2007 Sineann Pinot Noir Oregon

Picked these up today locally as I saw them in 1/2 bottle format, and was intrigued when I read on the label that it was "finished with a glass enclosure."  I was a bit curious about the glass stopper, so I picked up the last two bottles they had.  Opened one up a few hours later, and sure enough, there is a glass enclosure under the plastic, with some sort of rubber gasket to help it stayed sealed I am guessing.  Nice idea, but who knows how long these will really hold on the bottle, and how the wine will age because of it. 

Popped and poured and a nice light ruby color in the glass.  Nice cherry and raspberry jam on the nose, with subtle earth and spice.  I really don't think this had an Oregon nose, but I am not complaining.  On the palate, some more cherry, strawberry, and raspberry dominated the palate, with again some earthiness, and spices.  Nice finish with well integrated tannins made this an easy daily drinker.  Decent pinot for the money, and a decent QPR.  Followed this with an '03 Fiddlehead 728 pinot noir, and this made for a good "appetizer" leading up to that bottle.  88 points.  Cheers!

2004 Argyle Pinot Noir Nuthouse

It's hard to believe that it has been 2 years since we have visited this wine, but time sure does fly when you bury them in the cellar. Out of site, out of mind!

Popped and poured through the Vinturi tonight into a decanter on the bistro with Raphael and Fabiana. Gorgeous Oregon color in the glass, nice and light, with good hues too it. On the nose, this wine was much more fragrant than I had remembered it. Very nice and classic red berries with strawberry and cherry. Nothing Californian about this pinot at all, with subtle fruits, herb, earthiness, and spice.

On the palate, this wine has really come together in the last two years. The fruits have integrated with the alcohol and the tannins are totally mellowed. Dark cherry is the shining star, with some raspberry right on it's heals. Secondary nuances of cranberry, blueberry, and pomegranate come through, and the finish lingers with integrated tannins. Very happy to have a few more of these in the cellar. Drink or hold. 92 points.

2005 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Popped and poured after Father’s Day with Zelda’s family, this showed a gorgeous Burgundian ruby color in the glass.  Let me say that this wine will age for a good 10 years, and will be absolutely gorgeous in that time frame.  Definitely would have benefitted from a 3 plus hour decant, but still nice popped and poured.

Nice Burgundian nose with some rich cherry and raspberry, with absolutely no candied fruit at all.  Super young on the nose, with nice floral notes, black fruits, and hints of cranberry and mocha.  The nose is rounded out with some nice earth tones and a bit of barnyard funk.

On the palate, the cherries are the star here, light, and subdued, and very young.  Again, a 3-4 hour decant would help this wine, but it is still in a nice place popped and poured.  Typical Burgundian style here, and not fruit forward in the least.  Subtle hints of black cherry, spice, and strawberry finish off the palate.  On the finish, the tannins seem nicely integrated, and the alcohol seems to have integrated nicely as well.

All in all, no reason at all to hold these, but I guarantee this wine will get better with another 5 years in the bottle.  Pop and pour, decant 3-5 hours, etc.  It’s a good wine, and from this showing, seems very flexible.  Continued to evolve in the glass over the course of 3 hours, and a great wine!  91 points with 1-3 points possible with some more bottle time.  Cheers!  -F. Scott

2007 Antica Terra Pinot Noir

Another bottle sourced for the holidays and popped way too early...well, maybe not as both of these bottles showed surprisingly well within 3 days of each other. This bottle however was popped and poured, and showed so much better than the bottle decanted on Christmas Eve. Very strange, but maybe this is better popped and poured right now, but it has me a bit confused! Regardless, this is only going to get better with some age. No crazy barnyard funk on the nose like the bottle on Christmas Eve. Nice fruit forward nose of strawbery, cherry, and blueberry, with very little hint of alcohol on the nose. On the palate, more cherry and strawberry, with more hints of spice. This seemed much more fruit foward than the last bottle, and again pretty uncharacteristic of Oregon to me compared to other Oregon pinot noir. Regardless, not a bad thing. Very pleasant finish made this bottle go down nicely, and another true pleasure. Kudos to Maggie Harrison for yet another great wine! 92 points!

2006 Belle Vallée Pinot Noir Reserve

Popped and poured this one tonight at Under the Moon in Bordentown, NJ, this wine showed a nice Oregon pinot, ruby color in the glass. On the nose, there were some hints of plum and black fruits, blackberry, and a hint of black cherry. Moving on to the palate, this was a very light wine in my opinion, with slight hints of plum and blackcherry. This wine seemed very thin to me, and definitely seemed like it was missing something. Yes, I know, it's from Oregon, and isn't your typical California fruit bomb, but I think that it lacked complexity. The finish seemed very short to me, and overall, this wine just didn't knock my socks off. Maybe it is in a weird phase like some of the other 2006's and needs more time in the bottle. 86 points. Cheers!

