[wine] OR Pinot Noir SFGC

FYI/FYE SFGC The Chronicle Recommends: Oregon Pinot Noirs Jon BonnéChronicle Wine Editor Sunday, October 18, 2009 Oregon Pinot Noir 2006 Argyle Nuthouse Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2007 Bergstorm Bergstorm Vineyard Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2008 Big Table Farm Resonance Vineyard Yamhill-Carlton Pi... More... If you're an Oregon winemaker, you never forget the constant risk of rain - certainly not in 2007. An extended spell of precipitation, several weeks in the midst of the harvest, took its toll on an otherwise auspicious vintage. That didn't spell disaster. But it did create a serious challenge - for winemakers scrambling to get grapes during the dry spells and now for the rest of us, facing the 2007s on shelves. Our annual tasting of some 80 Oregon Pinots hinged around that year, plus a handful of late-released 2006s and newly hatched 2008s as bookends. The 2007s were the most difficult Oregon releases I've assessed since 2003, when blazing heat drained many wines of typicity. This isn't to say that there aren't great 2007s. It might be overstating the case to say that success came from the Willamette Valley's most experienced hands, but experience clearly counted. Consider it a reminder that winemaking talent is more about navigating tough years than basking in easy ones. To navigate it all, I was joined by Clay Reynolds, beverage director for the Moss Room and Coco500 in San Francisco; and Alex Bernardo, owner of the Vineyard Gate in Millbrae. Both are loyal Oregon fans, not always easy when deluged by Pinot grown closer to home. Oregon's promise of Pinot that tips a hat to Burgundy's nuance - a sometimes overstated claim - was on display for good and ill. The most successful 2007s offer deep red fruit and the earthy mystique at which the state excels, achieving ripeness amid a high-acid edge. That signals good potential in the cellar. But those successes came amid shortfalls: wines that wore too much oak to the party, refusing to accept a stylistic retrofit in a light year; wines that lacked concentration but tasted as though they minted from a more grandiose blueprint. Judging from our lineup, not many wineries declassified. Many wines would have been good drinking at $20, but not north of $30, where we frequently found ourselves. As Reynolds put it: "For this vintage, you need a guide." Which brings us to the experience part. Winning examples came from winemakers including Bergstrom's Josh Bergstrom; Stoller's Melissa Burr; Cristom's Steve Doerner; Penner-Ash's Lynn Penner-Ash; and Tony Rynders, at the time still guiding the wines of Domaine Serene. All have a track record; all found distinctly pleasing expressions in delicate fruit. Those finessed expressions leave 2007 as a year when subtlety reigned, if imperfectly. A coda: After the trials of 2007, Oregon received a Pinot bounty last year. The initial 2008s we encountered were brimming with pretty fruit. If the '07s are an uneven lot, a new crop of excellent Pinots should soon be winding their way down Interstate 5. 2006 Argyle Nuthouse Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($60) Argyle's broad-shouldered effort shines in a fine vintage. Distinct baking spice and deep red fruit, with a bright huckleberry overtone and touches of soy and orange peel. Properly ripe and oak-inflected, with a suppleness all through. 2007 Bergstrom Bergstrom Vineyard Dundee Hills Pinot Noir ($75) Loamy and dense, like a young Gevrey Chambertin. The high tones sail through but there's lots of darker, deeper fruit underneath. Put them together and you have a terrific interplay that keeps returning you to the glass. You'll find a similar energy in Bergstrom's De Lancellotti Vineyard effort ($65). 2008 Big Table Farm Resonance Vineyard Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir ($45): Burnt orange peel, sweet extracted cherry and a bell-clear cranberry highlight, with a mineral edge. Hard to access at first - it's still pretty young - but there's ample ripeness amid its edgy acidity. 2007 Brandborg Love Puppets Umpqua Valley Pinot Noir ($30): 2007 Cristom Mount Jefferson Cuvee Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($30): Steve Doerner's efforts show how it could be done in this vintage. An unmistakable scent of matsutake mushroom, with rich cherry fruit and a leathery meatiness. Generous fruit balances out forward tannins. Rich and dense for the vintage, and absolutely lovely. Keep an eye out for the 2007 Jessie Vineyard when it's available. 2007 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($45): Musky and subtle, with some distinct tannin up-front but a generous, pine-tinged palate. Amply ripe dark fruit and mineral energy demonstrate its staying power. 2008 Duck Pond Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($20): A lighter approach, with full, up-front fruit: sweet bayberry and sour cherry. 2007 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($42): With guidance from now-former winemaker Tony Rynders, Serene's polished style found a more subtle, high-acid expression in 2007. There's pleasing richness balanced by bright fruit. Huckleberry highlights, with a bit of textural grain adding structure. 2007 Le Cadeau Vineyard Cote Est Oregon Pinot Noir ($47): Tom and Deb Mortimer hire several winemakers to work the different portions of their vineyard. Steve Ryan of Mendocino Farms tackled this eastern block. Silky and subtle, with a deeper, extracted style and bold structure that shows its potential. 2007 Lemelson Thea's Selection Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($32): A frosty, precise approach from a mix of organic vineyards. Slightly standoffish at first, but gray mineral and cool huckleberry accent a ripe fruit core lifted by buoyant acidity. 2008 O'Reilly's Oregon Pinot Noir ($17): Straightforward but very refreshing, with lots of fruit punch and raspberry. A perennial great deal. -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *