Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Yamhill-Carlton AVA Open House - Wine Tasting 2012

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending to Yamhill-Carlton AVA Open House 2012 at Anne Amie Vineyards.  First off, what does that mean?  It is a wine tasting event for the wine producers of grapes grown in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA (most notably Pinot Noir).  There were 34 wineries pouring (I didn't get to all of them, but I did my best...) and nosh from 6 local restaurants and caterers.  Second, what is the Yamhill-Carlton AVA?  An AVA (or American Viticultural Area) is a growing region for wine grapes.  Depending on geology, micro climates, and elevation wines from one vineyard can be very different from the next, even if they are close in proximity.  These are the distinctions, upon which the AVAs are based.  So with a larger growing region (in this case the northern Willamette Valley) there can be several smaller, distinctive regions, and these are called AVAs (in this case the Yamhill-Carlton).

The Yamhill-Carlton AVA is home to some of the most respected wineries and winemakers in the Willamette Valley.  Names like Ken Wright, Lynn Penner-Ashe, and Dick Shae are legendary in the region, and have all had a hand in making Oregon wines famous, and produce some of the best Pinot Noir in the world.  And trust me they all showed very well, but the pleasant surprise this day was how well the smaller, unheralded and, in some cases, brand spanking new wineries showed right next to the big boys.  I had a chance to try some labels I'd never heard of, and I was quite pleased by the whole experience.

I want to make this point, I am not a professional wine taster (one can always dream though, right...?).  I am just a guy who enjoys drinking it, and I am lucky enough to have grown up in one of the finest wine growing regions in the world.  I also want to make this point, as I have said in previous posts, everyones palate is different, so just because I liked something doesn't mean you will and vice versa.  But I don't mind telling you about my experience, nor giving you my opinion.  Take it for what it is worth, and above all drink what you like and don't let others tell you what you should be tasting.  That being said, here is what I tasted...

The event was held in the Anne Amie warehouse and barrel room, which, if you have never found yourself nestled between 50 gallon barrels stacked to the ceiling, is awe inspiring and in its own way beautiful.  The set up was alphabetical starting from the door and working clockwise.  So of course I walked in and went straight for the letter "T".  No particular reason why, but the way the tables were situated it was right in front of us and there was an open station for us get started.

As it turned out it was the perfect place to start because it set the tone for the whole day, and it reaffirmed one of my personal wine tasting mantras: Try New Wine!  The first place we came to, was a label I had never heard of before: Twelve.  You have to enjoy any winery whimsical enough to name itself in reference to "This is Spinal Tap".  They were pouring 3 Pinot Noirs, but the stand out was the 2009 Pinot Noir 144.  It was smooth, had bright berry notes, and hit the palate in a way that suggests it is going to continue to blossom over the next few years.  At $35 a bottle, it wasn't the most affordable wine we came across all day, but it is firmly planted in my favorite category of wine, a good bargain.

We moved along and somewhere between getting a tasting at EIEIO (so named because of its owner Jay McDonald) and trying the goat cheese tort and bacon-brie crostini from The Horse Radish we ran into the bachelorette party of a dear friend.  As you can imagine the rest of the day was little less scientific than initially intended, but it was a lot more fun.  Anyway, they were coming from another part of the barrel room, and they had a recommendation for what we should try next.

That was how we ended up at Ken Wright Cellars.  The girls called it right, this label is a mainstay in Oregon wine making.  One of the only cellars in the region that sells futures, meaning people are willing to buy wines they have never tasted just to be sure that they get some at all.  Their wines are made to encourage patience, and show better after more time in the bottle than other producers in the Valley.  They were pouring the 2007 Abbott Claim Pinot Noir and the 2007 McCrone Vineyard Pinot Noir.  Both were good quality, but a bit acidic and hadn't opened yet.  Very good, but for $65 a bottle there were better values available.

At this point I broke away from the group to visit a group of stations that included a few of my favorites and a few I had never tried.  Plus they were by the carnitas being served by Martha's Tacos, so I had to go.  First stop Monks Gate, this I found to be a real gem.  The name comes from a literal gate they put in so the monks at the abbey next door could still use the short cut through the property to town, when they put up a fence to keep the deer out.  So if you're keeping tabs, in wine country, monks good, deer bad.  They had what is called a vertical flight, it was the 2006, 2007, and 2008 all of their Estate Vineyard (priced $29, $34, $34 respectively).  The '06 was smooth, comforting and drinking very well, and the '08 had an hint of anise on the nose, and a red berry notes upon the palate.  This was also a very good bargain.

