The vines cover now 130 acres under production, mostly Pinot Noir, first planted in 1995. The vineyard at Stoller is called by many locals the “Corton Hill” in reference to the similar character found in Burgundy and also in reference to the wines made by Melissa Burr, the talented winemaker.
Bill is also partner with Harry Peterson-Nedry in Chehalem. I will not forget the wonderful evening of sharing good friendship, good food and great wines. What a hospitality, thank you Cathy, thank you Bill and thank you ya’ll for the great time!


2004 “Cathy’s Reserve” Pinot Noir
Bright red ruby color. The nose develops ripe red berry fruits, dried rose leaves with tremendous spices notes of grey pepper. The complexity shows in the mouth with the same intense spicy characters with chocolate, blond tobacco fl avors. The wine fi nishes on smooth notes, the tannins are soft. This is a wine that could relate to someone with a great, strong personality wearing a velvet glove.

2005 “Junior Vines Estate” Pinot Noir
The Stoller site really expresses richness and spiciness in the Pinot Noir. Those young vines have produced a great Pinot Noir that is sumptuous, ripe red fruits and black fruits are noted on the nose, with light spices giving some grip. The mouth is friendly, soft tannins, unctuous and smooth. The wine evolves in the end with more firm tannins and great fl oral flavors of violet and lavender.

2004 “Stoller Estate” Pinot Noir
The estate is a selection of the best barrels from some of the oldest vineyard sites. The color is intense of red garnet with purple rims. The aromas are intense of blueberry, mulberry, ripe black cherry, dried fruit, cacao and a touch of earthiness. In the palate, the intensity of the flavors is remarkable, with more fl oral notes of violet. The tannins are racy, not aggressive and add to the firmness to the wine especially in the fi nish, giving a great masculine texture with a silky touch. With 70% new French oak, the wine shows a great balance and such a great potential for aging.


TORII MOR
The winery was founded by Steve and Margie Olson in 1993 after they found a vineyard planted in 1972 and formerly called “McDaniel Vineyard” (now the “Olson Vineyard”). The name of Torii Mor relies on two distinctive languages translating for “Torii”; Japanese for gate guarding all those beautiful Japanese gardens and “Mor”; Scandinavian for Earth. The belief being that entering to Torii Mor to taste the Pinot Noir, you enter rightly into a gateway to the earth. Since 1995, the style has drastically changed into full bodied wine with character, Jacques Tardy, a Burgundian is now the winemaker, and that explains the high quality of the different wines I tasted.


2005 Pinot Noir
Pale Color with light red fruit aromas. The mouth has soft tannins and an elegant texture.

2005 “Deux Verres” Pinot Noir
Coming from a selection of the best barrels with 60% of the blend coming from the Dundee Hills area, the wine develops very rich notes of ripe black cherry. The mouth is very tender, elegant with a nice mouth filling. Delicate tannins at the end.

2005 “Olson Estate” Pinot Noir
Only 100 cases are produced of this wine which has a quite intense red purple color. The nose of dried rose leaves, fur and slightly peppery is remarkable and probably comes from the 37 years old vines surrounding the property. The palate expresses high level of tannins, firm at first but tend to smooth in the end. Medium full bodied wine. Great complexity.

2005 “Hawks View” Pinot Noir
From the Chehalem Mountains, the wine shows a bright red ruby color. The aromatic profile is complex with different notes of black and red fruits, light spices. The persistence is moderate and finishes on light touch on the palate of silky tannins with a fresh acidity.

2004 “Hawks View” Pinot Noir
This wine was made by the previous winemaker, the color is almost light pink tainted with light red spots. Overall, the wine is very light, very soft and has a short finish.

2005 “Anden Vineyard” Pinot Noir
Located in the Eola Amity Hills on a volcanic soil (Nekaia), the wine possesses a dark purple color, has a rich and elegant aromas of red cherry, raspberry with floral notes. The texture is very nice, great acidity and tannins level and the oak is very well integrated, tender but you feel a hidden richness that is going to be revealed when the wine starts aging. Long finish.

