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November, 2008 Membership E-Newsletter |
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Winter Shipping
 It's cold out! Although we have recovered from the national deep-freeze of December, which included a 60-year snowfall record for our hometown of Portland, Oregon! -- it's still cold along the shipping routes between here and the upper Midwest and the Northeast. We are holding many packages for those areas, including the '07 Patty and Ken futures boxes.
We'll ship by ground when we determine it is safe.
Or, you can ask for immediate ground shipment by providing us with a damage waiver -- call or email for info.
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 Rafting the Rogue in June 2009
We're going rafting again! This year's trip will put in the water on June 7, 2009, on Oregon's majestic and mighty Rogue River. The four-day, three-night trip rolls through a Wild and Scenic River corridor, which means no jet boats for most of the trip, and lots of rapids and solitude. It is a magnificent raft trip that draws river runners from around the world. This early-season float will provide a slew of exciting rapids!
The trip is food and wine focused, and will feature top-notch Oregon wines and cuisine from CIA grad and restaurateur Adam Bernstein.
The trip is outfitted by OARS, one of the biggest, oldest and most respected outfitters in the world. Cost is $1190 / person. Feel free to call or email me for more information. Given the very early notice, I expect to see a slew of OPNC clients on this trip!
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 Making States Behave: Oregon Whups Kentucky!
A few years ago, the Supreme Court found that shipping wine between the states should not be curtailed, in most cases. Since then, various states have tried to erect roadblocks to free wine trade, only to be repeatedly corrected by various judges.
When I say "states," of course I mean corrupt legislators under the influence of money provided by huge beer and wine distributors. The folks that stock your grocery store shelves with cheap imports and that distribute the most base, cheap industrial alcohol with names like "Night Train" to the poorest neighborhoods are spending their profits to keep you from buying small-lot, artisinal wines made by family businesses located in your own country. Ain't that grand?
Here's a note on the most recent win for wine:
Oregon Winery Wins Wine Shipping Battle
Unless the state continues to wage war on its own consumers, a Christmas Eve ruling by a federal appeals court will stand, making Kentucky allow out-of-state wine shipments into the state even if the purchase was made via telephone or online.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2006 decision from U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Simpson III that knocked down a state law prohibiting shipments of such wine purchases from out of state.
Cherry Hill Vineyards owners Jan and Mike Sweeney (above) filed a lawsuit that allowed the three-judge panel to rule on the case. They said Kentucky's in-person purchase requirement violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and illegally gives preference to Kentucky business over out-of-state merchants
Cherry Hill Vineyards is located in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The 12,000-square-foot winery produces about 7,000 cases of estate-grown pinot noir each year from grapes grown on its 90 acres, as well as some pinot gris and dry rose.
~William Dowd www.examiner.com |
 KEN WRIGHT FUTURES -- THE END IS NEARING
If you've been tempted by our 14th annual Ken Wright Futures offering, the time to act is now. We have six packs from mixed vineyards, single-vineyards, and also large format bottles from all of Ken's properties. Please visit the website or call for info. We are ending this offer on January 15, 2009.
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WORLD CLASS WINES
 2007 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Estate
Price: $48
Drinkability: Now, or later
Availability: Good for now
Shea Vineyard became, some time back, the most recognizable individual vineyard in Oregon. In the past, I made use of the term "Oregon's Grand Cru vineyard," a term now used often by others. Not that such a term would not occur to others, but you heard it here first.
Shea's success was not immediate, but the rise to vineyard eminence was also not that slow. Back in the mid-'90s, there were quite a few Shea Vineyard bottlings popping up among top winemakers. The fruit was then, and is now, in demand among top wineries that desire meticulously farmed grapes.
Starting back in the '90s, Dick Shea started diverting part of his fruit to his own Estate bottlings. A variety of folks made the wine for him, including Ken Wright, Patty Green and Micheal Stevenson. He also sold grapes to a lot of wineries. I recall doing a "horizontal" tasting of '98 vintage pinots with Shea fruit. I think we tried 21 different bottings!
Eventually, in the early part of this century, Dick hired a full-time winemaker and leased actual winery space at Adelsheim. The wines made in those days created the style of Shea-produced wines that are currently in high demand - ripe, full-bodied and supple, yet featuring fine structure and a deep minerality. Winemaker Chris Mazepink, who had previously made a mark at Lemelson, produced some wines that achieved remarkably strong critical scores.
Now, follow the bouncing ball: Chris left for Benton Lane. Drew Voit, then assistant winemaker at Domaine Serene, left to take the helm at Shea. But just then, Tony Rynders of Domaine Serene asked to leave the winery, and make wine as a consultant. The Evenstads of Domaine Serene fired Rynders, convinced Voit to remain as a consultant, and went on the hunt for a permanent winemaker. So, Voit is now making wine for two of the highest-profile producers in Oregon, after some years of being in Rynders shadow. I would normally be happy for Drew, but he is also a scratch golfer, that that just makes me envious.
This month's World Class selection is the '07 Shea Pinot Noir Estate, a blended wine from various blocks of the vineyard. It's an early star of the vintage, in my estimation. This is a pure fruit play, with scads of creamy, rich plum and black cherry flavors that wash across the palate. There's enough acidity to keep it balanced, and enough pretty oak to integrate all the parts and bring them together. There's very little tannin, though, and this drinks exceptionally well now - the texture is very supple, even voluptuous, without being "fruit bomb"-like. That said, there's so much fruit, it will develop for at least a few more years. But my advice: Hold your '05 and '06 Shea bottlings, and drink this now.