Next came a real treat, a winemaker unveiling their label for the first time: Oliver Cellars.  It was in fact their first event, ever (so new they don't seem to have a website to link to).  They do not have a tasting room, and only made about 190 cases to date, with 175 of the 2011 on its way.  The wine (a 2010 Estate Pinot Noir) was young and tasted like it, but the enthusiasm and anxiety was quite charming.  And for $35 a bottle well worth supporting a local upstart.

Sidled next to the newbies was one of my all time favorites: Panther Creek.  I stop off at their tasting room in McMinnville at least once a summer.  They consistently make elegant wines that show the best parts of what makes the region so special.  They do not grow their own grapes so they source their fruit from other growers.  They were pouring wines made from Shea and Lazy River, both of whom were also pouring at the event.  They too were pouring a vertical tasting consisting of 2007 Lazy River Vineyard ($40), 2008 Shea Vineyard ($45), and 2009 Lazy River Vineyard ($40).  The Shea was the pick of the crop and really quite a value based on its quality compared to some of the wines at higher price points.

One label that is in that higher price point but deserves the recognition is Penner-Ash Wine Cellars.  They were only pouring their 2010 Dussin Estate, but it is a wonderful wine.  With hints of Mocha and a silky feel $60 a bottle is reasonable.  There were certainly better values but this bottle lives up to the price.

The next tasting was from a label I had not heard of before: Roots Wine and Vineyards.  They were pouring a horizontal flight: 3 wines from the 2010 vintage, their Estate, Fairsing, and Saffron Vineyards represented.  Once again this was a label that does not have a tasting room so you only see them at events like this.  The Estate had hints of chocolate which was very nice.  The Fairsing was quite mature for a 2010 and and has a very elegant texture.  But the Saffron knocked my socks of, a creamy smokiness reminiscent of a carbonara that would make Italian mothers blush.  And with all 3 of them coming in at $30 a bottle it was quite a find, and probably the best value of the day.

At this point it was a perfect point to fill up on some delicious house made meats from Nick's Italian Cafe.  Once again, when in McMinnville, Nick's is a great place to go.  At this point I have to mention how salami is a gateway meat for me.  I am an absolute junky for artisan meats and it can be a slippery slope once I have a single morsel of meats that good.  I don't think I will ever apologize for it, but if you get the chance to try the meat from Nick's, come join me on the dark side.

Shea Wine Cellars was the next stop.  Shea started as a grower and sources fruit for many winemakers in the Valley (like Panther Creek, Alexana, and Boedecker, all of which were serving at the event).  And in 1996 they started producing their own wine.  They don't have a tasting room but are open for seasonal events from time to time.  They were pouring their 2009 Estate ($40) and their 2010 Block 7 ($56) both fine and well colored, and the Block 7 is certainly something to try if given the chance.

From there we went over to the other producer used by Panther Creek in their tasting, Lazy River Vineyard.  They were showing 3 wines, first a 2011 Pinot Gris ($20), which was round and full bodied for a Gris.  The other 2 were both Pinot Noirs, from 2008 ($36), and 2009 ($36).  The '09 had notes of mexican chocolate and citrus rinds that is fantastic.  The '08 on the other hand hasn't yet bloomed, it will be a year or two but it has great potential.

Finally we made it over to where we were supposed to start in the first place, the letter "A".  The first Winery as you enter the room is Alexana Estate Vineyard & Winery (the link by the way has a cool explanation of the different soil types in the region).  This is a beautiful blend of grapes from Shea Vineyards and the winemaking talents of Lynn Penner-Ash.  This is a beautifully crafted wine, light, elegant, a well balanced.  And at $75 a bottle it had better be.  It is better than most of the wines at the event, but I don't believe it is two or three times better then the other wines there.

Next was the host winery Anne Amie, one of the more beautiful properties in the region.  The 2009 Prisme Pinot Noir Blanc has a smooth apricot and pear flavor along with a $45 price point.  The 2009 Pinot Noir Estate ($50) has a vibrant garnet color and a refined delicacy.

The final stop on this extended tour was at Atticus Cellars.  Another little gem that doesn't have a tasting room, a reasonable price point ($42) and a really tasty product in their 2009 Pinot Noir.  They only make about 480 cases annually so it might be hard to find, but if you do see it, it is certainly worth a try.

All in all, it was a wonderful day showcasing a very special strip of land tucked away in the northwest corner of Oregon.  There was a consistency shown by the big names of the area that is incredibly difficult to maintain, but the real winner this day was the smaller houses with less recognizable names and few public appearances.  It all comes back to my personal mantra: Try More Wine!  If you have a chance and you have never had some of these labels, try them.  If none of them are available, try something else.  You will never understand what you like unless you learn your own palate, and learning you palate takes vigilance, practice, and good ol' trial and error.  Wine tasting is not that daunting, and most of the names above will provide you a terrific launch point.

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