2005 “La Collina” Pinot Noir
Coming from the Dundee Hills, this cuvee has a medium intense dark red garnet color. The aromas are very ripe, full of prune, plum, black cherry with violet flowers, fur. The texture is rich, intense with tight tannins, racy and firm. The finish is very long and ends on earthy characters with a nice acidity that refreshes and lightens the wine.

2005 “Shea Vineyard” Pinot Noir
From the Yamhill County District, the wine shows a superb intense dark purple color. Typical aromas of black fruit, black cherry, light plum it is quiet persistent. The mouth is very well balanced, elegant although the finesse that characterizes the wine relays on a full bodied frame.

2005 “Temperance Hill” Pinot Noir
The location of this vineyard in the Eola Amity Hills which benefits a lot of the Van Duzzer Corridor that brings fresh and cool breezes from the Ocean. The wine shows bright and dark purple color. The aromas of coffee beans and dark berry fruits have some spiciness in the evolution of the nose. The palate is elegant, balanced with a great support from the acidity to develop the aromas of blueberry and raspberry. The finish is long and maintains the elegance of the wine.


AYOUB
2005 Pinot Noir (tasted at Tina’s restaurant in Dundee)
This is a quite young wine showing a medium intense red purple color. The nose of black berry fruits, dark cherry, and smokiness is of remarkable elegance. It is also showing a great control of the oak, partly new. In the mouth, the delicacy is remarkable; even the alcohol being a little high, there is a great acidity in the back with some tobacco flavors along the black fruits. Lightly spicy in the finish, this wine goes very well with the sweetbreads that I had that evening.


DUSKY GOOSE
(tasted at the Stoller Vineyard – bottle provided by Nancy Garvin)
This is a limited production entirely dedicated to Pinot Noir made by Lynn Penner-Ash for the Carter Family.

2004 Pinot Noir
The wine shows an intense, dark red purple color. With full aromas of intense blue berry, a plum and dark cherry fruit, the wine indicates a tremendous concentration in the mouth. The texture is muscular, ripe and lush fruits in the mouth with racy tannins and a fresh acidity in the end that provide all elements for a long living wine.


THE FOUR GRACES
Paula and Steve Black purchased the 110 acres of “The Black Family Estate” in the heart of Dundee Hills in 2003.

The Vineyards are constituted of 37 acres of Pinot Noir dating back in 1990 and an additional 90 acres acquired in 2005, in the Yamhill Carlton district, the “Doe Ridge Vineyard”. All vineyards are conducted by either sustainable farming techniques or by the Rudolph Steiner practice of Biodynamie. The wines are all sourced from the owned vineyards. Laurent Montalieu (Solena) is in charge of the winemaking following the “what could be” the Motto of the family: “Commitment to excellence and Love and respect for the land”.
With different new techniques and revolutionary equipments in his facility of NW Wine Company, Laurent uses his magic “fingers” and his love for the winemaking to produce a wine that I foresee to become an icon in Oregon.


2004 “Estate” Pinot Noir
The cuvee shows a medium intense red ruby color. The wine possesses delicate aromas of smoke, light spices of vanilla, dark fruit of black cherry. In the mouth, the combination between the acidity, texture and tannins is an example. Soft wood and fruit tannins, complex black cherry fruits with some floral notes at the end, delicate touch of spices of cloves, vanilla with chocolate flavors are all making a wine in total osmosis. The 20% new French oak are well integrated and leave place to the Pinot to express itself.

2004 “Estate Reserve” Pinot Noir
This Reserve is a blend of the best clones from the Dundee Hills estate. The wine has seen 70% new French oak and is the result of the most careful attention starting in the vineyard and overseen by Laurent later in the winemaking. The wine has an intense red purple color. The nose is rich, complex and expresses intense aromas of black berry fruits with leather, high spices and toast. The palate is not only powerful but also is gracious, velvety. The tannins are very nice, tight but racy. The wine is full bodied and denotes towards the end, characters of spices and leather.


DE PONTE CELLARS (Tasted at the Stoller Vineyard)
De Ponte Cellars is located in the heart of Dundee Hills on 17 acres of Pinot Noir some of those vines are 30 years old. 1400 cases are produced of a wine made by Isabelle Dutartre. Buddy Beck manages theBaldwin family’s vineyards.