 2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir "Ana Vineyard"
Price: $45
Drinkability: Approachable, getting better
Availability: For the short term only With apparently infinite volubility available contemporaneously with newsletter production, allow me to provide some background on this fine producer.
Patty made waves in the mid- and late '90s working for Torii Mor. At one point, she achieved the highest critical marks overall of any Oregon winery from the major wine writers, and sold the most expensive bottle of Oregon pinot noir (the '98 Quail Hill pinot noir, made from vines yielding ¼ ton per acre). The Torii Mor wines soared in price.
But Patty and cohort Jim Anderson somehow drew the ire of owner Don Olson at some point. It became clear that Don was going to fire the erstwhile winemaking duo. I had dinner with Don the night before he committed the dastardly deed, and beseeched him to reconsider. I pointed out that Patty was the talent, and he was just the money, and that she would take all the fruit contracts that had made his winery well-known. Consumer and growers follow the talent (well, as long as the talent has some money). Don demurred, and made what I think was one of the worst decisions ever, and Patty and Jim were winery-less - for a bit.
Before long, they announced that they had bought Autumn Wind winery, right next door to Beaux Freres. Jim gained his entrée to the industry at this early producer. But Autumn Wind had fallen behind the quality curve, and the owners decided to abandon the business rather than take another tack. If they had been able to look forward to the way that Ribbon Ridge land was going to appreciate and become perhaps the most sought after AVA in Oregon, they may have stuck it out.
In any case, Patty immediately started making wines that met with very high demand. That demand continues, and Patricia Green Cellars enjoys very robust sales, and has no problem with unsold inventory.
Each year, Patty makes small batches of wine from exquisite vineyards. In '07, one of the best of those is from Ana Vineyard, a terrific old-vine property in the Dundee Hills. The site was originally called Weber Vineyard when it was planted back in the '70s. Respected vineyard manager Andy Humphrey acquired the oldest parts of the vineyard in the early '00s, and somehow convinced Mike Etzell of Beaux Freres to make wine under the Ana Vineyards label. He also sells fruit to a handful of top producers, including Patty and Beaux Freres.
This wine is another gorgeous, early-drinking '07! This wine pumps out tons of fresh, juicy and lively flavors that are almost too complex to codify - think fresh, wild-berry compote. The acidity is bright, and that jazzes up the fruit and helps extend fruit persistence into a very long finish. This is very appealing, and hard to put down. It's also about the only "high-end" Patty wine left from the vintage. Highly recommended. |
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PREMIUM CLUB WINES
 2007 Phelps Creek Pinot Noir "Becky's Cuvee"
Price: $26
Drinkability: Yummy!
Availability: We've got it first, supply good now
On Oregon's northern border runs the mighty Columbia River. It is what seperates Oregon from Washington. The river is bordered by both rolling hills and steep cliffs. It has been a prized spot for growing peaches and so forth for many, many years. In recent years, vineyards have flourished here, too.
One of those vineyards from the most recent wave is Phelps Creek Vineyard, producer of this months Premium Club selection. Perched on some steep slopes above the river, this site first became known to me when Sineann's Peter Rosback started bottling a single-vineyard wine from the site. It was terrific, of course.
Then, as many vineyards are wont to do, Phelps Creek became a winery. That means that Rosback made some wine for them, to be sold under the Phelps Creek label. Unlike many such "wineries," Phelps Creek then went on to build a facility, and hire their own winemaking talent. For the '07 vintage, they utilized in intruiging combination of Rich Cushman, a long-time industry vet with many a good pinot under his belt, and Alexandrine Roy, who is the winemaker of the well-known Domaine Marc Roy in Burgundy. She's listed as "contributing winemaker." In fact, she had her way with a very Burgundian "Cuvee Alexandrine" which Phelps Creek will release later in the year -- excellent stuff, with great precision and a fine tannic structure. Oregon's Rich Cushman made a contrasting cuvee, which is ripe and lush comparatively.
This month's selection is Becky's Cuvee, a blended wine that is the entry-level wine for this producer. In the mold of the best '07 value wines, this is fresh, juicy, lively, and already quite supple. It has an extra step of concentration at the core, compared to many wines at this price point, and shows enough density and youthful verve to warrent a few more months of bottle time -- if you can keep your hands off of it. An excellent entry in the under-$30 category, and a shining example of what could be accomplished with the '07 vintage.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Reserve
Price: $28 Drinkability: Good, but better in 60 days Availability: Good for now
Read the blurb above for a bit of background on Patty.
This wine is a value-priced blend from a wide variety of fruit sources. It is designed to be drinkable early, but to provide much of the same fruit quality and overall balance that makes her high-end wines so desirable. Those goals have been achieved here, and the wine shows lots of juicy, fresh fruit with more red fruit flavors than black fruit flavors, plenty of acidity, and a slight rustic note that adds complexity and makes this a perfect daily quaffer. Although it is very enjoyable to drink now, it does have a youthful edge that will integrate quickly - say, sixty days. So, enjoy now or hold off for a couple of months if you can. | |
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Robert Wolfe
Oregon Pinot Noir Club · 1-800-847-4474 |
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