Oregon Update: National Pinot Noir Day

August 18, 2020
Sandy, Willamette Bureau Chief
 
Greetings from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, 30 miles from Downtown Portland, but a world apart. Today was hot and sunny, two characteristics that most people don’t associate with Oregon. But these summers, coupled with long wet winters and an amazing diversity of soil types leads to some of the best growing conditions for Pinot Noir anywhere in the world.

Today, coincidentally, is National Pinot Noir Day and I had the good fortune to celebrate it at two of my favorite Oregon vineyards. The afternoon started at Penner-Ash which sits on the edge of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Their beautiful wine production and tasting facility sits high on the hill with stunning views towards Mount Hood. With Covid, tastings are by appointment only but well worth the effort to plan your day around. Out host, Jared, poured an array of world class Pinots that highlighted the different characteristics of the soils and micro-climates found in this area. Our favorite today was the 2017 Estate Pinot. Rich and bold, with hints of berry and cocoa, this wine shows fantastic balance and beautiful color. This will pair nicely with many foods so we couldn’t leave without buying several bottles…including some large formats which will be fantastic with Thanksgiving turkey, provided we can actually see people face to face by then. You can visit them at 15771 NE Ribbon Ridge Road, Newberg, Oregon 97132.

Our next stop was at Ponzi Vineyards which is generally on the way back to our home. If you like contemporary architecture, just visiting the winery is worth your time. The facility has stunning views and two bocce courts.

Situated in the rolling hills of the Chehalem Mountains and surrounded by estate vineyards, the Ponzi family is one of the founders of the Oregon wine industry. We celebrated National Pinot Noir Day with their 2016 Reserve Pinot. This wine has great depth with hints of caramel and dark chocolate. An amazing value for premium Oregon Pinots, this is worth adding to your cellar. Since the Ponzi estate is celebrating their 50th Anniversary, there is a wide variety of wines to sample. We’ll be back and file additional reports for the P.U.  

PU Ranked on Feedspot’s Top 100 Wine Blogs

We found out this week that Peninsula Underground has been ranked on Feedspot’s Top 100 Wine Blogs, Websites, and Influencers for 2020:

https://blog.feedspot.com/wine_blogs/

To those of you have been with us since the beginning more than seven years ago, thank you for your support and for sticking with us. To those of you who have joined us along the way, we also appreciate your interest and encouragement. What started as a brainstorm and fun hobby has grown into an organization with a 12-person executive board and staff sommelier. We hope you continue to find interest in our recommendations and (sometimes) silliness.

If you purchase wines we have recommended or visit a winery we have suggested, please continue to tell them Peninsula Underground sent you.

Hope to see you out tasting soon!

Should I Buy a Wine Labeled “Reserve“?

At Peninsula Underground we are constantly looking for quality wines at a reasonable price point to recommend to our readers. One confusing aspect of wine shopping is the word “Reserve” on the label of many wines. What exactly does that mean and is it worth the extra cost that comes with the label? Long ago when wines were made by hand the winemaker would taste the wine as it aged and would at times taste a particularly good barrel of wine. This would be designated as “reserve” and would be aged longer and more carefully crafted. With the advent of technology that would do the work of picking, removing stems, sorting, and crushing the grapes, the variables that were present in hand made wines were removed. However, some wine makers continued to label some of their wines as reserves so they could charge a higher price for them. Because of these practices, many countries have instituted laws about what constitutes a “Reserve” wine. In the United States there are no such laws. Of course there are wineries that take extra time in aging and crafting some of their reserve wines, and it may make it worth the extra cost, but for the majority of wines produced in the US it is not worth spending the extra money because it could very well be the same wine that is being sold for less sans “Reserve” on the label.

Featured Wine of the Month: 2017 Corner 103 Zinfandel

If you’re not an experienced wine drinker there are three varietals you should be familiar with: Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon. With that in mind, our followers can begin their initiation into winedom with Lloyd Davis’s sublime 2017 Corner 103 Zin. Lloyd sources his grapes from around Sonoma County and his wines are PU’s baseline for drinkability. From the time you pull the cork Corner 103 is ready to drink. After opening his tasting room on the Sonoma Square in 2015 Lloyd has produced three Zin vintages: 2012, 2015, and 2017. We highlight the latest vintage as it has just been released yet is easy to enjoy immediately. As you are training your wine palette you may notice a little spice on the tongue. This wine earns the highest PU honor: 5 Corks. If you get a chance stop by Corner 103 for a tasting and tell him Peninsula Underground sent you.

Dry Creek Drinkability

The Wall Street Journal reports that 90% of the wine purchased in the U.S. is drunk within 24 hours. Our followers know that PU is a resource for those consumers. With that in mind we stopped at Dry Creek Vineyards, a perfectly situated way station on Lambert Bridge Road between Dry Creek Road and West Dry Creek Road. We’re glad we made the time. The staff at Dry Creek welcomed us to their barrel room where they were generous with their offerings. Yes, they sport some of the oldest vines in Dry Creek, which gives their wines complexity appreciated by advanced winos but PU was very impressed by their drinkability. If you are truly going to own your bottle for less than a day, here are the wines to buy:

2016 Estate Zinfandel – Spencer’s Hill Vineyard, $44

2016 Somers Ranch Zinfandel, $44

2017 Malbec, $40

The latter is our top pick.

Thanks to all those at Dry Creek who were so hospitable. We’ll be back!

Latest Blind Tasting Results. Who Wins Our Drinkability Award?

Our mission at PU is to be a blog that provides useful information about wine to those who are not experts and who might have anxiety about a restaurant wine list or the aisles at BevMo.

Last night we conducted a blind tasting to try to answer the classic question: Do you get what you pay for?

