“And art made tongue-tied by authority,” William Shakespeare, Sonnet 66.
Back in December, 2010, a cluster of us Pinot Noir and French Burgundy lovers got together during a raging snow storm and staged a high-spirited tasting of Oregon’s best Pinot Noirs. The competion was vicious and even though fisticuffs were avoided, a truly enlightening and engaging time was had by all. To me and many in the room, the clear winner was a small winery called Montinore Estate. I thought it handily thrashed a pair of credentialed California cult Pinots.
Rudy Marchesi came to Forest Grove, Ore. from the Bronx and New Jersey, buying 230 acres of pristine property in the Willamette Valley. Today, he and daughter Kristin run the winery. I was utterly fascinated, as I did research on Montinore, to discover that the wines are Certified Biodynamic. Allow me to edify you.
Started in 1924 in Europe, the Biodynamic movement, basically an enlightened approach to organic vineyard management, theorized that normal practices of active chemical pest control and fertilizing were stripping vineyards of their raison d’etre, or productive quality. Naturally eliminating those intrusive behaviors resulted in quantitative and qualitative improvements, and their wines have been conclusively proven to be stronger, cleaner, more vibrant and lively and with an extended ability to age. Today, I’ve been aware of a handful of French wineries actively embracing this discipline, such as Leflaive, Leroy and Potel. To further attempt to clear these otherwise muddy waters, enlightened French winemakers actively keep their farms as self-sustaining ecosystems. Ecologically pure sprays from manure, horsetail and natural flowers are encouraged, and manure-filled cow horns (lunch, anyone?) are buried in the vineyards at strictly regimented times as dictated by calendar, moon phase, light conditions, season, etc.
Today, I was joined in my tasting of two of Montinore’s wines by my son, Patrick, whose palate has been measurably improving (as he walked into my condo, for instance, he told me how much he recently enjoyed his birth year gift of a 1986 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon). Here are my tasting notes, as augmented by my son.
1) 2009 Montinore Estate Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, $20 at the winery, $18.99 retail here (P.S. Sendik’s is now out of stock). Brilliant deep ruby color with medium-heavy body. The nose brightly displayed bright cherry notes with cinnamon and clove, much like many Oregon Pinot Noirs. Good depth in the mouth with deep complexity. Long finish with good acidity. A
2) 2006 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley Reserve, $28 at the winery, $24.99 retail here (if you can find it). This wine was the winner of our December 2010 tasting. Deep, rich, purple hue with heavy, brooding body. The nose was intensely deep with dancing accents of lavendar,, clove, chocolate and black cherry – a virtual smell-a-thon that makes you pant for more. (Note for you Burgundy fanatics – if I had a bag over my head, I’d almost equate this to a Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-St.Vivant.) Rich, deep and nuanced in the mouth with incredible depth. Long, lingering finish. A couple of years of bottle age would further enhance this wine’s star status with me. If you can find this, buy it! A+
Today’s clear winner was the Montinore Estate Reserve – a true class act.
Cheers to you, Marchesi gang.
All Montinore Estate photos by David Lanthan Reamer.
