Oregon Pinot Noir | FerrariChat

Oregon Pinot Noir

Discussion in 'Drink, Smoke, and Fine Dining' started by daviday, Jan 30, 2016.

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  1. daviday

    daviday Formula 3
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    I've been drinking a lot of pinot noir out of Oregon lately and save for one bottle, have been very happy. My favorite so far has been the Walter Scott. Looking for some suggestions.
     
  2. ArtS

    ArtS F1 Veteran
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    Washington is good too! In my opinion I like either better than California.
     
  3. RedTaxi

    RedTaxi F1 Rookie
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    See if you can try one from Central Otago in New Zealand. Apparently the French hate us because we make the best!
     
  4. daviday

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    Try the Ramspeck. I'm not sure what you're looking for in a Pinot but personally I like the fact that I can pair them with fish or meat dishes depending on the bottle. I've been looking for something from Washington as I know I've had them before but can't seem to find a good representation at the stores I'm often in.

    Keeping my eyes open. Thanks!
     
  5. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    But why would it be so? The french love wine; if a wine from any place is as good, or better, than one of ours, we would be the first to rejoice, and drink it.

    But I doubt this is true, simply because we are probably not speaking about the same thing: in many places in the world, people use the names of the grapes to designate a wine, but we do not. Many "Bourgognes" (burgundy) are actually made from "pinot noir" but you wouldn't know, because it is not said so. The only "pinot noir" called this way are those from Alsace, and my guess is that it is about these and their lookalike that this thread is about.

    We do not pay a lot of attention to the grapes, whether these are cabernet, sauvignon, merlot, pinot or whatever, contrary to the rest of the world.

    So it depends on what we are talking about...because If there is any wine in new Zealand able to compete against the great "bourgognes", I think we would know.

    Rgds
     
  6. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    And besides, and very egoistically: if, or when - to be more positive - the best "pinots noir" from Central Otago would (will) be as good as the best "Bourgogne", we would rejoice immensely: perhaps some buyers would actually shift their interest from our "Bourgogne" to the New Zealand wines, and the prices of "La Romanée Conti", etc...would go down...one can always dream.

    Rgds
     
  7. Steelton Keith

    Steelton Keith F1 Veteran
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    for great reviews and insider info on NZ Pinots check out Home Page | The Prince of Pinot we are befitting for currency exchanges and some very good vintages...2013 there in particular.
    For Oregon, the list is endless. Domaine Serene; Bethel Heights, Trois Freres; Domaine Drouhin are among my favorites. For everyday easy drinking A-Z is hard to beat for a lighter style
     
  8. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    We certainly do not hate you, as I suspected. For example, this (provided that you read french, of course), is flattering:

    Nouvelle-Zélande, Partie 3: Vignoble de Central Otago - Les escapades - Les Caves du Forum

    Some of these wines are indeed challenging some of the great Bourgognes, from which they are inspired.

    That's excellent; now you only have to wait another 2000 years and here you are: a second Bourgogne; heaven!

    Rgds
     
  9. Steelton Keith

    Steelton Keith F1 Veteran
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    I have been drinking wine (sometimes very good wine) for 40 years. There is nothing like pinot noir for my taste, and there is nothing like real French Burgundy. I enjoy the Oregons immensely...I remember my first taste of a 1983 Yamhill 30 years ago. I have been buying NZ Pinot from C.O. for a dozen years. I like those as well, but A proper bottle of Burgundy is a different thing entirely. It's in the dirt.
     
  10. daviday

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    #10 daviday, Feb 16, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I can't claim I have a very robust palate as some of you may have but I found what I was looking for in this one from Central Otago (thank you for the recommendation Glen). It seems that colder climates produce a pinot that is very different from what I'm used to and very tasty. Unfortunately this bottle is a little too expensive to be exactly what I'm looking for but nevertheless it was very good.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  11. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Yes, absolutely; I know you know that this is more or less what we call “le terroir” here, which is a combination of the earth/dirt, the local climate (humidity, exposition to the sun, balance between cold and warm weather, etc…) adaptation of the grapes to the preceeding factors and 2000 years of know-how. I acknowledge without reticence that there are some wines in the world that may approach, or even equal some great “Bourgognes”, but taken as a whole, for all the range of its wines, Bourgogne is, and will remain, without equal.
    And you also know, of course, that we do not pay much attention on the name of the variety of grapes here; even if Bourgognes are “Pinot Noir” indeed, the name of the piece of land, of the appellation, and of the wineyard is much more important to us.

    The New-Zealanders from the Central Otago do admit freely that the great Bourgogne are their yardstick; should they reach it, I would be the first to rejoice.

    Alsace, which is geographically close to Bourgogne, also has some good “Pinot Noir”, but did not pay much attention to them until very recently. They are now on a tendency to raise their quality and the world’s awareness, so don’t be surprised to hear more about these in ten or fifteen years from now.