2004 Pinot Noir
Rich intense red garnet with a dark center characterizes the color. The nose expresses a basket of red and black fruits, almost compote, jammy with some spices. The mouth is elegant, light, tannins are soft. Fruits again are more on the jammy side, very juicy. There is a long finish of the flavors with a nice acidity to vibrant the medium body wine.


GYPSY DANCER
2005 “A&G Estate Vineyard” Pinot Noir (Tasted at the Stoller estate)
4.5 acres of Dijon and Pommard clones planted in 1998, 100% new French oak for 12 months. The wine has a bright, medium intense red garnet color. The intense smoky aromas are proving the high presence of wood, little bit overoaked though, spices, meaty with black fruits. The mouth is big, lack a little bit of elegance but could age quiet well as the acidity is relatively fresh towards the end. It needs a couple of years before being tasted again.


DOMAINE DROUHIN
David Millman, General Manager, and I had a good contact at first sight, even if I was late for about 30 mns. Before the acquisition of their Oregon property, the Drouhin’s have been making wine for four generations in Burundy. Their first Oregon vintage was the 1988 vintage. Their property is situated right beside Domaine Serene. The Drouhin family own 225 acres of hillsides with perfect vineyards, of which 90 acres are planted. All of the 3 vineyards are named after the three children of Caroline Drouhin and her husband.

2004 “Willamette Valley” Pinot Noir
Showing a medium intense red purple color with a dark center, the wine has an exuberant nose of red berry fruits, raspberry, with elegant rose petals. The mouth is firm, with a fresh crisp acidity. The tannins are very soft, silky. The finish is moderate on notes of earthiness with light smoky flavors.

2003 “Laurene” Pinot Noir
The wine has a very intense red garnet color. The aromas are tight; they still need time to develop the great complexity hidden by intense black fruits, blue berry, with cacao as the wine evolves. In the palate, the intense structure expresses rich tannins, racy. The elegance of the wine is remarkable, the acidity caresses the palate and the flavors of plum and prunes add to the mouth filling. There is a long persistence.

1996 “Laurene” Pinot Noir
The wine still contains a great bright red ruby color with slight rim variations. The aromas of earth, leather, truffle, forest floor are very elegant, quite persistent. The black currant and other dried fruit aromas are appearing while the wine develops in the glass. The touch on the palate is silky, jammy. The long persistence is amazing. Such quality can only the trace of atalented winemaker as 1996 was not showing the greatest weather conditions for producing Laurene (only produced in the greatest years).


SOKOL BLOSSER
Established in 1971, Susan and Bill have been running the winery business to become one of the leaders in Oregon. They are passing gradually the relay to the next generation, Alison and Alex. In the meantime, Susan is devoted to respect the environment and to extract the best of each plot. Her humility and beliefs of being close to the land and producing what she feels to be great can only bring respect from the consumer. In 2005, the entire 72 acres of vineyards receive a full USDA organic certification.

2004 Pinot Noir
The medium intense color reveals a wine with light aromas of red fruit, very elegant. The mouth is tender with a good grip on the palate. Characters of light spices and of vanilla appear and the finish is unctuous, silky.

2003 Pinot Noir
The color is more intense than the 2004, the nose does not express a lot though. In the mouth, the wine is tight with an intense weight in the middle. The acidity is well balanced and sustains the expression of black fruits towards the end. The alcohol might be more perceptible in the end with tannins that tend to be a little bit aggressive.

2004 “Goosepen Block”
Planted in 1998 at 500 feet elevation on Jory soil, the vineyard brings quite a structure to the Pinot Noir. This vintage has hay aromas with intense dried cherry fruit and plum.
The mouth has a great balance between the fresh acidity and racy tannins. The texture is silky, delicate with a finish on vanilla spices and grey pepper. Very distinctive wine which has a long potential of aging.


LANGE
Don Lange and his wife moved to Oregon in the late 70’s. 1980 was his first vintage. From being a song writer and artist performer, Don has maintained his passion and his art skills in making some of the most renowned Pinot Noir from Oregon. The location of his winery is fantastic, overlooking the entire Willamette Valley.

