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A to Z Wineworks Night & Day Oregon Red 2005

There is a Samuel Johnson quote on the back label that states, "The fact of twilight does not mean you cannot tell day from night." The choice of this obscure yet provocative and timely bite of wisdom from 300+ years ago would have to make you curious about what's in the bottle. It's a fair sight better than the reading on the back label of most bottles, or anything I could write. As they said in the 70's, "heavy, man". One would have to expect a deep wine experience to justify that line.

You won't be disappointed. There isn't a lot of buzz about wines from the Rogue Valley and surrounding area in southern Oregon. This part of the country is really out there. You can still get lost here, or perhaps you might "find yourself". A to Z Wineworks might have called this wine "Lost & Found", but "Night & Day" works fine. The points are, this is a well made Bordeaux-style blend and it's one that makes you think, maybe too much. This isn't a wine for mindless consumption.

A to Z Night & Day 2005 is 33% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc, plus 6% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 6% Sangiovese, 2% Nebbiolo and 2% Tempranillo. The minor components stray from the Bordeaux theme, but tireless blending is a mark of the A to Z Wineworks. Often this skill is put to use assembling lots of Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, in search of synergy. Fortunately, they have not stopped with these better known Oregon grapes.

You might go on and on trying to describe this one, just as you might keep thinking about that Dr. Johnson quote on the back label. I'll say the aromas run the gamut of berries, from black to red, and there's tobacco and oregano in there with the fruit. The black is the base note, and the red is the melody. As you keep sniffing it, you pick up subtle wood spice, the atmosphere. On the tongue the intensity increases, there is pepper, and dusty cocoa tannins carry the mixed berry liqueur flavors through a rocky finish.

What did Dr. Johnson mean? I'm not sure, so how about another easier to get quote of his. "Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others."

Price: $15 (Nashville). Closure: Screw cap. Alcohol content: 13.9%.

Wallace Brook Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2005

Oregon Pinot Noir from top producers, the sort that hits all my flavor and texture "hot buttons", is usually a bit out of my everyday price range. It may be worth the price paid, but it usually takes on "special occasion only" status.

One way to keep to a wine budget is to find "second labels" from top producers. Wineries more often sell the extra wine that doesn't match their stylistic or business requirements, but sometimes they bottle it under a second label.

Like in Burgundy, in Oregon lots of "unmatched" Pinot Noir finds its way into "negociant" labels. Perhaps it is just the temperamental nature of the grape. Fortunately Adelsheim Vineyards offers up some of their extra wine under the Wallace Brook Cellars label. Wallace Brook Pinot Noir is sourced from vineyards in the northern Willamette Valley and aged in French oak barrels (up to 1/4 new).

Unfortunately the quantity is limited and varies from year to year, with less than 1,400 cases produced of the 2004 vintage. Wallace Brook shows up on a lot of restaurant wine lists.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Bright ruby, translucent. Aromas: Intense cherry, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate and hints of earth. Light bodied and tart with fine tannins, the juicy red fruit flavors combine with citrus and light buttery oak spice and mineral notes, leading to a vibrant dry finish.

Excellent value ($16).  Closure: Neocork.  Alcohol content: 13%.

Food pairing: By itself, or if it doesn't disappear first, with pan-seared salmon.

Eugene Wine Cellars b2 Oregon Pinot Noir 2004

Starting with the 2004 vintage, b2 (b-squared) is a new label of Eugene Wine Cellars and the acronym refers to founder and Vineyard Manager Bruce Biehl, his brother Winemaker Brad Biehl and a host of other "2-b" word sequences. The b-squared idea surfaced because Bruce had been signing his name b-superscript-2 for years, and the winery needed a label with more National appeal than the previous label which featured an image of local landmark Spencer's Butte.

The wine behind the label is a textbook example of a berry-and-earth Oregon Pinot Noir. The Biehls have lots to work with taking into account Bruce's more than 20 years experience with his own vineyard management company and Brad's winemaking background which notably includes a UC-Davis degree and 20+ years experience including helping to build Oregon's acclaimed King Estate in the 1990s. Together the Biehls have both access to great local grapes and the ability to turn them into great wine.

Since 2000, the 2 brothers have been building Eugene Wine Cellars - not along the oh-so-popular wine route which runs from Corvalis to Newberg - but in downtown Eugene Oregon. Their adaptive reuse of the former "Food For Lane County" building brings local customers in for wine, food and music, while it serves as a production facility and tasting room for their Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and other wines. People from all over the world visit the winery creating a nice mix of local and global patrons.

