In short, Maggie's pinot noirs from Willamette Valley are not of this world. It has the mark of being made too easily (by picking out the best barrells in a cellar full of them) by a modest but artful and potent winemaker. have two bottles in my cellar, which I will wait another 3-10 to open. The 2007 * is crazygood.

From the Columbia and Walla Walla Valley in Oregon comes this tasty blend made from 35% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 14% Syrah. Cayalla wines exhibit the finest qualities derived from grapes grown in the Walla Walla and Columbia Valleys. It is aged for 9 months in French oak barrels before blending.

Tags: Cellar Selection 2004 2 stars USA 2006 3 stars Oregon Sonoma Willamette Valley 4 stars

true Willamette Valley style pinot noir with another decade of life in it as well. Tags: Cellar Selection 2004 2 stars USA Oregon 1990 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 4 stars The 1990 Monte Bello * is another blockbuster. Deep garnet with very light bricking. We also tasted a 2004 St. should pair these again in 2019.

Please put aside the fact that I've compiled this list because I'm a tool of the marketing gestalt that controls Napa Valley.) Most of the cults aren't even bottled yet when they are purchased as futures, and this fact might give you the "blues." You aren't alone. This list is by no means complete, and it may very well be inaccurate.

Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley "Eisele Vineyard" 2005 * Smoky garnet color. Bond "Pluribus" Napa Valley 2004 ** did not display the depth and concentration I hoped for from a 2004 Bond. Buccella Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2005 Gorgeous fresh flowers on the nose and big thick body of nicely ripe fruit. Very fine.

Bryce Vineyard Willamette Valley 2004 * From a four acre vineyard (planted by hand, FYI) in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, which is tended by family, this pinot noir is young and vibrant without being fruity. Cellar selection. Innocent "Temperance Hill Vineyard" Willamette Valley 2002 Deep garnet color. Cellar selection.

I've never had a Willamette Valley wine that was so fresh or lively, and this at six years of age. Amazingly fresh. Tasted blind, I fingered this for a Central California pinot noir - Sea Smoke or Ojai - something from the Santa Rita Hills. sat there holding the cork in my hands wondering how this had stayed so young.

2002 was supposed to be the vintage of the millennium in the Willamette Valley, but I haven't been loving the wines. of this hiding in the cellar. No, this is not some sort of euphemism. I've used my Weber grill to smoke pork ribs plenty of times, but never a beef brisket. Our brisket tasted great, smoky and delish.

honestly do not remember how I knew to visit Adelsheim when BrooklynLady and I toured Willamette wine country in the unusually sunny and warm first week of January, 2005. And a cavernous and quiet cellar where the oak barrels rested with their bounty, waiting for their chance at the big time. Yup, basically 2 years ago on the button.

But I went to Portland recently, I will have to go several times again this year, I have a load of Oregon wines in my cellar, and I need to refresh my Oregon wine palate. In that spirit, BrooklynLady and I dug into the ol' wine fridge and sampled five Oregon Pinots from the Willamette Valley. Okay, so far so good.

Cruising the hilly outback in the Willamette Valley, Oregon? Bedell Cellars Cupola blend was the darkest wine of the flight, with an earthy and floral nose. also liked the Bedell Cellars Reserve Merlot, a wine that to me was quite different from the others. The back roads of Pernand-Vergelesses? And a sense of place?

Anyway, here are the wines we sampled on this visit 1996 Cristom Pinot Noir Mt Jefferson Cuvee, Willamette Valley - Funky, rotting aromas at first, but blew off to reveal mellow red and black berries, leathery earth. 2001 Hafner Reserve Chardonnay, Alexander Valley - Great nose of vanilla and tropical fruit, pineapple, citrus too.

to lay down in the cellar for a while. An Oregon Pinot from cult producer Peter Rosback, but not from the Willamette Valley. 2005 Belle Pente Willamette Valley Pinot Gris , $17. Loire Valley 2004 Cazin Cour-Cheverny , $12. 1999 Simi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley , $45. California (huh?

In early January of 2005 BrooklynLady and I visited the Willamette Valley in Oregon. wrap-around porch allows you to sit and look down through the valley, really a stunning view. Convenient to everywhere in the valley and not more than 90 minutes from Portland, the inn was very comfortable and cozy. magical experience.

This is Portland, after all, 45 minutes away from the first wineries in the Willamette Valley. found the wines to be fresh tasting, vibrant with acidity and fruit, and expressive of their Oregon locale - chock full of that blue fruit pine and earth sensation that permeates the wines of the Dundee Hills and the Willamette Valley.

According to my records in Cellar Tracker, Burgundy accounts for upwards of 25% of my wine consumption in 2007 (I'm not getting into actual numbers, because I don't want you to think that I'm some sort of booze-soaked sot, or something). Like the wonderful $14 2002 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir. Why not? So that's it?"

2002 was a great year for Willamette Valley Pinots, and Domaine Serene is considered to be a top Oregon producer. must say, I wish I had more of this wine in the cellar. Life is really beautiful, I have to tell you. Because they were small like BrooklynBabyGirl once, and maybe they even have a child of their own.

Many prominent Willamette Valley producers source grapes from Shea vineyards: Mark Vlossak of St Innocent and Panther Creek (where he is consulting winemaker), Ken Wright, and Josh Bergstrom, Beaux Freres (the winery partially owned by Robert Parker), and Patricia Green, to name a few. Spadvocator hit the nail on the head this time.

This is a good thing to capitalize on if you keep a cellar of any size, and if there are limits to what you can spend. Some Willamette Valley Oregon Pinots, for example, reflect the low concentration and thin flavor profiles that come with reduced sunlight and heat in August. You still have to know what to buy. Absolutely.

You can read about Mark Vlossak the winemaker on the site, but I will add that he was the winemaker at Panther Creek through the 1999 vintage, another Willamette Valley winery with a solid reputation. Kind of a legend in the Willamette Valley. And it probably would have improved for years with cellaring.