonte winery by their winemaker Isabelle Dutartre, also known for her tenure at Domaine Drouhin Oregon.
This bottling is features ripe-yet-graceful fruit flavors tending more towards the darker end of the spectrum. It is full and rich on the palate, with a supple texture. The flavors are already quite integrated, and there is more fruit on the palate than tannin or anything else. This is a forward, juicy wine that delivers the goods right now. Drink up!
The winery is tending towards making more product with a single, in-house winemaker, using the facilities at Panther Creek. If future vintages maintain the quality exhibited by their '06s, this producer should gain a popular following.
>> Buy the Vista Hills
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SEPTEMBER PREMIUM CLUB WINES
 2006 MATELLO PINOT NOIR "WHISTLING RIDGE NORTH"
Price: $29
Drinkability: Good, getting better
Availability: Good for now
Okay, this is a no-brainer. The fruit is from the Whistling Ridge Vineyard, made by one of my favorite winemakers, and is priced very, very reasonably.
Whistling Ridge is one of the oldest sites on Ribbon Ridge, first planted to pinot noir in 1990. Ribbon Ridge AVA is wholly within the broader Chehalem Mountain AVA, and is which is perhaps the most authentic and discernable AVA in Oregon. It is also home to a list of superb producers (Patty Green, Beaux Freres, Chehalem's Ridgecrest Vineyard, etc). as well as a few newer, terrible new ones. This wine is from the North Block of the vineyard, which was planted starting in 2000.
The wine is made by Marcus Goodfellow, owner and winemaker of Matello. One of our favorite ultra-dinky Oregon producers, Marcus is making one of the most Burgundian-styled pinots in Oregon, admirably restraining from big extract, big oak, and big alcohol. His pretty, balanced wines are some of my favorites to drink at home, and this wine is no exception.
Then there is the price. Twenty nine bucks for a wine with this pedigree, and location? It's a great deal in this market.
This is still a bit young, and needs decanting. But with a bit of air is shows assertive red and black fruits, with a juicy character, bright acidity, and a slight rustic quality that adds appeal on the palate. The finish is long. This is good now, but another six months or longer in bottle, and it will start to shine. Limited production!
As a side note, we also have available the '06 Whistling Ridge Pinot Noir from the older vines. It was made for the vineyard owners by Goodfellow, and was bottled from the same tanks as the Matello-label wine of the same name. But the Matello version is sold out, and this one is still available. It is a benchmark '06 for its purity, balance, and intensity, and is well worth the $45 price tag.
>> Buy the Matello
 2006 WHISTLING DOG CELLARS PINOT NOIR
Production: 231 cases
Drinkability: Forward in the '06 style
Availability: Good now
Whistling Dog is a new, tiny producer that has taken over what used to be called the Windemere vineyard (and before that Tupper), one of the oldest in the Eola Hills (aka the Amity Eola Hills AVA) and renamed it Nuestra Suena. It's right next door to the very well known Carter Vineyard, if you want a geographical reference. He's making wine from that site, as well as other pinots from grapes purchased from other quality growers in the Valley.
It's a small operation, and owners Tom and Celeste & Tom Symonette do all the work themselves. Their wonderfully minimalist web site offers up their straightforward story:
"There really was a whistling dog. He was our boy Fleck. Whether plunging into frigid waters to retrieve his Frisbee, pointing birds in the field, or standing in the backseat willing us to drive to one of his favorite spots, his passion for the things he loved could not be contained - so he whistled.
"Fleck's whistling symbolizes the passion that we share for Pinot noir. We work the entire process from pruning the vines to bottling the wines. No half-way measures or cutting corners. Our small-lot, hand-crafted wines represent quality, authenticity, and dedication to the dream of making the best Pinot noir wines from the ground up. As you share our family's wine with your family and friends we hope you, too, will feel the passion of the whistling dog."
Now, before you make jokes about the passion of a whistling dog, let's remember this is about the wine, okay? (Perhaps this should be changed to 'feel the same passion for life as Fleck, our whistling dog.')
The wine is boldly flavored with dark blue and juicy black fruits, decent structure and excellent complexity, balance and length for this price point. It displays the best flavors and character of the '06 vintage, without straying into the too-ripe territory. It is open-knit and appealing now, but some bottle age certainly won't hurt - all that fruit isn't going anywhere.
Given the vine age and the neighborhood, we should expect nothing less from the wine, but it is still a notable freshman winemaking effort and a good value to boot. In fact, Dobbes Family Estates makes a $67 per bottle pinot noir from the same fruit! Tom and Celestse's wine is not as polished and refined as Joe's version, but it tells you something about the quality if the raw material.
>> Buy the Whistling Dog
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Robert Wolfe
Oregon Pinot Noir Club · 1-800-847-4474 |
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