Grapes for b2 Oregon Pinot Noir 2004 were sourced from 6 vineyards in four counties within the Willamette Valley: Pendarvine, Dion, Dylan's Run, Dunning, Elhanan and Johnson/Enyeart. Lots were fermented and aged separately. According to Associate Winemaker Greg Sothras, the lots were aged an average of 16 months in a mixture of 1/4 new oak and 3/4 "neutral" barrels of various ages (most from King Estate, some from Benton Lane and other sources) and thereafter blended and bottled. Only 1555 cases were produced.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Bright red garnet, translucent. Aromas: Bright red berry fruits, freshly tilled earth, clove/spice and slightly smoky vanilla. Medium-bodied, nicely tart, warm and dry on the tongue, the flavors range from red fruit preserves to pepper and baking spice and the finish is generous and dusty dry.

Excellent value ($18). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13%

Food pairing: Pan-seared salmon.

Eugene Wine Cellars also serves as a custom crush facility and has been making Pinot Noir for Iris Hill, whose 2005 Pinot Noir Winewaves recently reviewed.

Eugene Wine Cellars is expanding with the purchase of more stainless steel tanks and is co-producing a semi-sweet Riesling with veteran Doyle Hinman, former founder of Hinman Vineyards which is now Silvan Ridge. The label, "H5", will start with about 1,700 cases this spring and grow to 7,000 over the next couple of years, sourcing nicely acidic fruit from Washington State. Eugene Wine Cellars is also putting in a bottling line and intends to stay with corks for Pinot Noir.

Iris Hill Oregon Pinot Noir 2005

Hug a tree, get on a bike, take time for the arts, and have a glass of alternative Pinot Noir. With the attention focused on Oregon Pinot Noir labels an hour north, some very good things are happening under the radar around the Emerald City, Oregon's hip college town located at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers.

Eugene is halfway between the state borders north and south and there is a growing winegrowing industry visible alongside the decline of logging. Home to the University of Oregon and the birthplace of Nike, word has it a lot of "aging hippies" find refuge here.

Iris Hill Winery was founded by Pamela Frye and Richard Boyles when they returned to their stomping grounds after a world business tour of duty to start a family, plant a wine estate and indulge their dream of making wine. The first vintage for their Iris Hill label was 2001.

Their Chalice Vineyard located 18 miles southwest of Eugene is the source for all their wines at present, with only 44 acres of vines producing out of 870. The majority of the property is in forest, Christmas tree plots and grazed. The vines are planted facing South in terra cotta clay loam soil.

Frye and Boyles are organic grape growers and they practice sustainable viticulture. Last year they began using biodiesel blended fuel for their farm equipment. Like many Oregon growers, they participate in the LIVE (low input viticulture and enology) program and they are obtaining Salmon-Safe certification.

Iris Hill Pinot Noir 2005 is the product of low-yielding estate vines, aged an average of 9 months in French oak barrels, 1/5 new. The wine is custom crushed in Eugene. Production is in the neighborhood of 3000 cases annually.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep cherry red with bright edges, almost transparent. Aromas: Bright cherry, strawberry, toffee, and background notes of minerally earth, cold blossoms and black olives. Light-to-medium bodied and sweet-tart on the tongue, the bright red cherry-berry, light spice, citrus and sage flavors are lively in the soft smooth finish. The empty glass smells great.

Excellent value ($17).  Closure: Real cork.  Alcohol content: 12.5%.

Food pairing: Roast chicken with herbs.

Van Duzer Willamette Valley Estate Pinot Noir 2004

The sunset in late January near Dallas Oregon is bold, beautiful and richly textured as it seems to last forever going down over the Coast Ranges. The vineyards in this "Van Duzer Corridor" are spread out far and wide. When the Pinot Noir vines awaken, they benefit from more than their fair share of the sun and the gentle cool west wind, and wines which capture the beauty of this sunset are made from the fruit they bear.

Zephyra is the name of the beautiful lady who graces the label and she represents the west wind of Greek mythology, Zephyr.

The Van Duzer family winery, is owned by Carl and Marilynn Thoma, and practices sustainable farming on their 77-acre estate 3 miles off Highway 99W. This is the Thoma's long-term vision and they continue to invest in it with the best people, techniques and equipment available. A new winery building was opened to the public last year, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Winemaker Jim Kakacek reports Estate Pinot Noir 2004 is 100% varietal, hand harvested, cold-fermented, and aged 10 months in French oak barrels, approximately 1/3 new, 1/3 one-year-old and 1/3 neutral. Kakacek has overseen winemaking at Van Duzer for the past 12 years.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep cranberry garnet with a purple haze, semi-opaque. Aromas: Luscious pungent pomegranate, cassis and black cherry, fine sweet spice and faint hints of earth. Gorgeous rich smooth texture is the real story here, possessing a nearly full body for a Pinot and enough backbone to carry it well. Rich dark red fruit and spice flavors reverberate alongside supporting notes of oak in the double encore of a finish.

