I just got back from mind boggling tasting of The Beaux Freres and Belles Soeurs wine, from the winery part owned by Robert Parker. TN's in the morning. I completely changed my perception of Pinot Noir and Burgundy...

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"Liberal are not nearly as hypocritical as conservatives because they don't know the difference between right and wrong."

I thought I didn't like it, so what's the best way to find it for sure?
Going to The Beaux Freres Wine Tasting!
"Dr Bob", one of the owners, was present and he gave detailed history of the vineyards, wine making process, how the owners and their wives related to each other, the story behind the wines, when they made their first wine, lots of interesting information which isn't on their web site.

I didn't like Pinot Noir, never had a good bottle of it and on the way to the tasting I was playing in my head with the title of this thread and "Much ado about nothing" was on the top of the list....boy, was I wrong????

Flight One

1990 Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir
Beaux Freres haven't produced this wine, despite what the label on the bottle suggests....they haven't had a winery back in 1990 and were just growing grapes (some quite famous winemakers in Oregon used it for their reserve wine and scored high marks at that time.
Smoky, balanced, fully ready, and that very first one in the flight took me by complete surprise...I liked it! I think we finished the last bottle in existence, according to Dr. Bob, he doesn't have it anymore even in his cellar. True collector's item, I haven't left last, so I don't know who took it home as a trophey. My natural modesty prevented me from grabbing it...



1992 Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir
That was the first wine produced by the winery, unfiltered, elegant and refined, another pleasure on the pallate. Complex, hints of smoke, leather and put another nail into my claim of "I don't like Pinot"
91 points by WS (Robert Parker, for obvious reasons, doesn't rate his own wine...at least in public)

1993 Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir
Excelent and elegant nose, lots of cherry, hints of anise, very complex.
90 points by WS

1994 Yamhill County, Pinot Noir
My favorite of the flight. I put 3 exclamation marks on TN's, this one took the cake! Was producing mouth orgasms with beef carpaccio.

1994 Williams Seylem Russian River, Pinot Noir
Not anywhere close to the previous one, despite the same year and the same winemaker (Mike Etzel).

1995 Yamhill County, Pinot Noir
Still young with some rough edges....another few years in the bottle will only improve it. Unmistakenly Beaux Freres, just not ready yet.

Flight Two

1996 Yamhill County, Pinot Noir
Reminded me 1995 a lot, but more polished, in the good sense of the word, no rough edges.

1996 Belles Soeurs Yamhill County, Pinot Noir
Still a bit alcoholic. Wouldn't be one of my favorite, dryer than my taste.
87 points by Tanzer.

1998 Yamhill County, Pinot Noir
hints of smoke, concentrated, good tanins. Will only get better in 5 years.
My favorite of the flight. 88 points by Tanzer.

1999 Yamhill County, Pinot Noir
Nice bright red color, shows some oak and DEFINATELLY needs more time.

1999 Kistler Vineards, Pinot Noir
Quite remarcable fruity nose, I liked it at first but was more subdued on the revisit. Too much fruit, and side by side with others, the fruit is sticking out.
93-95 points by Parker. Parker, who doesn't rate Burgundy, admits that Pinot Noire is not one of his favorite wines, which makes him owning the Pinot Noir vinery even more interesting! He does like fruity showing, but I personally preffer his Pinot Noir.

2000 Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir
92 points by WS, my notes : "so-so" with a big arrow pointing down.

Flight Three

2001 Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir
Alcoholic, young tanins, light in color, and not as bold as other Beaux Freres we tried earlier. 92 points by WS

2002 Belles Soeurs Ana Vineard, Pinot Noir
I'd like to revisit this one in a couple years., as aging only does them good.
I haven't noticed anything spectacular about this one to note.
88 points by WS

2002 Upper Terrace, Pinot Noir
That was a downer. 91 points by WS

2002 Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir
My favorite of the flight. Light tanins on the finish, this wine will be ready sooner than later. Price tag of $150 is a bit high, though. I'd took 1/2 case if the price was more "approachable".

2002 G. Roumier Morey-Saint-Denis Busiere, Pinot Noir
My first real Burgundy. No forward fruit, everything is in balance, I can only imagine how this wine would taste 5-10 years from now. No way to mistake French and American Pinot Noirs, no way! I don't know how this one would go with food, the veal chop was gone by than.. 88-89 points by WA

I've made an apointment with Andrew, the owner of
http://winewatch.com to spend some quality time together at his shop, so he could pop my cherry on Pinot Noirs and Burgundy,
I have discovered another "terra nova"! I am as excited as a kid in the candy store every time the new discovery is made.

__________________
"Liberal are not nearly as hypocritical as conservatives because they don't know the difference between right and wrong."

Thanks, Serge! I've added all to my running 'want to try' list (except for the '90, of course).

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Ohio Wineaux

Faye, wine tasting events expanded my horizons in geometrical progression. I have only one regret...I wish I got into wine earlier, I'd have a cellar full of mature wines by now
;(

Winewatch will have a great Spanish wine tastings in may, but...we'll be doing our own tastings in Spain at that very moment


I have a feeling that the local tasting will have better examples of Spain than we'll find on our own. I never been to Spain before, but the love for the Spanish wines has changed it this year.

__________________
"Liberal are not nearly as hypocritical as conservatives because they don't know the difference between right and wrong."

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

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"Liberal are not nearly as hypocritical as conservatives because they don't know the difference between right and wrong."

continued:
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.

__________________
"Liberal are not nearly as hypocritical as conservatives because they don't know the difference between right and wrong."