    (Have you ever been to the “vente des hospices de Beaune” , Keith?)
     
  12. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Depends what you call a cold climate: here in France, "Pinot Noir" is the (main) basis of Bourgognes and some Alsace, and both region can be quite cold in the winter...but quite hot in the summer.

    Rgds
     
  13. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    Amisfield. Good wine. Better lunches.
     
  14. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    Perfectly stated. Some good wines from several locations. Burgundy is, of course, Burgundy.
     
  15. ypsilon

    ypsilon F1 Rookie

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    Sure, know-how...

    Including the use of wine additives (to manipulate taste and conservation, an industry in itself) and possible herbicites and pesticides which may or may not end-up in the wine.

    Since I know a bit more about wine making, I know the romantic view on "Le Terroir" as described above, is unfortunately not just a product of natural processes and cultivation. Just like in any other product, a wine maker wants a stable product of predictable quality.

    About time the EU started imposing the same laws on winemakers as are applicable on every other food and beverage; every winemaker should present the wine's ingredients on the label.
     
  16. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    This is a very dark picture you are painting here...too dark in fact, because that is simply not true of most, if not all, the great wines; it has always been accepted by every producer and drinker that they could be different from year to year; they even have to! You do know of course about the extreme example of a very small number of top-growths that do not even make any wine if the year has not be favourable?

    Saying that wine is manipulated and modified wth additives could be true for low quality wines produced in great quantity; but protecting the quality is the main concern of every serious wine maker, and being exposed as having used any forbidden additives will ruin any reputation in a minute.
    The concern for quality is first and foremost in everybody's mind, and a good recent example is the separation that happened in Beaujolais from those winemakers who do not want to be confused with that horrible thing of "beaujolais nouveau".

    And we have a lot of laws here about what is authorised as additives and what is not. You also have a growing tendancy of "Bio" or "Green" wines without any additve whatsoever. Please do not play with the idea of regulating it more, that would be a catastrophy: if 2 and 2 would make 4 any time in the wine world, it would be so boring!

    Rgds
     
  17. Steelton Keith

    Steelton Keith F1 Veteran
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    Hello Nerofer. We have been to Beaune several times but never for the big sale/auction event. Have visited the hopital of course. I am sorry to say it has been many years since we have been to the wine regions of la belle France.
     
  18. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Hello Keith,

    In fact, this was not a grade test or whatever; I was simply hoping you had already been to the sale/auction, when it was still not suffering from "overkill".

    As said already, and I know you know, I remember with nostalgia the time when the prices began to took off at the end of the eighties, and I said to myself "this is becoming ridiculous". Little did I know what would follow...

    Or drinking a bottle of "Château Angélus" (that I have bought) at home for lunch with my parents; I couldn't afford it now.

    Rgds
     
  19. CornersWell

    CornersWell F1 Rookie

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  20. Steelton Keith

    Steelton Keith F1 Veteran
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    Nerofer. I was trying to remember the hotels we stayed in the region back in the 80's and I wonder if they are still there? I think we stayed at au Chapon Fin and also Hotel de la Poste. I have ONE bottle from the 1983 vintage remaining in the cellar a Nuit St. Georges 1er from Robt Chevillon. "Les Pruliers" all of my 85s are gone. We could have a separate thread on what we used to pay for Bordeaux and Burgundy in the 80's....and what they would cost now. Here is an example: Over the holidays I opened a 1982 Cos D'Estournel I had purchased at MacArthur Liquors in Wash D.C. The sticker price was $ 12.95. Not a sensation wine back then but solidly made in an out of fashion region
     
  21. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Keith,

    I shall have a look for the hôtels and keep you posted. As I have already written, I remember having bought two bottles of Haut-Brion, I think 1985(?) in "L'intendant" in Bordeaux, during a business trip, I think in 1988 or 1989. I don't think I still have the bill, but if my memory, etc...it was about 500 francs (more or less 80 euros) for both. One was for me, the other a gift. You still could make gifts like that, in those days. Ah, well...
    Rgds
     
  22. daviday

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  23. CornersWell

    CornersWell F1 Rookie

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    Not a big release. Only 573 cases. Probably hard to find in a store. Might give them a call, though, and see if they have a retailer near you that carries their wines.

    CW
     
  24. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

    Mar 26, 2011
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    Well...paging Keith...worrying news from Burgundy for this year.
    Basically: winter has been too mild in January and February, now April is too cold so freezing temperatures in the morning, several days of "severe frost" didn't do any good at all to the grapes. Productors say they are "worried"....

    Les vignobles de Bourgogne et d?Indre-et-Loire durement touchés par le gel

    Rgds
     
  25. ferraripete

    ferraripete F1 World Champ

    dom drouhine laurene...tremendous pinot for the money. bottle about ~$65-70 at the wine store.
     

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