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Next stop was the Carelton Winemakers Studio , a co-op with 10 wineries pouring various offerings. Domaine Meriwether makes sparkling wines, and very nice ones too. The 1998 Captain Clarke ($20), Thomas Jefferson Prestige Cuvee ($26) and Fort Clatsop Blancs de Blancs ($24) were all well made wines. It's funny that there's not more emphasis on sparkling wines in OR. Bryce Vineyard is a tiny operation, and was pouring their 2003 wine($30): it was very tasty, and I was very tempted to buy (damn the 2 bottle import limit!!!!). Scott Paul and Penner-Ash were pouring nice pinots, but Andrew Rich’s wines were even more interesting. I belive all his non pinots were from Washington grapes. A 100% Roussanne ($19) was very interesting, and a pure Mouvedere ($35) from the famed ‘Clos de Cheval’ wineyard on Red Mountain was even better. I didn’t try a 100% Counoise, but I should have, as I’ve never had one before (it’s a fairly common though obscure Rhone varietal). A more ‘normal’ Syrah Reserve, again from WA grapes, was excellent. His Petit Verdot ($35), also from the Clos de Cheval, was also wonderful. Again, without the two bottle limit, and my focus on OR pinot, I would have loved to buy some of these wines. Very small production (e.g., 23 cases of the petit verdot), and very individualistic varietals and wines! It was my first visit to the Studio, but I'll definitely return.

Next, it was off to Archery Summit . They were pouring 4 of their 2002 wines. They were all outstanding wines, extremely classy, elegant yet powerful, complex wines. The Premier Cuvee ($37) is their entry level blend and was a great start. The Renegade Ridge was a step up in power, and had that earthy quality I like too. The Arcus ($75) was outstanding, one of the best wines I tasted all weekend; the Arcus vineyard is obviously high quality, as I've never met an Arcus I didn't like. The Red Hills ($75) wasn’t quite as nice, though it was still an outstanding wine. I also managed to get a taste of the 2001 Archery Summit Estate wine ($150); I can’t say it’s worth the price, but I can say it is an outstanding wine of rare depth and complexity for Oregon. Again, this was definitely one of the best wines and best range of wines I had this weekend. The prices aren’t shy here, but their wines really did stand out from the crowd, and that’s all you can ask for.

The final day I headed to my favorite part of the Willamette Valley, the southern area. It’s the most scenic and rural area, and there are no crowds! While the quality of the wineries doesn’t always reach the central area visited yesterday, there are a couple of wineries that make excellent pinots.

The first stop, Eola Hills , isn’t really one of them. Anyone who makes Xmas wines called ‘Blitzen’s Blanc’ is a larger, more mass market winery. Fair enough! But they do make reasonable chardonnays and pinots. Their Mystery Block Chardonnay is usually nice, and the 2002 version definitely followed that pattern. The Wolf Hill pinots are the best wines here, and they were all good, but not outstanding: the 1999, 2002 and 2001 were all poured. It was interesting to taste a barrel sample from the 2004 vintage too: there was still lots of residual sugar in the wine, but it was surprisingly approachable already.

The next stop is always a refreshing visit. Van Duzer fly fairly low on the radar too, but I’ve always enjoyed their wines. There is no tasting fee, as the owners “just want the people to taste the wines”. Tasting is certainly believing here, and the prices are very reasonable. They were pouring a range of wines from the 1998 to the 2002 vintage. A 1998 Estate ($29) was drinking well now, but wasn’t particularly complex. The 2000 Flagpole and homestead (on sale for $26 from $33) were better, powerful, interesting wines. The 2002 Estate ($22) was one of the best ‘basic’ pinots I tried all weekend. The Flagpole and homestead Block wines ($32) were even more impressive, powerful but not over the top wines. These were all outstanding 2002s at excellent prices. They provide smoked salmon that is to die for too!

Bethel Heights is another high quality vineyard and producer. They were pouring both 2001 and 2002 single vineyard wines. The 2002 Freedom Hill ($30) was wonderful, an extremely hedonistic wine, and I had to grab one. The West Block ($39) was also excellent; I enjoyed the Southeast Block equally. The Casteel Reserve, a blend of several of the above vineyards ($40) was even better. A powerful yet harmonious wine, even at this age. All great wines here.

Cristom is another quality producer, and were pouring their single vineyard wines from 2001 and 2002. There was little to choose between the 2002 Marjorie, Louise, Jessie and Eileen (all $45) wines: each were well made, rich wines that seemed to have excellent aging potential. Another good range of wines here.

Witness Tree was the penultimate stop. The winemaker is much in the news, as he has been recently diagnosed with ALS, and many OR wineries got together and donated wine for a 'St Bart’s Blend' wine: all the proceeds went to pay for his health care costs. He was there meeting and greeting people, which was unexpected and very classy indeed. The 2001 Vintage Select ($32) was a very good wine; the 2002 Claim #51 and Benchmark pinots ($40) were also well made, though they didn’t really rock my particular boat.

The Stangeland winery was the final stop. Once again, I wasn’t all that impressed with the wines. The top wines ($45-60) are good, but I always get the impression that so much more could be gotten from these grapes. The wines just don’t have the immediate gratification of many of the other wineries. Perhaps they are made more for the long haul, but I’m not certain if that is true. On a positive note, they always offer a killer vat of garlic meatballs that are to die for! Hmm, meatballs…I’m not much of a carnivore, but those things are addictive!

So that’s all folks! The 2002 vintage is a wonderful mix of incredibly rich, very approachable wines that I really enjoyed. Hedonistic is a Parkeresque term that really applies to these wines. Burghounds might recoil at this style, and may prefer the more structured 2001s.

Of course, burghounds would probably not even try many Oregon pinots! To me, they occupy a useful ground between the angular but incredibly complex burgundian style and the over the top Californian versions. The cool evenings save the Oregon pinots from being too rich and ripe, even in hot years like 2002 and 2003. But they definitely fall more on the CA side of the continuum, so be warned! T o my mind, New Zealand Pinots are slightly further along the Old World side:

But Oregon definitely deserves the accolades for its pinots. The Memorial and Thanksgiving weekend (like in Washington) are busy, bustling events, but fun.