2005 “Three Hills Cuvee” Pinot Noir
Resulting from a blend of the three “Terroirs” of the winery (Freedom hill, Lange Estate, Yamhill), the wine has a rich and intense purple color. The black fruits characterize the wine intensively on the nose with floral notes of violet flower with light spices in the end. The palate is rich, mouth filling with pomegranate and tobacco flavors in the finish. Great expression of the Pinot Noir that does not extract the 40% new French oak used during the aging. This cuvee is very fine.


EOLA AMITY HILLS (AVA since 8/16/2005)
The Eola Amity Hills Ava covers about 1300 acres of vineyards located North West of Salem and is the southernmost Ava of the Willamette Valley. The region is influenced by shallow soils of volcanic Basalt from ancient lava flows, mostly Nekia soil. This soil produces smaller clusters with great concentration. The Van Duzer Corridor also influences the region by allowing cool ocean winds inland that drops temperature drastically by the end of the day during summer time, keeping the acidity firm and allowing optimal ripening conditions.


CRISTOM
Welcomed by Steve Doerner, the tasting was a great tour of the different vineyards from which he sources his Pinot Noir. The estate Cuvees are all from the family matriarchs. With high density and low yields, Steve likes to experience with different ways to make his wines. Whole clusters, 50% clusters, different level of toast, wood staves in a new shape fermenting vat… all of this makes such a distinction within his cuvees.

2005 “Mt Jefferson” Pinot Noir
This is a blend of different sources from the estate vineyards and outside vineyards. The medium intense red purple coloris a good addition to the extraordinary floral notes of this wine. Elegant nose with raspberry character, the mouth develops more spicy flavors along with dark cherry fruit. The wine finally has a medium persistence but a great balance between the wood tannins and the acidity.

2004 “Eileen” Pinot Noir
Named after Paul Gerrie’s wife, this vineyard is certainly the highest in altitude in the area, 700 feet that gives a slower ripening period to concentrate the wine in color and texture. Planted in 1997, the first vintage released was the 2000. Only made of wild yeasts, the 2006 does not have much of a concentrated color but the wine shows aromas of black fruits, dark cherry with earthiness and truffle in the end. The mouth is intense, rich with smooth tannins, a long and silky finish with dried rose leaves flavors and light spices.

2005 “Marjorie” Pinot Noir
Named for Paul Gerrie’s mother, this is the oldest vineyard of the estate, planted in 1982 and containing today close to 5 different clones grafted on the old original rootstocks. Because of the low density of the vineyards (600 vines per acres, versus close to 2200 vines for the other vineyards), the yield is very low, 1.75 tons per acre. The 2005 made with 50% clusters is a huge Pinot Noir. Concentrated red purple color, there is an intense nose of spices, grey pepper, black cherry, plum, and tobacco leaves with leather. The texture on the palate is very elegant with little tight tannins but very racy. The smokiness in the end is smooth and bring some elegant flavors of vanilla and light spices. Very long finish. The final Marjorie will be a selection of the best barrels.


McMINNVILLE (AVA in 2005)
This district is constituted of slopes on the Coast Range Mountains located 20 miles South Southwest of the Van Duzer Corridor. The South and Eastern expositions of those slopes benefit of a low rainfall and a natural protection during spring from the chilling winds of the Van Duzer Corridor. Soils are shallow and made of marine sedimentary loans and silts on top of deep and compact basalt. The vines need to go to a deep of 20 to 40 inches to find the favorable nutrients. The 750 acres currently planted in the AVA provide wines with high tannins content and an intense mouth filling of black fruit with earthy character.


RIBBON RIDGE (AVA in 2005)
The Ribbon Ridge AVA is a 5 square miles uniformed land of ocean sediments located on the Southwestern side of the Chehalem Mountains Ava. 350 acres are planted within 20 vineyards. Most of the vineyards are dry-farmed due to the paucity of aquifers. The Pinot Noir is showing great potential for aging with intense, almost black color, extracted tannins and high presence of spices, black fruits, and cacao. This is definitely a style of Pinot Noir that needs to age a few years to express the delicacy and complexity of the grape.


