Willamette Valley Vineyards "Founder's Reserve" Pinot Noir 2008

A trip to our favorite American region, Oregon's Willamette Valley, brought us this 2008 pinot...

EXPERIENCE
Cork is very light with a little scent of perfume. The nose is like "dirty" cherry coke, not quite as funky and earthy as other Willamette pinot we've had. The first taste has a light sweetness on the tongue and an interesting bitterness to the finish reminiscent of pecorino cheese and white pepper. A fairly subdued (in a good way), medium bodied, almost old-world Oregon pinot.

VERDICT
GREAT VALUE - This bottle retails for $35, though you should be able to find it in the mid $20 range. American pinot can often be over the top, high in alcohol, and too bold and unbalanced for our tastes. This bottle, however, is a great example of a uniquely American wine that shows restraint and winemaker that values balance over shock value. This is very much in line with what the Super-Tuscan winemakers are doing back in Italy.

FACTS
Willamette Valley Vineyards is located in Northwest Oregeon just south of Salem. Their 2008 "Founder's Reserve" Pinot Noir is made from 100% pinot noir grapes and weighs in at 13.1% alcohol. The winemaker boasts that 2008 offered the best winemaking conditions that OR has possibly ever experienced. Check out this wine's fact sheet and the vineyard's site for more details.

Movia Veliko Rosso 2001

Slovenia? Yea thats right. It's not that far from Italy (so maybe I am not so far from Italian?), and this winery straddles the border. Ales Kristancic has made quite a name for himself, and his often hard to find Movia wines have been highly recommended...

EXPERIENCE
It's obvious from the cork (inappropriate description omitted) that this is one for the decanter. We decanted 3/4 of the bottle for around a hour and ever so slowly drank two glasses straight from the bottle while we waited. The nose is earthy, with cinnamon and tobacco (cohibas not camels). First taste is very dry, though it begins to smooth out. With time, the wine become less dry and it's tartness gives way to a more peppery finish. The decanted wine has a distinctive aroma of honey and the tart, peppery dryness is much more in balance. You also get the flavor of dark berries on the tongue that really wasn't there at all with the non-decanted wine. Easily the longest we've ever spent on a single bottle, subtle flavors that never stopped evolving.

VERDICT
GREAT VALUE - We can't recall our exact purchase price, but are pretty sure it was around $40. A wine this complex could easily sell for much more. This is not a bottle for the impatient or for leisurely consumption with food, but rather an education for the palate.

FACTS
Movia's vineyards lie on the Italian-Slovenian border, and while grapes technically come from both countries the winery itself is located in Slovenia. The Veliko Rosso is a blend of cabernet, merlot, and pinot noir. IWM has a nice page on Movia with more details about their so-called "radical" operations. A note about the fact that you don't really see much Slovenian wine (also from IWM)... "There was actually a government agriculture sanction for a long time in Slovenia that pretty much halted all wine production.  Except for Movia.  They felt this one winery was so important that they left only him alone to do as he pleased.  50% of his vineyards are actually in Italy so I am sure having Italy to back him up didn't hurt either."

Penner-Ash Rubeo 2006

On my annual trip to Oregon for family & friends fun consisting of hiking, white water rafting and of course a tour of some of the Willamette Valley vineyards and wineries, I ran across this little gem. I was lead there by a couple that live in Oregon and really know their Oregon wine. The Penner Ash Rubeo, a blend of Pinot Noir and Syrah. With a moderate price of $20 this was the most interesting and pleasing (at least for me) of the Penner Ash wines. They have a great selection of Pinots and a Viognier along with a Syrah. But this blend of Pinot Noir and Syrah really stands out from the rest. My friends that took us to this vineyard hit this on the head. I purchased a bottle to bring back and he purchased a bottle in which he was nice enough to share with me.
-Nick

EXPERIENCE
The wine is medium to full body, at first very earthy. Our Oregonian acquaintances like to say: “If the wine has an aroma of a compost pile, chances are that wine is going to be a good one.” You may ask, 'why would you want to drink something that smells that bad?', but have no fear. As this bottle opens up, the “compost” aroma fades and the wine takes off with an aroma of spice & fruit. The taste offers rich fruit with earth undertones that is well balanced from beginning to end. We really enjoyed this wine particularly because it is different than the “normal” huge, in your face wines that are now coming from the west coast.

VERDICT
GOOD AND CHEAP. You can't argue with a nicely balanced and pleasantly complex wine for around $20. Don't be scared by the description of the aroma... just think 'well tilled earth' rather than 'rotting garbage'.

FACTS
Penner-Ash is located in the northern Willamette Valley, Oregon. Their 2006 Rubeo is a blend of syrah and pinot noir. Check out their website for more details.