Oregon Pinot Noir

Red Burgundy made from the Pinot Noir grape has long been an icon of the wine world. Wine-makers from every wine producing country have been entranced with the idea of producing wines of similar elegance and sophistication. Regions which have similar climatic conditions and soils have attempted to replicate the success of Burgundy, and have been successful to some extent.

Oregon is one of those places with growing conditions somewhat similar to Burgundy which has made an effort to produce outstanding wines from Pinot Noir, and not necessarily in imitation of Burgundian classics.

The Willamette Valley hosts most of Oregon’s wineries and wine production, stretching southward some 200 km from Portland and the Columbia River. The Valley is surrounded on three sides by mountain ranges, perhaps the most important being the Coastal range which shelters the Valley from the Pacific and contributes to rather dry summer conditions. Most of the Valley’s rain falls in the winter and shoulder seasons, which works well for grape growing. Temperatures are usually moderate and rarely reach extremes of heat or cold.

The original base of the Valley is marine sediments from hundreds of millions of years ago. The collision of plates which produced the various west coast mountain ranges and volcanic eruptions contributed volcanic soils. Finally, repeated immense floods down the Columbia River during and at the close of the last ice age contributed alluvial soils to the mix. During my recent trip to the Valley it was clear that these soils had considerable influence on the flavours and characteristics of its Pinot Noir wines.

This affect was most evident at Ken Wright Cellars where, by happy chance, one of the vineyard managers, Seth Miller, was helping out in the tasting room. We were presented with four wines, all made in the same manner, from four vineyards. The vineyards differed in the soils and aspects, and those differences were clearly discernible in the wines.

The 2014 Bryce Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Ribbon Ridge AVA and the 2014 Bonnie Jean Vineyard Pinot Noir from the nearby Yamhill-Carlton AVA come from regions with some marine sedimentary soils in the mix. The 2014 Canary Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir and 2014 Carter Vineyard Pinot Noir are both from the Eola-Amity Hills AVA close to Salem, a little further south, and have more volcanic soils. The first two showed more of a cherry fruitiness in their flavour profiles, supported by good acidity. The Canary Hill and Carter samples were a little more tannic, with the Canary Hill showing some floral elements and the Carter with barnyard. It was amazing to note the differences only a few miles made in the final wine. These were the best Pinots I enjoyed on my Oregon visit.

These wines were my preference and one of the more important factors were their tannins, which were smooth and silky and matched my expectations for this grape variety. In a subsequent tasting with local friends we sampled six great Pinots from all over the world with similar silky tannins. Most of the other Pinots we tasted on the tour had sharper, more evident tannins, which surprised me a little. Perhaps consumers are expecting more tannins, like they would find in Cabs?

In the short time available we visited four other wineries which offered several varieties, but I will only report on the Pinots we tasted.

Domaine Serene is a massive, beautiful estate with properties in Burgundy as well. The 2013 Evenstad Reserve from the Dundee Hills AVA showed strawberry and sweet cherry, good acidity and tartness, and a lengthy finish. The 2013 Jerusalem Hill opened with black cherry and dark intensity and was more tannic, with an even longer finish. I believe this one will benefit from aging, and is likely to have a long life in the cellar.

 

Bergstrom Wines are made by Josh Bergstrom who studied his craft in Beaune. The 2014 Gregory Ranch from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA had a wonderful nose of sweet and sour cherry and had that lean profile I associate more with Burgundy than the New World. The 2014 La Pré du Col from the Ribbon Ridge AVA showed some earthiness with a fuller mouth and more abundant aroma. Moving to the Eola-Amity Hills AVA we were served the Temperance Hill 2014 which had earthiness and smoke, and sharper tannins – needs more time. We finished with the 2015 Shea Vineyard from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA which had a healthy fruit presence in the nose, but remained a supple sip.

 

The wine-maker at Trisaetum is self-taught, but has spent a lot of time with Josh Bergstrom, and you can see some similarities in the style. Their Coast Range Estate 2014, Yamhill-Carlton AVA, had a sweet cherry fruit nose, good acidity and tartness, and the lean profile I prefer. The Estate Reserve 2013 had a slightly sweeter presence, and was more full in the mouth with better overall balance – very good! (There is one Trisaetum Pinot available at the NLC.)

 

Seth Miller recommended we visit Purple Hands Wine and we were able to include it as our last stop of the day – we weren’t disappointed. The 2011 Stoller Vineyard, Dundee Hills AVA had a beautiful black cherry nose with some evident tannins. The 2014 Holstein Vineyard, also Dundee Hills AVA, showed more dark fruit and tannins, but still lovely. My favourite was a toss-up between the 2014 Latchkey Vineyard, Dundee Hills AVA – red cherry, black cherry, beet, good acidity and supple tannins – and the 2014 Freedom Hills Vineyard – purple hues, black cherry, touches of voilets/floral.

None of these wines across all the wineries were inexpensive, and in fact, after conversion from the US$, they were in the same price range as their Cru cousins from Burgundy. Tastings were also expensive, ranging from $10 to $40, although usually the charge was waived with a wine purchase.