BEAUX FRERES
On top of the hill, Michael and Kurt were waiting for me (as usual, coming from another winery, I was a little bit late). 1980 was the first vintage released by Michael (the “Beaux Freres” of Robert Parker). The particularity of Michael’s philosophy is to let the vines expressing themselves. The vineyard is under biodynamie management since 2 years and organic (not certified) since 4 years.
 There is no inoculation at the winemaking. All goes natural. The results are fantastic to my opinion. Even if my “bad” experience with Beaux Freres was with the 1991, showing high acidity and an unbalanced texture, we tasted one bottle which was much better. My best experience with Beaux Freres has been with the 1994 vintage, a bottle given to me by a dear friend in Atlanta, Bob Fleming. This was my first Oregon Pinot Noir and I just moved from Burgundy, what a way to start tasting new world wines! (Thank you Bob).

2005 Pinot Noir
This wine comes from 5 different selected vineyards with a high source from the “Shea Vineyard”. Deep red ruby color in the center with light rims variations, the wine expresses notes of compote black cherry with intense floral aromas of violet and iris. The nose evolves towards prune and plum with some earthiness in the finish.
The presence in the mouth characterizes the richness of the wines from Ribbon Ridge. High texture but with velvety tannins along a firm acidity that pulls up the flavors of black fruits, spices and some cacao touch. The wine is long in the finish. The new oak is barely noticeable but adds some vanilla that fills up your mouth quite remarkably.

2005 Pinot Noir “Beaux Freres Vineyard”
Surrounding the winery, the vines produced a wine with such an intense almost black color. The concentrated aromas of black fruits, spices are nothing compared with what the mouth was giving: a beautiful extraction of fruit tannins, quite tight but racy. The pepperness was going along flavors of prune, liquorice, violet flower, dried rose petals with an earthy finish. Very long and sumptuous of balance! When nature can express itself and well understood by the person behind it, the result can be remarkable.


YAMHILL CARLTON DISTRICT (AVA in 2005)
Located north of McMinnville, the 750 acres of vineyards are located on some of the oldest soils of the region. The Willakenzie soil, named after the Willamette and McKenzie rivers, is made of sedimentary soil with a sandstone base rock. The vines stop growing shoots and leaves earlier than the other districts, leading to more complete ripening.
The Yamhill Carlton district becomes the natural source of some of the most elegant Pinot Noirs. The aromas and flavors of tar, black fruit, tobacco, dried rose leaves and roasted coffee beans are quite common in the wines from this district. The tannins are gentle and the low acidity levels tend to bring lushness in their youth.


KEN WRIGHT CELLARS
I could not taste but I received a nice lecture on the history of the Oregon geology that helped me to follow through my study of Oregon sub-districts.


SOLENA
Laurent Montalieu is considered by many as the “Custom Wine Grower”. While his wife Danielle takes care of the business side, Laurent just likes to spend his time in the vineyards and winery. His passion and work ethic lead him to now manage 25 different labels. Solena is the name of their daughter, combination of the sun and the moon. The McMinnville temperature controlled location facilitates on 115000 square foot to manage properly under high-tech equipment all origins of wines and varietals. Laurent is probably the only one in Oregon to use rotating 500 liters wood vessels (made by Sylvain) for fermentation to carefully better extract color and tannins without punching down.

2005 “Grande Cuvee” Pinot Noir
This cuvee is the result of 9 premium vineyard sites within 3 appellations. From low yields, with 35% of new French oak for 11 months, unfined and unfiltered, this cuvee is an example of pure Pinot Noir profile. Intense red ruby color, intense aromas of dark fruits, raspberry, cherry, the wine expresses after breathing notes of light spices of vanilla and delicate earthy character. The palate is mouth filling; velvety tannins and great silky texture are the results of the specific vessels attributes. The flavors of cacao and cloves bring an elegant touch to the black fruits. Very elegant!

2004 “Shea Vineyard” Pinot Noir
The Shea vineyard is a total of 200 acres of hillside slopes in the Yamhill Carlton district. Solena produced only 230 cases of the 2004 vintage. The wine is tender, soft more on the light red fruit aromas. The middle of the mouth though brings up the barrel wood aging of which 50% are new French. It evolves in the end to a smokier and spicier wine with notes of black fruits. This is a medium bodied wine that has character of a muscular cuvee.

