Interesting Oregon Pinot Noir notes from another board:
http://www.winefanatic.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1119

All wines are from the 2002 vintage unless otherwise stated.

Most wineries charged an average of $10 per tasting. Often there was a basic/reserve tasting differentiation, and I always went for the latter, as it normally included all the single vineyard pinots. The prices noted are all in US dollars.

I started in the area north of Highway 240 in the northern Willamette Valley. Chehelem was the first start, but not a particularly auspicious one, as they were only pouring one Pinot, the 2002 Reserve($50). I believe this is their top wine, and it was very well done, with excellent balance. Their Ian’s Chardonnay ($29) was also nice, but not outstanding. As a sweeping generalization, I really don’t get very excited by any of the whites made in Oregon: chardonnay and pinot gris are the two varietals of choice, but I’ve never tasted anything that bowled me over. Of course, now I tend to avoid tasting them, so it’s definitely a biased sample now.

Onward to Adelshiem , with the added bonus of Shea Vineyards also pouring there. Indeed, there were far more people buzzing around the Shea table. This was well deserved! I tried the Adelsheim Caitlan’s Reserve Chardonnay ($30), another very nice but not quite outstanding chardonnay, and the Elizabeth’s Reserve Pinot. Like the Chehelem pinot, this had also just received an outstanding write up from Parker, and I was also impressed by the richness, elegance and quality of the wine ($40). The 2001 Quarter Mile Lane Pinot ($45) was more closed and structured (most 2001s shared this trait; a more burgundian, long term vintage, I think). Their Deglace ($25/375ml) was a faux ice wine made from Pinot! Interesting experiment, definitely, but not worth a purchase, IMO.

The Shea Vineyards wines were outstanding; too bad about their prices! The Shea vineyard is one of the top vineyards in Oregon, and Mr Shea uses about 10% of the grapes from his vineyard. The Sheas were uniformly the most ‘earthy’ pinots of the weekend, and I personally love this characteristic. I love a little funk in my pinot, and the Shea rarely disappointed. Anyway, the estate Pinot was an excellent ‘basic’ Pinot, one of the best of the weekend ($30). The Block 25 was a step up, very complex and with a definite licorice note ($49); the 2003 Block 32 ($49) was a earthy delight, but the 2003 Block 23 was really singing, with an incredible texture and finish that coated your mouth ($49). Each of these wines were outstanding. The flagship 2003 homer was more closed, but you could tell there was some powerful fruit waiting to be released with time ($65). Again, this was one of the most impressive portfolios of wine I tasted all weekend.

The next stop was another incredible lineup, another one of the top lineups of the weekend. Bergstrom is just up from Adelsheim, and was pouring a reserve range of six single vineyard 2003 pinots. Once again, there wasn’t a clunker in the mix, and their earthy Shea was a particular favorite ($55). The Bergstrom was also excellent, but the piece de resistance was the Arcus: wow! I scribbled a ’95!!’ beside this wine, noting it was huge but incredibly balanced and polished. Definitely one of the top wines of the weekend. But at $85, it’s not cheap.

Next up was Brick House which was basically a waste of time; they only poured two pinots, and neither were thrilling. Willakenzie showed better form, and were pouring four 2001 select pinots. The Alliette, Pierre Leon, Kiana and Emery were all good, but nothing really screamed out at me. These were selling from $35-45, I think.

Next I went to Tori Mor , and they had several single vineyards on shoe. Their basic bottling was reasonable, but their Seven Springs and Temperance Hill were fairly impressive, though I wasn’t really tempted to buy anything. They can be a hit and miss winery, but they seemed to do well in the 2002 vintage. Then again, given the vintage, there was no reason not to make good wines.

Last stop of the day was Lange Estate , and I enjoyed their Reserve pinot ($29) slightly more than their Three Hills Cuvee ($39), but both were excellent pinots.

The next day I started at Patricia Green , who had 11 2003 single vineyard pinots on offer, the most of the weekend. And it wasn’t all quantity and no quality either. I’ve always enjoyed Patricia Green’s wines, and she seems to fly below the radar more than her wines deserve. I was sorry not to be tasting the 2002s, but the 2003s – a very ripe, hot vintage – were definitely raring to go. They – like 3-5 other wineries this weekend – had a Californian pinot available for tasting too; the 2002 Hirsch Vineyard was intriguing, definitely a different style then the Oregon pinots, nice but not outstanding in my books. The Quail Hill ($30) has a liqueur-like richness, and the Anden added a smoky note (more new wood) ($40). The Shea was sold out already – rats! – but the Balcombe ($36) and Goldschmidt ($45) were very good. Possibly the best of the bunch was the Notorius ($70), their flagship blend, very seamless, elegant yet big. Once again, I was impressed by her wines, and I was pleased to briefly speak with Ms Green to tell her so. Good on her for showing up!

The next co-owner, however, didn’t show up for the tasting! Beaux Freres famous co-owner, Robert Parker, wasn’t there (surprise, surprise). They were pouring 2003s. The Belle Soeurs was nice, but not $40 nice. The Beaux Freres ($59) bottling was a step up, but didn’t wow me like it does some vintages. The new Upper Terrace ($59) bottling, from a new vineyard, was impressive for a second vintage wine. They also poured the 2001 Beaux Freres ($63), and it was starting to open up. These wines tend to be for aging, and these wines all seemed to need a lot of time. The 2003 prices reflect discounted pricing. A tiny winery – Ana Vineyards was also pouring the 2002 and 2003 Ana Ressrve (their only bottling) ($36). They own the Ana vineyard, and sell much of their fruit to Beaux Freres; Beaux Freres make the Ana wines. They seemed very nice, more fruit forward, approachable wines