2006 Once Pinot Noir California/Oregon

Here we are on Superbowl Sunday, relaxing at home, cooking anything amd everything from homemade sauteed onion dip, to sauteed scallops, to wings with ranch dressing, carrots, and celery. As fun as it might be to go out and party at the bars, there is nothing better than Superbowl Sunday, relaxing at home!

Josie "The Pussycat Doll" came over tonight, so we popped a 2006 Once pinot noir that we picked up a few weeks ago at CoolVines. In all actuality however, since this wine has fruit from two different AVA's, they cannot put a vintage on this wine. Regardless, the fruit is from 2006. Nice California/Oregon blend, with your typical pinot color. Nose of ripe black cherry, with hints of cola, and a hint of pomegranate and spice. On the palate, nice cherry taste, not overly fruit forward, so I think that the Oregon helped from that standpoint. Some oak on the palate, but well integrated, and not overly oaked. Simple, complex finish is pleasurable, with no tannic backbone, and light acidity. All in all, a very nice wine and decent QPR. 88 points.

2006 Iris Vineyards Pinot Noir

Enjoyed another great bottle of this Oregon pinot noir tonight, and let me tell you, it was every bit as good as the first bottle. This really is a great Oregon for the money, and for what you would spend on Argyle or Benton Lane, I highly recommend this one over them both. Back up the truck, and buy this great wine by the case. 90 points, with notes identical to previous bottles. Cheers!

2006 Belle Vallée Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Enjoyed at Thai Village in Princeton tonight after a quick trip to CoolVines for their "End of Bin Sale." Popped and poured, this is a very nice pinot after being open for 30 minutes, but even the first glass was enjoyable. The nose revealed somce nice notes of raspberry, cherry, and plum, with that distinctive Oregon earthy smell and a subtle hint of spice. The palate is surprisingly fruit forward for an Oregon, and this '06 is showing nicely now, but will develope some more with time. More cherry and raspberry on the palate, with a very smooth, albeit short finish. This is definitely one of the '06's that is showing it's stuff nicely right now, and is a pleasure to drink. Look forward to enjoying some of the Reserve offerings from Bellee Vallee in the future. 90 points! Cheers!

2006 Iris Vineyards Pinot Noir

This nicely priced, very young Oregon pinot was not of the norm! Most of the '06 Oregon's we have we are sitting on as the fruit is not showing well at the moment, but will come out in time. This was the exact opposite, and reminded me more of the fruit forward California styled pinot than that of Oregon. Very nice cherry tones on the nose that hit you from a foot away. WOW, what a great nose. Hints of earth as well, but an abundance of fruit. The palate hits you like a hammer, with gushing fruit. Tons of dark cherry and other dark fruits make it hard for me to believe that this is Oregon. This is definitely not your typical $20 Oregon pinot! A hint of spice and pepper on the finish, that seems to linger for just a few seconds, but it is a delightful finish. This paired surprisingly well with noodles at Tsukasa. Nice Oregon pinot for the money, and in my opinion, better than the normal bottlings from Argyle and Benton Lane, and has a ton more fruit. This is a wine worth purchasing by the case. Kudos to CoolVines!

1998 Argyle Brut

After a long day at school, this was the perfect sipper to enjoy out on "the bistro" to celebrate Mrs. Johnson's 80 something birthday party. Being at the bottom end of their sparkling line, I wasn't sure what to expect with this, and I wasn't sure how long it would age. Needless to say, it aged well. Formal notes to come

2006 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Balcombe Vineyard

All I can say about this wine, is that I wish I waited to open this, but curiosity to open a "Patty Green" was killing me.

This wine is so young, and is going to be fabulous in another 5 years. We aerated this through the Vinturi and decanted for an hour prior to drinking. I think that a 5 hour decant would have been good, but an hour is better than no time at all.

Nose of blackberry and black cherry, with hints of cola and earth as well. On the palate, more black fruit with hints of spice, but for the most part, typical of an Oregon pinot. There is still some acidity on this wine, and I attribute it to the fact that we drank it so young.

Long and short of it is, put a few of these in the back of your cellar, out of sight, out of mind, and revisit them in 2 years at the earliest. I'd like to get another 4 to 6 of these to stockpile for some years down the road!

Overall, 90 points, but will definitely go higher with some time!

2005 Benton-Lane Pinot Noir

Another good bottle of this consitently well crafted Oregon pinot noir, just don't let the screw top fool you! Nice nose of cherry, wildflower, and other non-desript red fruits. On the nose, more of the cherry comes through, with hints of raspberry, spice, and mushroom. Simple tasty finish garners 88 points for this wine! Cheers!