Enobytes Wine Blog

Having recently judged the Oregon Wine Competition, I had an opportunity to survey the Oregon landscape. As it turned out, we had many good Pinot noirs and Rieslings for the ’08 and ’09 vintage. Some of the standouts , which I sometimes refer to as ‘diamonds in the rough’, include a handful of gems.

Zerba Cellars for example, kicked it with their ’08 white blend & ’07 red blend. The ’06 Merlot & Syrah was tasty as was their ’07 Mourvedre.  As for Chardonnay, the ’08 Phelps Creek Vineyards and the’09 Stoller Vineyards rocked it.

There were many great Pinot’s but the most impressionable were the  Read the rest of this entry »

The 2007 Quivira Petite Sirah has bright fruity aromas and plenty of depth.  This wine exceeds your expectations immediately.

Quivira has produced a lot of great wines over the years but have also released a few clunkers.  Just as I have written reviews that were spot on and some that took a bit of bias, this one is a spectacular wine bringing briar berry aromas and smooth as silk finishes — the berryliciousness of this wine was off the chart. The persistence of the finish draws you back instantly. ~Marc Hinton

Rating: 91 | $26 | 14.7% ABV

Find this wine to buy: Vinquire | WineZap.com

I’m trying to wrap my head around the bittersweet debate of pairing wine with chocolate. I certainly have my own thoughts on the subject (which I’ll get into shortly) but what’s interesting is that for years, no one openly, at least in my recollection, debated that wine didn’t go with chocolate. Heck, it matches as well as peanut butter and chocolate, right?

Well, according to some, not exactly. I’ve come across a few posts that debunk the myth (here and here) and I’ve talked about this subject with some of my colleagues, and I’ve been surprised by some of their responses – the two don’t work so well together. When I asked this same question to my twitter wine aficionados’, answers varied greatly, and I have to admit I strongly agree with one of the comments coming from Lenndevours that even most of the “great” pairings are barely decent. Read the rest of this entry »

2007 was a bit of a challenge for Oregon Pinot noir growers – just as the grapes were reaching ripeness, Mother Nature decided to dump up to eight inches of rain during harvest season, forcing winemakers to make decisions on whether to pull the fruit or risk fungus growth. Despite these challenges, most of the regions winemakers overcame these obstacles – although acids are a bit higher than normal and the alcohol levels are a bit lower, many of the wines are generating fragrant and vivacious wines worthy of cellaring.

Showing notes of earth and spice, clone 115 was Marc’s favorite. It’s quite evident that the ’07 really fits the 115 clone profile, which produces well structured wines with good aroma and flavor characteristics. Texture is also an attribute this clone seems to provide in a style that is luscious and sexy. The wine was aromatic with flavors of blackberry fruit picked at the perfection of ripeness – a facet that will contribute heavily to producing a balanced wine with good integrated tannin structure.

The final tasting comes from the 777, a high quality Pinot noir clone coming from the Cote D’Or region of Burgundy. What I love about this clone is its ability to generate strong and intense aromas and flavors with round and supple tannin structure. Tasted from barrel, Panther Creek’s 2007 vintage is showing just that; rich and round with great balance and structure. Panther Creek’s ’07s will definitely be worth waiting for; be on the lookout for their future Freedom Hill release once blending activities are complete and the product makes it into the bottle.

Panther Creek barrels

The hospitality provided at the winery will impress all who visit, making the quality of the product and the warmth of the tasting room staff a combination that will reward enophiles in every way.

For wine writers in western Oregon, this has been a very busy week; a very enlightening week that brought vast amounts of knowledge not previously experienced by this particular writer. The Dundee Hills Winegrowers Association (DHWA) invited us to a media event on May 9th. We were flattered and excited to be among the few journalists who received an invitation.

The timing could not have been more convenient because we had already been invited to a trade tasting of the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA on Monday, May 12. That event was held at Ten 01. If you have not had the pleasure of experiencing the awesome cuisine Jack Yoss and his crew prepares, get on in there – those folks can cook. I would even go on to say it’s some of the best food I’ve tasted in Portland in a long time. But let’s get back to the wine and highlighting the gracious hosting capabilities of both organizations.

