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"Insider" Values - Corvallis's
Champion Pinot noirs
Before Corvallis was
known for being the home of the PAC-10 College
Baseball National Champions, we were home to
great Pinot.
That reputation
is growing each vintage as new wineries are
booming and older wineries are honing their
craft. Some of our local favorites are
at it again, making Pinot that shows up in
few places outside of Oregon (if any!).
In the last 2 years we’ve
featured a handful of the best
Corvallis-area
wineries in our Reserve Pinot Noir Club.
They
are 720 Cellars, Belle Vallee Cellars,
and Lumos.
These
three wineries have new releases and well,
they just plain rock.
720 Cellars Willamette Valley
Pinot Noir 2004 $18.86/$20.95
We
love Chris Heider’s 720 Cellars wines. He
converted his garage to a winery and hasn’t
looked back. We had the benefit of tasting
his 2004 barrels for the last several months
but nothing prepared us for the finished wine.
The nose is filled with
roses, red cherry and raspberry, pomegranate
and subtle cola spice. As one of us put it, “this
wine doesn’t flirt,” meaning those
aromas follow through to the flavors. We
love the creaminess in the finish—it’s
just like biting into crème brulee with
a touch of cardamom. The 720 is an outstanding
food wine; match with any of your lighter summer
and fall favorites, from grilled fish to pasta
salad.
The 2004 720 Pinot is
100% Croft Vineyard fruit, even though it
doesn’t say so
on the label (sometimes it helps to have the “insider” connection). And
13.3% alcohol?! We love the restraint
and balance!
Belle Vallee Willamette Valley
Pinot Noir 2004 $17.87/$19.85
Belle Vallee is our “urban” Corvallis
winery. They burst on the scene in 2002
with some excellent Pinots, and we’re
excited about the direction of their wines. The ’04
Willamette Valley starts with spicy white pepper
and violets on the nose, with some brown sugar
and blueberry coming out with time. Black
cherry, blackberry, and blueberry streaks lead
you towards lovely, mildly spicy oak tannins. The
white pepper and tannins provide beautiful
bookends to a delicately-bodied wine. Outstanding
value!
Lumos Temperance Hill Pinot
Noir 2003 $19.75/$21.95
The last time we wrote about
this wine it was a new release. Why are we mentioning
it again? Pinot turns corners and while
we liked it a few months ago, the 2003 Lumos
is really strutting its stuff right now.
The 2003 Temperance is an elegant,
refreshing Pinot noir with great balance and
an easy drinking character. Scents of black
raspberry, pink peppercorns, and hints of red
currant echo in the flavor, with the addition
of blackberry and a hint of red cherry essence.
The finish has notes of nutmeg and warm spicy
pepper, with absolutely no heat in the finish.
It's a 2003 with only 13% alcohol, 100% Temperance
Hill Vineyard fruit, and the signs of excellent
vintage management are here in the balanced
soft tannins and crisp, subtle acidity.
Dai Crisp
manages Temperance Hill Vineyard we have the
good fortune of seeing him on a regular basis. With
each vintage, Dai is polishing the gems that
are his Pinots.
Territorial Pinot noir 04 $16.88/$18.75
Congratulations Territorial!
Although Territorial is from Eugene (25 miles
to the south and home of fival Uof O), we love
them just the same. Our
local and web customers do too! We can
barely keep their wines on the shelf. They
continue to rack up great press—this
time it’s
from Wine Press Northwest.
Several months
ago, we featured the Territorial Willamette
Valley Pinot Noir 2004 in an insider value
Pinot e-mail. A couple days ago, the
wine was picked as “Wine of the
Week” by
Wine Press Northwest and received an “Outstanding” rating
from the magazine. Territorial’s
WV ’04 delivers awesome flavors for the
value!
Here's what Wine Press NW had
to say: " Winemaker John Jarboe receives
our highest rating a second time in three years
for this release. It exhibits pleasing aromas
of oak, rich plums, cinnamon spice, violets
and Dr Pepper. The mouth feel is rich with
red tones such as Rainier cherries and lingonberries.
Ample acidity and silky tannins provide beautiful
balance. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest
magazine.
Price: $19."
Call,
e-mail, place a web order…we’ll
be right here in Corvallis. |
