Hey Turkey! Follow Me To The Willamette Valley! - Part 1

Traveling out to last week's Wine Bloggers Convention, I stopped in Portland for a day of tasting Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. My friends Chad and Erin were kind enough to take in a weary traveler from the East Coast. From Georgia, they've taken well to being cool and eccentric Portlanders. He's a college professor, and she designs umbrellas. They also raise chickens and have a pet turkey ("Turkey") in the backyard.


Needless to say, Erin and I were eating local eggs for breakfast, before heading south into the Dundee Hills and Yamhill-Carlton districts of the valley. This was my first time in Willamette. The plan was to visit some of the valley's famous names before heading out to the conference in Washington later that evening. After struggling to get out of Portland traffic, we made it to our first stop at Archery Summit ready for action.

• The Willamette Valley lies at roughly the same latitude as Burgundy.
• The climate is mild and moist, with cool & damp winters and dry & warm summers.
• Mineral-rich sediment soils were left after the Missoula Floods that flooded the valley between 13,000 and 15,000 years ago.

Archery Summit Winery

Located in the Dundee Hills, Archery Summit produces wine from vineyards throughout the AVA, as well as in the adjacent Ribbon Ridge AVA. Their program is 100% estate, and they cater their farming to suit each individual vineyard. Sustainable practices such as natural pest-control and hand cultivating are often used. The winery is 100% gravity flow, allowing minimal handling of the wines during production. They have an aggressive new French oak aging regimen on their Pinot Noir (consistently getting more than 50% new oak during cooperage). The style of the wines is bold and rich, with pronounced oak influence and comparatively high alcohol levels (mid 14% range). Although the tasting room is small and quaint, visitors can roam the aging caves.

The Wines-

~2007 Premier Cuvée Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley- A blend from all their estate vineyards, combining Dijon, Pommard, & Wädenswil clones. Fermented with 12% whole clusters using native yeast fermentation. Aging was 10 months in 54% new French oak barrels. The wine was front-loaded with black cherry, plum, and cola notes with a bit of mossy earth. Silky and solid with smoke and further earthy notes to close---good to very good---$48.

~2007 Renegade Ridge Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills- Biodynamically farmed vineyard using Dijon clones. Native yeast fermentation. 10 months aging in 65% new French oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Sweet & spicy red cherry, cranberry, and plum notes are enhanced with maple syrup and earthy depth. Lush and silky with dusty tannins---very good---$85.

~2007 Looney Vineyard Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge- Dijon, Martini, Wädenswil, and Pommard clones. Native yeast fermentation. 10 months aging in 60% new French oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. I really liked this one- leads with mineral, floral, and mushroom notes that are accented with cherry. Refined on the palate with savory notes- truffles, dried herbs, then highlighted with red fruit. Light peppery tannins and a lengthy spice finish. Should age well as the fruit enhances with time---excellent---$85.

~2007 Arcus Estate Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills - Dijon and Pommard clones. Fermented with native yeasts using 3% whole clusters. Aged in 62% new French oak for 11 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Lighter in color. Aromatic and savory- truffles highlighted with floral and cherry & plum fruit notes. Silky and light with nice earthy mineral accents. Politely firm with a nice finish---very good to excellent---$85.



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Penner-Ash Wine Cellars

The second stop brought us to the eastern edge of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, just west of the tiny Ribbon Ridge AVA. There, Lyn Penner-Ash makes killer Pinot Noir from single vineyards throughout the Willamette Valley. The modern-rustic eco-friendly winery has a tasting room that overlooks the gravity-flow cellars, also with sweeping views of across the valley. Lush landscapes and vineyards surround the winery. Warm, friendly, and elegant surroundings were a nice precursor to the wines.

The Wines-

~2008 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir- Aged 10 months in 35% new French oak. Cherry, floral, and mineral notes releasing further savory and dark berry flavors. Silky with lots of earth and fruit to finish----very good---$45.

~2007 Palmer Creek Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills- Dijon & Pommard clones. Aged 10 months in 29% new French oak. Lighter, with expressive mineral, floral, and spicy cherry aromas. Beautiful spice, herb, and honey aromas framed vibrant yet subtle fruit. Nice acid-tannin balance. Fine structure and finish. Should age well.---excellent---$55.

~2007 Carabella Vineyard Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains- Dijon & Wädenswil clones. Aged 10 months in 36% new French oak. Cherry cola, toffee, floral, and mineral notes. Firm with nice acid, closing with berries, mineral, and spice---excellent---$55.

~2007 Dussin Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton- Their estate vineyards, planted to Dijon clones. Aged 10 months in 40% new French oak. Deeper and richer. More blue fruit and black cherry with only very subtle hints of mineral and earthy elements. Silky tannins---very good---$60.



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Next up was a tour at Domaine Drouhin, and then a tasting at Eyrie. To be continued...

In the meantime, check out more photos from the day in Willamette Valley here.