Excellent value ($26). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Food pairing: Salmon, pan-seared and then poached atop red onion in white wine and butter.

Walnut City Wineworks Pinot Noir 2005

McMinnville, once called "Walnut City" is in the center of Oregon's Willamette Valley, where Pinot Noir thrives.  Walnut City Wineworks occupies the former Willamette Valley Walnut Co. building there.  Wineworks was created in 1999 by John Davidson, John Gilpin and Zac Spence.

Tasting Notes: Color: Deep cranberry ruby translucent.  Aromas: Black cherry, cinnamon/spice, anise, and bourbon.  Smooth but not a lightweight and definitely on the jammy side, the deep red fruit and cola spice flavors carry well through the dry finish.

Excellent value ($19).  Closure: Real cork.  Alcohol content: 14.2%.

Willamette Valley Whole Cluster Pinot Noir 2005

They call it "a liquid fruit salad in a glass". And, they say you could win a "Sideways" trip to Oregon. In 100 words, tell Willamette Valley Vineyards why you love Oregon Pinot Noir. Win a trip for two to the Oregon Wine Country.

The composition of Willamette Valley Whole Cluster Pinot Noir 2005 is 91% Pinot Noir, 100% from Willamette Valley. Vinification was in stainless steel. 12,000 cases were produced. Forrest Klaffke is Winemaker. Tasting Notes. Color: Deep ruby transparent. Aromas: Raspberry, strawberry, banana, coffee, spices and earth. The mouthfeel is light, dry, tart, and the red berry and spiced tea flavors resolve into a nicely structured finish. Closure: Real cork.  (1 of 3 bottles purchased had cork taint). Very nice value ($16).

Belle Vallée Willamette Whole Cluster Pinot Noir 2005

The first USA 2005 Pinot Noir spotted is apparently a hot item at Total Wine in Raleigh. This one says on the back label it was made "in the Beaujolais style", and the alcohol content is a light 12.5%.

Belle Vallée* Whole Cluster Pinot Noir is 100% varietal. Joe Wright**, Winemaker, employs carbonic maceration fermentation in stainless steel tanks. No wood was used, and the final blend was left unfiltered. Tasting Notes. Color: Deep cranberry, semi-opaque. Aromas: Black cherry, strawberry, orange, spice and earth. This is a light-middleweight with light peppery tannins. Black cherry, pomegranate and spiced tea flavors resolve quickly in the dry finish. Closure: Screw cap. Very nice value ($14, Total Wine). Food pairing: Fried chicken salad.

*Belle Vallée is a small 14,000 case winery located in Corvallis, Oregon which buys its fruit from contract growers.

**Joe Wright was previously a winemaker with Willamette Valley Vineyards.

Van Duzer Vintner's Cuvée Oregon Pinot Noir 2003

The trip to Byron's in Oklahoma City turned up this Arts & Crafts designed label you probably haven't seen. The wine turned out to be a well-built agrarian Pinot Noir for the money, from Oregon's Willamette Valley.

Van Duzer Vintner's Cuvée Pinot Noir 2003 was produced for restaurants, but a small amount of it was released for retail.

The 100% Pinot Noir includes estate and non-estate fruit from Willamette Valley. Vinification included limited exposure to "non-barrel" oak. Van Duzer's head Winemaker is Jim Kakacek. Tasting Notes. Color: Deep ruby transparent. Appealing cherry, pie spice and hints of forest earth introduce a medium bodied Pinot Noir with sturdy dusty tannins. The tart fruit flavors are restrained in the rustic, agrarian finish. Closure: Plastic artificial "cork". Excellent value ($14.50, Byron's.) Food pairing: Anything grilled.

*Carl and Marilynn Thoma own Van Duzer Vineyards. Carl built a portfolio of wine labels in the 1990's, while bringing Van Duzer along.

Duck Pond Oregon Pinot Noir 2004

Versatile, food-friendly and affordable, the first bottle of Duck Pond* Pinot Noir paired well with Wood-fired, Herb-Roasted Chicken, and the second bottle went well with Pan-Seared Salmon and Blackberry Glaze.

Duck Pond Oregon Pinot Noir 2004 is 100% Pinot Noir from South Salem Hills, where the soil is described as "Jory": a weak volcanic ash and rock mixture which stresses the vines. Vinification appears to have included a short period of oak aging prior to May release. Greg Fries is Winemaker. Tasting Notes:  Color: Bright cherry cola, transparent. Aromas: Exotic, lightly floral, strawberry and raspberry fruit, plus a sweet spice chord. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, tart, and nicely structured with back-end tannins. Tart bright berry flavors mello out in the relaxing finish.

Closure: Real cork. Very nice value ($14). Cases produced: 16,000.

*Duck Pond Cellars is family owned and operated, by the Fries and Jenkins. The family farms in Washington and Oregon.