2004 “Domaine Danielle Laurent” Pinot Noir
Located beside the “Shea Vineyard”, the 80 acres family estate is constituted of Willakenzie soil and provides a great drainage for the vines. 70% new French oak are used in the aging process and the very low yield of 1.2 tons per acres may bring explanations of the excellent quality of this cuvee.I even told Laurent :”This is probably one of the most exquisite Pinot Noir tasted in my whole week in Oregon”. The wine shows a clear, bright red ruby color.
The aromas of black fruit, dark cherry, plum, blue berry with a touch of light spices, vanilla, and cinnamon are giving such an aromatic pleasure. The softness of the tannins, the freshness of the acidity, and the corpulence of the wine from the wood aging and the concentration of the wine, all made such a difference to give to the final wine, a dimension that I have barely tasted in a New World Pinot Noir. This is a wine that proves that elegance; raciness can be matched with richness and concentration.
Congratulations Laurent and Danielle!


ELK COVE
Elk Cove is one of the oldest family owned wineries in Oregon,established in 1974 by Pat and Joe Campbell. The handcrafted wines are made since 1995 by their son, Adam. He then took a few minutes away from his bottling line to barreltaste the 2006s Pinot Noirs with Shirley Brooks, VP sales and Marketing.Most of the sites are high elevated and the acquisition in 1996 of the Mount Richmond brought a new source of fruits with earlier ripening as the altitude is only of 300 feet, versus an average of 800 feet for the other vineyards.

2006 “La Boheme” Pinot Noir
The small clusters and the high altitude give a super deep color of red garnet. The ripe black cherry fruit and plum are intense, the smokiness quite elegant from the oak aging. The wine is relatively feminine despite some firm tannins in the finish.

2006 “Mount Richmond” Pinot Noir
Only 1.6 tons per acre for this fantastic wine. The wine has a rich and deep red ruby color that opens the door to a wine with tremendous, complex aromas of black cherry with light spices and powerful persistence. The palate is also intense, has a great texture and keeps those flavors of black fruit, plum and cacao with tobacco leaves. The finish is long and has so much unctuosity.

2006 “Roosevelt” Pinot Noir
Located south of the winery on Willakenzie soils, those 4 acres are made of steep south-facing hillsides. The very low yields have produced a wine of a rich texture as well. The tannins are quite smooth and elegant. The black currant, raspberry aromas are intense and persistent. The silky texture made this 2006 an example of balance but you feel the wine stands on a full bodied, solid frame that will reveal with age in bottle.

2005 “Windhill” Pinot Noir.
The wine is originated from Laurelwood volcanic soil, very old vines planted in 1974 and extremely low yields following organic farming since 1998. The wine expresses more elegance on the nose than power and concentration. The aromas of light spices of vanilla and cinnamon, meatiness with red berry fruits are very delicate. The palate develops flavors of cassis and prune standing on a fresh acidity with silky tannins. Very nice!
We tasted other 2006s from different vineyards: “Shea”, “Patten Valley”, “Amily” and “Five Mountains” that all shine of richness and concentrated black fruit, very intense from one to another. I particularly liked the “Shea Vineyard” with such power but expressing it with grace.


HAMACHER
2002 Pinot Noir
6 to 7 sources for this wine. The wine shows a dark center with red purple color. The nose is very delicate, floral with violet and iris flowers; there are notes of plum and black cherry, all very smooth with light toastiness. The palate is very tender; the tannins are soft and well integrated from the oak. The acidity is moderate and a little earthiness appears towards
the end giving some firmness. Very much floral and feminine wine.


LAZY RIVER
2004 Pinot Noir
The estate belongs to the Lumpkin Family. Planted in 1999, this Pinot Noir has a pale color with light purple rims. The delicate aromas of raspberry, red cherry are matched with some earthy and floral characters, very persistent with a touch of spices on the nose coming from the 30% new French oak that the wine has seen. The mouth is rich, intense with tight and firm tannins; more black fruits appear on the palate especially towards the end. Delicate at first, it develops in the mouth into a masculine wine keeping its graciousness. Very long finish.

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