Long Shadow - Distinguished Wineries & Vineyards

I've said it before but one of the perks of owning your own wine business is the chance to taste wines you've seen on a wine list but never had a chance to taste.  Today was the Galaxy Wines Portfolio Pre-Holiday tasting at Montgomery Park.  First, one needs to understand the number of distributors in Portland.  Distributors are the group of companies that buy wine from the producer or importer and then wholesale "sell" them to people like me, Safeway, your local wine store, etc.  Each Distributor offers portfolio tastings and wine classes throughout the year.  Although I've featured and sold wine from Galaxy, I had never attended their portfolio tastings.

Phew!  You walk into Montgomery Park and there are 26 tables featuring a minimum of 8-10 wines per table.  You do the math!  That comes out to around 275 bottles of wine for you to sample!!  Impossible!  So, you take a stroll around the grounds and narrow down the ones you want to try - some old favorites like Abacela, Dom. Serene, Barnard Griffin, and L'Ecole No. 41.  Then you branch out and try news wineries like Ransom, Matello, Tamarach and Syncline Wine Cellars.  Oh, and did I tell you about Long Shadows??

Long Shadows is a constellation of individual wineries in the heart of the Columbia Valley:  Each winery is individually owned and managed as a separatge entity yet are part of a larger, collaborative effort.  I am featuring every one of these wines in my next newsletter because I did not, absolutely did NOT, sample a wine I didn't like. 

Armin Diel, one of Germany's most acclaimed Riesling producers creates Poet's Leap, an Alsatian-style Riesling.  And it only goes up from there.  Yes, these wines are a little spendy (like $50/bottle) but The Bordeaux-style "Pirouette", the New World blend "Chester Kidder", the Super Tuscan-Style blend "Saggi" from one of the oldest and most presitigious wine families from Italy, the "Feather" from Napa Valley Vintner Randy Dunn, the "Sequel" Syrah and the "Pedestal" Merlot, are unparalleled in excellence. 

If you buy one of these from me, you'll get a killer price of 20% off retail.  But if you find one of these in your local wine stores, BUY IT!  And save it for a special meal.  These wines would easily go for $150 per bottle at any fine restaurant and, believe me, if you walked in to Blue Hour, Paley's Place, Wildwood, or Departure, you may pay a $15-20 corkage fee but you'll still be way ahead of the game. I love these ones and YOU will, too!  Check them out.

Cheers!

And I thought I knew most Oregon wineries......

Good day!

Sometimes you "stumble" upon something that's been right in front of you, and you are mighty glad you did!  Cindy and I were out in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA picking up wine for the Medical Teams Great Adventure auction last Saturday when we came across the Bryn Mawr tasting room.  At the top of the gravel road, we hung a left entering an open space that is visually one of the most sensational views I have ever seen in wine country.  Truly the view toward the coast and the coast range is unsurpassed.  The tasting room may not be a "Dom. Serene" type facility but the wine rivals their selections at a much more reasonable price and the "hosts" are helpful and attentive.

The estate vineyards are some of the highest in elevation in the Eola-Amity Hills area.  They are primarily planted in Pinot Noir with some Chardonnay and, believe it or not, Tempranillo, the latter of which is not produced every year because of the elevation and late ripening, but I was lucky enough to taste the 2009 (a hot vintage) and then buy it!  All of the fruit used by Bryn Mawr are grown on their property - so all the wine is Estate bottled.

We started our tasting the 2010 Chardonnay.  I was quite impressed with the nose of primarily white peach and apple and the similar flavors that followed with a hint of unsweetened cream and marzipan adding complexity.  This was not a heavy Chardonnay - it was, dare I say it, perfect!  A lovely cross between the austere Burgundian Chardonnay and the rich California Chardonnay.

We then sampled the 2011 Rosé of Pinot Noir followed by the 2009 Estate Pinot Noir.  The color is lovely on the former - and has a quick burst of sweet stone fruit with a hint of spritz.  It compares nicely with the Dom. Sorin out of Provence that I had recently - although the latter is a Rhone-style Rosé.  And for $20/bottle the Estate P. Noir was deep in color, bright ripe cherry, tobacco and an expressive, warm finish.  Incredible value!

Then the big "brother/sister" taste-off occurred with the 2009 Jeffrey's Block and the 2009 Krista's Block Pinot Noir.  These siblings are soccer aficionados and you can tell a "friendly" rivalry exists as the hash marks on the concrete wall will attest - "IIII" for me.....only III for you!"  These wines were stellar - less than 14% alcohol which is amazing for a 2009 Pinot Noir - where having a high-elevation and cooler temperatures come in handy, I guess.  $32/bottle is an incredible price for a Pinot Noir that easily rivals the White Rose Pinot Noirs.  Rich, deep, full flavored, aromatic in all the "right ways", simply delicious! 

This winery may be a bit out of the way - you won't pass it going anywhere else - you actually have to plan for it (5955 Bethel Heights Rd. NW, Salem) - but you will be abundantly pleased.  It truly is in my top 10 at the moment!