Carlton Wine Tour

Yesterday’s wine-tasting adventures returned me once again to the Willamette Valley, and in particular, Yamhill County, home of some of Oregon’s premier pinot noirs.

We started at Ken Wright Cellars, an exclusive, high-end winemaker in Carlton, OR. Ken Wright’s pinots are in such high demand that they sell them as futures only ($220/six), and only at the winery. You can find them in restaurants, but not in wine stores. They offered barrel tastings of  2006 pinots from three vineyards:  their own Savoya, another from McCrone Vineyards, and another from Paul Carter. They also offered a crisp, delicate 2005 Pinot Blanc – very enjoyable - and a less satisfying California-style Celilo Chardonnay, too buttery and oaky for my palate.

Of the three pinot noirs, Savoya was the most robust and fruity. It was very low in tannins and acidity and while it will be a good drinking wine in 2007-2008, I don’t think it would last much longer than that in the bottle. The McCrone had a little more tannin but still remained on the sweeter side. The Carter, at 24.7 Brix and 3.35 pH, achieved the best balance of the three. Complicating the tasting was that the McCrone and Carter had just begun malolactic fermentation, which masked some of the fruit flavor and aroma and gave it a spritziness on the tongue. I would not expect either of those issues to persist in the final product. All in all the Carter may be among the best pinots from the area in 2006.

Across the street, Ken Wright’s other winery, Tyrus Evans, poured a 2005 Claret and two 2005 Syrahs. The Claret, a blend of 55% Cabernet and 45% Merlot, fruity and had a hint of spiciness, but at $33 per bottle was unconvincing. The Umpqua Valley Syrah had a seriously funky off-aroma that reminded me of rotting fruit, to be charitable. However the Walla Walla Syrah at $30 was quite nice, well-structured with flavors of dark fruits and rather tannic, albeit a little over-extracted.

Just a long block away is Scott Paul, whose wines were anything but over-extracted. If anything they were a bit thin, particularly their 2005 Cuvee Martha Pirrie Pinot Noir. A delicate blackberry nose promises more than is delivered on the palate as this wine evaporates on the finish. The 2005 La Paulee Pinot Noir, being sold as futures, was fuller and rounder but still lacked structure and at $30 ($40 on its April 2007 release) is not price-competitive to comparable wines. The delicate, well-balanced 2005 Audrey Pinot Noir was the best of the three but at $40 ($55 in April) it was hard to justify. My guess is this resulted from the winery’s attempt to deal with the low sugar, high-acid yield of the 2005 crop, and they overcompensated. Scott Paul also tasted a 2004 Pommard from Domaine Leroyer-Girardin, earthier and more aromatic, but again the wine’s flavored disappeared from the taste buds without warning.

Our final stop of the day was at Solena Cellars. Solena featured ten wines, including four pinot noirs. Their 2004 Grand Cuvee, a blend of pinots from four vineyards, was surprisingly fruity and lush for such a value-priced wine ($25). The $35 2004 Shea was thin and acidic by comparison. The $45 Domaine Danielle Laurent was elegant and soft with complex fruit and solid oakiness but should have been priced at least $8-10 lower to compete with equivalent wines in the region. The 2004 Kudos Pinot Noir was unremarkable. My personal perennial Solena favorites, their Del Rio Syrah and Woolridge Creek Zinfandel, seemed thinner and less complex than usual, lacking some of the rich fruit and spiciness I recall from years past. It could also have been palate fatigue, as these were the last two wines I tried on the day. If not for the long drive and $10 tasting fee I might have to make a return trip to find out.