Dundee Hills Satellite Photo

Read the rest of this entry »

You may not have heard of Fulcrum Wines, but their inaugural 2006 Pinot Noir release delivers a captivating wine that represents Anderson Valley at its finest. David Rossi, the founder of Fulcrum, is gravitating towards a more restrained style of California Pinot Noir, producing a wine that is complex and genuinely elegant.

Watch the Fulcrum Video – David Rossi from Fulcrum discusses his brand

The ’06 is a blend of three Anderson Valley vineyard sources, which equally contribute distinctive characteristics to the mix. Fifty percent of the grapes come from Akins Vineyard, which produces high-quality fruit in the classic Pinot Noir style. Twenty-five percent of the fruit comes from the organically farmed Hein Family Vineyard, where the fruit has finely grained tannin structure and carries black cherry and earthy notes. Rossi sourced the other twenty-five percent from the 10-acre organically

farmed Wentzel Vineyards, which overlooks Goldeneye in Anderson Valley. Its fruit produces great color extraction and yields wines that have great structure and depth.

It’s amazing how the uniqueness of each vineyard shines through in Fulcrum’s final product, which produces a classic style Pinot with divinely scented pomegranate and violet aromas. Intense cinnamon and spice flavors compliment the opulent cherry flavors that dominate the palette. It’s a well-balanced wine with a complex, earthy, spicy finish with a beautifully integrated tannin structure; simply a superb representation of what the Anderson Valley fruit can produce.

In this interview, Rossi answers questions about his new brand as he shares his passion for his endeavor. Read the rest of this entry »

I tried another wine from the Rosa D’ Oro winery down in Lake County California last night and low and behold folks we have another winner! The 2005 Primitivo (a close relative to the Zinfandel grape) was fabulous; deep woodsy aromas with
big, juicy, luscious flavors with intense fruit flavors. These folks are making some of the best Italian varietals I have tasted in a decade.

Speaking of new releases (well if we weren’t we are now) there are quite a few from our neighborhood scheduled for Read the rest of this entry »

Dolcetto originates in the Piedmont region of Italy, where it is overshadowed by the more powerful and concentrated Nebbiolo and even Barbera. In California, there are less than 100 acres under vine, typically grown by expatriate Italians. The grape produces deeply-pigmented wines, thick with fruit character, high in natural acidity and having only mild tannins. Dolcetto is best consumed young, as its youthful fruit character fades quicker than its acidity.

Lake County can produce phenomenal wines and the 2005 Rosa D’ Oro Dolcetto is one of them. Sticking to old-school winemaking techniques, this winemaker has brought out the best in this grape. Read the rest of this entry »

As I was wandering the wine isles of a local grocery retailer the other day, I was happy that they were now carrying the Echelon label. When this label first came into existence in the late 90’s it represented above average quality wine from respected growing regions at below average prices and their Pinot Noir and the Merlot were standouts. My first instinct was to grab a bottle and check out the information on the label. Much to my surprise, the Pinot Noir lists French fruit but the wine is blended and bottled in California.

Many other American producers seem to be on this ‘source Pinot Noir from anywhere‘ mission. Beringer’s founders reserve Pinot Noir is now made from grapes coming from the Lombardy region of Italy. Pepperwood Grove’s Pinot Noir started this year with French Vin d’ pays grapes then it went to Chilean fruit, changed again to join Beringer bringing it’s grapes from Lombardy, Italy, only to change once again bringing the fruit from Australia.

Grapes from three different continents and four different viticulture regions all with the same label all within one vintage – I hope you Pepperwood Grove drinkers like change.

If you go to the Pepperwood Grove website after reading this article, you might be a little confused because the website lists the appellation as California. I have not seen any of their Pinot Noir from California on the shelf since 2006. Read the rest of this entry »

To commemorate a great year we’ve released our top 25 wines for 2007. The list showcases the best wines we tasted with a particular emphasis on quality products that represent outstanding values. Making the list for 2007 are the following wines, which scored a 90+ rating based on a 100-point scale in order of points received.

Designation: West Face Vineyard: LookOut Mountain Region: California – Sonoma Value: $50 Score: 94