We asked our tasters to SIMPLY do a forced ranking, 1-5, of the Cabernet Sauvignon they liked the best.

Here were the 5 wines:

Concannon Vineyard Paso Robles, $13

Hook & Ladder Estate Chalk Hill, $32

Carol Shelton Rockpile Reserve Sonoma County, $50

deLorimier Reserve Preston Ranch Alexander Valley, $60

Beaulieu Vineyard Private Reserve Georges de Latour Napa Valley, $145

Think you would pick out the most expensive bottle in a blind tasting? Which would you choose?

Out of our 11 tasters, 5 had BV, at $145, as their least favorite and 3 had it next to last. Kudos to Ralph, our CFO, for choosing that as his top wine. One of our tasters had Concannon, at $19, as her top wine. Some chose Hook & Ladder and 2 chose deLorimier.

While all 5 wines were enjoyed by the tasting panel, when all the points were tabulated Concannon came out as the winner and earned Peninsula Underground’s top Drinkability mark. However, if you want to pay a bit more to impress your girlfriend, Hook & Ladder is not far behind.

Thank you to all the wineries who participated.

PU Award Winner Day 1: Chalk Up a Win

Chalk Hill takes home the coveted PU Award for best wines on Day 1. This Foley family estate winery has breathtaking views and a range of impressive wines. Among those of the 2016 vintage receiving high marks from our staff of tasters:

Estate Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

Chairman’s Club Malbec

Chairman’s Club Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill AVA

Clara’s Vineyard Red Wine, Sonoma County

Many of our tasters also enjoyed the 2014 Chalk Hill Semillon, Chalk Hill AVA (375ml), which is a beautiful dessert wine.

We left with a new wine club.

Queen of Zin

On Day 1 of Winter Wineland the PU executive board had a chance to pow-wow with Carol Shelton, Sonoma County’s “Queen of Zin.” Carol is routinely mentioned in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 lists and her wines are a great value. We picked up some 2017 Black Magic Late Harvest Zin and 2018 Rendezvous Rose.

Carol is a great sport.

Pine Ridge Progression

Our first stop on the 2020 Napa-Sonoma tour was Pine Ridge, located in the heart of Napa’s famed Stag’s Leap District. Our CFO, Ralph, set us up with a tasting in a private room in their intricate cave system, which took parts of three decades to complete. Private tastings entitle you to choose six of the eight wines listed but because Ralph’s name was spoken of so reverentially by the staff, we had all eight and then some! There was a thoughtful organization to the order of wines in the tasting. It started slow like a freight train (2016 Charmstone) but once it got moving it began to pick up the pace (2016 Petit Verdot and 2016 Oakville Cab) until it hit its full speed and power (2015 Fortis Cab). The latter, at $225 per bottle, is their flagship wine and is grown on the bedrock soil just outside their caves. Finally, with Ralph as our benefactor, we were poured the 2018 Chenin Blanc-Viognier, an aromatic blend that is properly restrained on the palette. The CBV, as it is called by the staff, has a faint sense of Co2 and is among the more interesting wines we’ve had. Those who shy away from Viognier because of its sweetness (our CEO, Dina) were pleasantly surprised. At $16 per bottle it is a hidden gem.

”Ralph, Ralph, Ralph.”

 

Oregon Pinots Show Great Range

”I don’t like Pinot.”

And no one is forcing you to. However, if any AVA has the chance to change your mind, and palette, then it may well be Willamette Valley in Oregon. In Peninsula Underground’s first foray to the region we discovered that Pinot Noir has great range.

At Archery Summit, which sits high in Dundee Hills, we found a typically light (flabby?) Pinot in the 2016 Renegade Ridge Vineyard. At $90 per bottle this would be the one that validates your aversion to the grape. The next $90 bottle changed everything. The 2016 Looney Vineyard poured darker than a Pinot (like a dark Zin) and the nose had me convinced it was a cab. Lots of minerality on the tongue. This is the Pinot for people who don’t like Pinot. 2015 was the hottest year in Dundee Hills and the Red Hills Vineyard was fruit forward with 14.5% alcohol. This was Dina’s favorite. The 2012 Arcus Vineyard, at $160 per bottle, was also quite good but certainly not $70 better than the 2016 Looney Vineyard.

The gem of the weekend, however, was Purple Hands. Their tasting room sits on Highway 99 very close to Argyle and The Four Graces. They also have a by-appointment-only tasting room, which was featured in the September 30, 2019 issue of Wine Spectator, in their vineyard just up the hill. We actually came to Purple Hands because three of their Pinots rated 92 or better in this latest issue. They didn’t disappoint. The 2017 Holstein Vineyard (94 points) showed light red but had bold flavor with black cherry, clove, wet stone, toasted caramel, pomegranate, and salted dark chocolate. This was $55 a bottle. Every bit as good, if not better, than Archery Summit but a much better value. They also  poured us the 2016, which had much less fruit, but I liked it better. As our new guest taster, Sandy the Legend, noted, it’s a much different wine than the 2017 so don’t be fooled into thinking the 2017 will taste like the 2016 in a year. Also notable:

2017 Latchkey at 92 points. This was our first glass and foretold a great experience.

2017 Freedom Hill, which is grown 45 minutes south of the other vineyards. The soil there is not volcanic but rather marine sedimentary. It earned 93 points.

2017 Le Nouveau Monde Prestige. This was the most expensive and perhaps best of all the pours. No points here because, at only 125 cases, Wine Spectator will not rate them, given their concern about rating bottles where the production is not enough to allow the readers to purchase it.

Linda and Sandy picked up the last magnum of Chardonnay, which was the best Chard we had all weekend.

Millennial Madison was a very good sport and we left with a new wine club.

Looking forward to our next trek to Oregon!