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Springtime in Portland brings many things; crazy weather (it's snowing in March) beautiful blooms (the Magnolias are stunning) and newly released Pinot Noir in the market--hooray! We've seen several 2006s thus far, but they are really starting to show up in good form now. 2006 was a big vintage for Oregon Pinot, the fruit was generally lush in style, and the production was larger than normal, by 15-20% in many cases. Because weather conditions allowed fruit to set and develop under warm conditions, then ripen gradually during a cooler trend, the pinots of 2006 are fruity, fleshy, and approachable, but not overblown; they are balanced. Here are three of my recent favorites.
BROOKS- JANUS 2006 PINOT NOIR
This pinot smells like pinot! No, I'm serious, that's exciting! Ruby red in the glass, and elegantly "How it should be!" on the nose, with bold, dark cherry and raspberry fruit, steeped in loamy earth and mineral. Notes of Bing cherry baking in the sun, raspberry leaf tea, and dried figs make this flagship pinot generously fruity, but with a classy, mellow style. Tobacco, moss, wild geranium, Dutch licorice, mint, and Thai basil give us the overall impression of a prominent spicy flora presence. Earthy and seductive, with intense mineral background, this wine makes me feel well-grounded in Northwest authenticity.
Entering the mouth, the fruit is bright, and juicier than one might expect after the hedonistic nose. Lovely the way it seems to frolick on the palate with big juicy bursts. More cherry fruit, plum skin, rhubarb, some smoke and cinnamon, and iron ore offer interest and call for food. This pinot has fine tannins, and great acidity. It will age gracefully for many years, and will remain a stand-out accompaniment to dinners featuring smoked salmon, lamb, or fritatta.
Dedicated to biodynamic farming, Brooks wines are true representatives of terroir, and leaders in sustainability in the Northwest. At Brooks, the conscientious farming and winemaking team is committed to offering wines that are of the earth; pure and carefully understood as varietals from their home regions--the vineyard sites where they are grown. You could easily say that these wines stem from intimacy - the winemaker Chris Williams also biodynamically farms; there is dirt under his fingernails. Each person working to produce these wines, knows intimately where they come from, and cares intimately for the natural systems that produce truly beautiful wines.
www.brookswines.com
CRISTOM- MT. JEFFERSON CUVEE 2006 PINOT NOIR
More brick red than many young Oregon pinots, this wine screams Burgundy before you even quaff it. Then... you quaff it, my goodness! Bloody meat and earth hit you directly, followed by red fruits and herbs. This pinot is so earthy, it reminds me of a small production Burgundy that I love for its pure rain-on-rocks scent. You are laying in the bed of a slow river, resting on its rocks on a sunny day. Some of the river rocks are exposed, and it starts to rain. The rain is warm, steam rises off the rocks, dispersing that one-of-a-kind fresh, dusty smell...and that's what you find in your glass with this Cristom. Fruits lean toward brighter reds; pomegranate, strawberry, and pie cherry. White pepper sneaks in with a smoked meat note, making you salivate.
Pretty on the palate, with punchy strawberry and cranberry fruits. This bottling is full and lush mid-palate, and finishes with really fine acids and lower alcohol presence than many 2006s--A food lover's dream companion. Masculine slate, basalt, and cedar-smoked, moss-packed meat (think Native American Long-House) offer a sensual stability to this otherwise elegant wine. The finish is lovely, with essences of maple, tobacco and white chocolate covered cherries, that really last.
Cristom owns all of their 65 acres, which hold 8 special vineyard sites, named after their family's matriarchs! From these vineyard sites, they make several single-vineyard bottling pinots. The Mt. Jefferson Pinot is an example of one of their cuvees, which blends great fruit from two or more sites. In addition to outstanding pinot noir, Cristom produces chardonnay, pinot gris, viognier, and syrah. All vineyards are dry-farmed and yields are kept low, to ensure quality fruit from healthy vineyards. Fermented with native, wild yeast, these wines really do represent where they come from!
www.cristomwines.com
BEAUX FRERES- THE BEAUX FRERES VINEYARD 2006 PINOT NOIR
Deep garnet in color, and slightly cloudy, you can see the hand-crafted character right away. Nose is huge with luscious fruits, bloody mineral, forest floor and spicy wild flowers. Plum, heirloom tomato, raspberry, fig, raisin, and black cherry are influential on the nose. This brawny fruit is followed by notes of rare lamb, and copper. Roasted cashew, morel, truffle, cedar, wet soil beneath a fir tree forest, wild orchid and fresh licorice root really make this wine smell like Oregon.
The palate offers the big rush of fruit that you would expect from the nose; it is bold, focused yet velvety, and lasts in layers. Cherry, plum, blueberry, and fig. I even taste roasted beets and squash, but make no mistake, this is a great quality, and matches the earthiness of this pinot well. Rounded out with tastes of pesto, hazelnuts, maple syrup, molasses, pipe tobacco, Soprasatta, dried truffle, and cocoa. This is one sexy wine!
With 100% Estate fruit from Ribbon Ridge, this bottling comes from the Beaux Freres Vineyard. Located on a special plot of 30 acres at 400 feet elevation, are the densely planted vines, ranging in age from 9-19 years. Thus, the production of this wine (especially in relation to its cult-like following) is small. Get some if you can, this wine will age and please for a decade, easily.
www.beauxfreres.com
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