“Good wine is a necessity of life for me,” Thomas Jefferson. 

In Part I of this series, I discussed how Oregon has firmly elbowed itself onto the world stage as a producer of quality Pinot Noir.

Recently, a group of10 of us got together during what ended up being a blustery and snowy night to taste through and evaluate 21 Oregon candidates, with two California Russian River Pinot Noirs and one nice French Burgundy tossed in for the sake of humility and perspective. As we sampled, I noted the comments of our assembled brethren, then assigned my own subjective grade. So if you have any quarrel with the final score, I’ll happily take the heat (or The Fifth). Here are my scores, using my normal “A”-“F” grading. Rankings follow:

1. 2008 Evening Land Summon 7 Springs. B+

2. 2007 Sokol Blosser (a former Milwaukeean) Dundee Hills. A-

3. 2006 Montinore Estate Willamette Reserve, $14.99. A

4. 2007 Argyle Willamette Valley. B+

5. 2008 Chateau Bianca, $25. A

6. 2007 Johan, $28. A-

7. 2007 Kings Ridge, $19. A- (Note: I’ve tried the ’08 and it isn’t as good)

8. 2007 Erath Willamette Valley. B+

9. 2007 Belle Valley, $20. B

10. 2007 Four Graces, $22. B+

11. 2007 Dobbs Willamette Valley, $30. B+

12. 2007 Benton Lane, $25. B+

13. 2008 Beaux Freres, $75 (Note: rumored that reviewer Robert Parker owns part). A+

14. 2008 Ken Wright McCrone, $50. A

15. 2007 Adelsheim Willamette Valley, $30. A

16. 2007 Domaine Serene, $30. A-

17. 2006 Bergstrom, $65. A-

18. 2008 Ghost Hill. B+

19. 2006 Domaine Drouhin Willamette Valley. A

20. 2007 Domaine Drouhin Willamette Valley. A

21. 2008 Domaine Drouhin Willamette Valley. A+

22. 2007 Joseph Drouhin Cotes de Beaune Burgundy, $20. A-

23. 2006 Dehlinger California Pinot Noir. A+

24. 2006 Williams Seylem, Hirsch Vineyard. A+

25. 2007 Rochioli Russian River Valley. A+

And now for the winners (drum roll):

1. 2008 Beaux Freres, Oregon

2. 2008 Domaine Drouhin Willamette Valley, Oregon

3. 2006 Williams Seylem, Hirsch Vineyard, Russian River Valley, CA.

4. 2008 Ken Wright, Oregon

5. 2007 Domaine Serene, Oregon

My Price/Value award easily went to the 2006 Montinore Estate Willamette Valley Reserve, Oregon. For $14.99, it’s a steal, and the wholesaler told me that it will be out on your favorite wine retailer’s shelves shortly. Keep your eyes peeled and your wallet handy – if you spot it, BUY BUY BUY!

Cheers, Happy Holidays, and thanks for reading my columns!

“A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread, and Thou,” Edward Fitzgerald, 1809-1883, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, st.12.

I wrote about Oregon Pinot Noirs once before and became so enraptured by their dimensions that I felt compelled to take another ad nauseum stab at them.

To refresh our memories, the town of McMinnville in Oregon shares more than the same latitude as that of Beaune in Burgundy. The same sunlight, rain patterns and climate prevail, with only minor differences in soil (terroir, as the academics call it) giving the French the reason to claim the crown of achievement for this profound grape.

With that in mind, a group of ten of us devotees assembled recently on a snowy afternoon to plow through a panoply of Oregon and California offerings, as well as one from Burgundy, France. California’s goodies included two from the cool Russian River area, which boasts a cult following.

When the dust settled (and the mental fog began clearing), the 10 of us had learned much about these gems and the creative applications/manipulations of the finicky and thin-skinned Pinot Noir grape. Here is my basic summary of my notes and our discussion points:

1. Some of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noirs are world contenders and are worthy of more than cursory notice.

2. Oregon has indeed learned and has improved as a consequence of bold winemakers, new strategies and sound old-country influence from France in the form of methodologies, different vine clones, etc.

3. California’s Russian River Valley area poses a strong and worthwhile challenge to some of Oregon’s finest produce.

4. The original, ancestral home of Pinot Noir, Burgundy, will forever remain a world (if not the) contender for the best and highest use of this grape.

Cheers!