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Stoller Family Estate Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2013

Stoller Family Estate Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2013

Stoller’s 2013 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir opens with strawberry creme and raspberry tart, the nose is delicate, slightly faint and slightly sweet. On the palate—the only ripple amidst inner creaminess is a moderate level of acidity—just red berries, red apple skins, and a touch of minerality on the finish. I wanted to see a bit […]

Knudsen Vineyards Dundee Hills Chardonnay 2014

Knudsen Vineyards Dundee Hills Chardonnay 2014

From the Knudsen family estate vineyard, established in 1971, is this elegant 2014 Dundee Hills Chardonnay. What makes this bottling special is that the Knudsen’s have long been growers for Argyle. The 2014 vintage is the first wine they’ve vinified under their own label in over 25 years and it’s a stunning effort. A testament […]

Stoller Family Estate Dundee Hills Pinot Noir Rosé 2015

Stoller Family Estate Dundee Hills Pinot Noir Rosé 2015

Stoller Family Estate’s Dundee Hills Pinot Noir Rosé is fresh and vibrant, and proved to be a fine match with yesterday’s fare of roasted chicken with Herbs de Provence and golden beet salad. Aromas of underripe strawberry, blood orange and, interestingly, a dusty top note. The palate echoes the nose, layer in pink grapefruit pith […]

Trisaetum Wichmann Dundee Estate Pinot Noir 2013

Trisaetum Wichmann Dundee Estate Pinot Noir 2013

Trisaetum’s 2013 Whichmann Dundee Estate Pinot Noir is sourced from the winery’s smallest estate vineyard, at just under nine acres. It’s also at high elevation and has classic Dundee Hills volcanic Jory soils. It’s a bit masculine in expression, with robust notes of espresso and mocha followed by forest floor, underbrush and spry red berries. […]

Winderlea Dundee Hills Cuvée Pinot Noir 2008

Winderlea Dundee Hills Cuvée Pinot Noir 2008

Winderlea’s 2008 Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Cuvée was blended specifically for ¡Salud!, a non-profit that provides mobile health care to migrant workers in the Willamette Valley. Aside from this, the wine itself has developed beautifully, with classic Oregon Pinot notes of red forest berries, underbrush and dried rose petals. The palate is offers savoriness punctuated by […]

Bergström Sigrid Chardonnay 2010

Bergström Sigrid Chardonnay 2010

One of the more elegant Oregon Chardonnay’s I’ve tasted. Seamlessly integrated, the nose is subtle and delicately perfumed with aromas of d’Anjou pear, apples, brioche and marzipan. The attack is silky, richly textured and balanced. It’s finely tuned and elegant, like a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C. It has that sort of opulence and knee-weakening, stylish line. […]

Knudsen Erath Vintage Select Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 1983

Knudsen Erath Vintage Select Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 1983

Tasted together, the 1983, I’m told was the better vintage. After 32 years, that sentiment still holds true. The aromatics have developed into a demure and perfumey elixir of dried rose petals, forest floor, spearmint, sassafras, and allspice. Its brickish in the glass, the color of worn leather, and yields intriguing, notes of wild game, […]

Knudsen Erath Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 1985

Knudsen Erath Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 1985

Like drinking a piece of history, I felt privileged to taste the 1985 and 1983 vintages of Knudsen Erath Pinot Noir with Page Knudsen Cowles and Colin Knudsen, children of Cal Knudsen. Graceful, arching secondary and tertiary notes of sous bois, dried rose petal, wild mushrooms, brown sugar and dried mint. Brickish in the glass, like […]

Durant Vineyards ‘La Paloma’ Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2012

Durant Vineyards 'La Paloma' Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2012

If you have the chance to visit Durant Vineyards at Red Ridge Farms in Willamette Valley, do! The tasting room boasts impeccable grounds, guest houses and Oregon’s first olive grove. The 2012 La Paloma Vineyard Pinot Noir offers classic red berry notes: cherries and strawberries and a soft, accessible texture. There is a green, slightly […]

Bergström Nysa Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006

Bergström Nysa Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006

As with all Bergström wines, the 2006 Nysa Vineyard Pinot Noir shows class and pedigree. Nysa Vineyard is a high elevation site in Oregon’s Dundee hills— elevation combined with volcanic soils interlaced with clay have graced this Pinot Noir with stunning freshness and acidic verve. Violet-tinged at the rim, with expressive springlike aromas of freshly […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com