1998

1998 Domaine Droughin Laurene Valley Pinot Noir $$$

Color:  Dark ruby

Nose:  Spice, smoke, a little alcohol

Taste:  Multi layered with earth, cherry and spice

Finish:  Faded a little at first but picked up steam with cherry, smoke, spice and earth

Evaluation:  My favorite wine of the night at our Pinot Noir tasting in September.  93+ points

1998 Ken Wright Abbey Ridge

Color:  Really light almost a light brownish hue

Nose:  Earth

Taste:  Cherry, plum, gritty floral notes

Finish:  Bitter with a short finish.

Evaluation:  I thought this was made in the 90s and I was correct on the prediction.  Might be past its prime.  85 points

1998 Ken Wright Wahle Willamette Valley $$$

Color:  Light red

Nose:  Strawberry, damp forest, spice

Taste:  Strawberry, damp forest, and nut meg

Finish:  Medium with good acidity

Evaluation:  Nice overall 88 points

1998 Soter Beacon Hill Willamette Valley $$$

Color:  Medium red

Nose:  Cherries, minerals

Taste:  Big up front but flavors disappear quickly

Finish:  A little weak

Evaluation:  Not my cup of tea 82 points

1999

1999 Argyle Spirithouse Willamette Valley $$$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Vanilla, forest floor, cherry, raspberries

Taste:  Cedar, forest floor, cherry, raspberries

Finish:  Medium and concentrated

Evaluation:  Really good Pinot 94 points

1999 Argyle Nuthouse Willamette Valley $$$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Raspberries, strawberries, a little funk

Taste:  Very Burg like with funk, mineral, nice fruit and good acidity

Finish:  Medium and good concentration

Evaluation:  Nuthouse is one of my favorites 92 points

2000

2000 Panther Creek Red Hills Estate

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Heat and spice

Taste:  spice, black olives, and no detectable fruit

Finish:  Weak with little going on.

Evaluation:  83 points

2000 Ponzi Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir $$

Color:  Medium

Nose:  Cherry, spice, floral

Taste:  Big cherries along with cinnamon and floral notes

Finish:  Medium

Evaluation: Solid wine 89 points

2000 St. Innocent Freedom Hills Vineyard Willamette Valley $$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Herbs, dried red fruits, spices

Taste:  A little bitter with dried fruit, spices, floral and pepper

Finish:  Medium and a bit tannic

Evaluation:  Could age this a few more years and drink after 2009 90 points

2000 Siduri Shaw Mountain Vineyard Willamette Valley $$$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Strawberries, raspberries, earth and spice

Taste:  Strawberries and raspberries up front and an earthy component develops into the finish.  Also a spice and meat taste is evident

Finish:  Medium and concentrated with great acidity

Evaluation:  A wonderful wine 93 points

2001

2001 Chehalem Rion Reserve Willamette Valley $$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Expressive with red cherry, strawberries, spice, and floral

Taste:  Delicate with fruits and earth interwoven nicely

Finish:  Medium and light wine

Evaluation:  Light but interesting 90 points

2002

2002 Belle Pente Willamette Valley Pinot Noir $$$

Color:  Light purple

Nose:  Hot, burnt rubber with fruit emerging

Taste:  Pepper, floral, spice

Finish:  Medium with violets, spice and earth

Evaluation:  A nice, reasonably price pinot.  90 points

2002 Le Cadeau Willamette Valley Pinot Noir $$$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Musty with spice, earth and floral

Taste:  Full of flavors with floral, earth, spice and a touch of mustiness

Finish:  Very elegant, low tannins with a multiple of characteristics above on this medium to long finish

Evaluation:  Very much like a Red Burgundy.  92 points

2002 Patricia Green Cellars Blacombe Block 1B Yamhill $$$

Color:  Dark ruby

Nose:  nothing

Taste:  Bitter, floral

Finish:  bitter

Evaluation:  Not impressive 81 points

2004 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir $$$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Subtle with floral, spice, and fruit

Taste:  Super balanced wine with floral, strawberry, spices and earth

Finish:  Medium and concentrated.  It has been a while since I had a wine with perfect acidity and bitterness.  Smooth, integrated tannins

Evaluation:  One of the best Oregon wines to date 94+ points

 

2003

2003 Dobbs Family Estate Black Label $$$$

Color:  Ruby red

Nose:  Cherry, sweet, smoke, violets

Taste:  Violets, pleasing currents and pepper

Finish:  Complex finish lasting over 45 seconds.

Evaluation:  An impressive wine and this ended up winning the wine of the night at the pinot tasting.

92 points

2003 Dobbs Family Estate Black Label $$$$

Color:  Ruby red

Nose:  Bing cherry, sweet, floral, earth, plum

Taste:  Sweet fruit, floral, earth, cherry, plum, and spice

Finish:  Complex with a lengthy finish.  Fruit, spice, floral and earth

Evaluation:  A masterful wine that was the favorite at a recent wine tasting I did.  94 points

2003 Le Cadeau Willamette Valley $$$$

Color:  Dark color

Nose:  cherry

Taste:  nice current and an incredible smoothness to it.

Finish:  Well balanced and lasted around a minute.

Evaluation:  One of the few wines that you could just drink without food and not the most complex wine we had but very appealing to the masses.  93 points

2003 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Anden Vineyard $$$

Color:  Extremely dark

Nose:  High alcohol which was apparent it was too young for consumption

Taste:  Cherry and earth tones with a little sour note intermixed.

Finish:  30 seconds

Evaluation:  After finding out what this was the owners of any of this wine need to tuck them away for at least five years.  88 points

2003 St. Innocent Seven Springs Point Noir $$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Bing cherry with some heat up front

Taste:  Very complex wine with red pepper, violet, smoke, earth.

Finish:  Medium with many of the tastes reemerging

Evaluation:  St. Innocent for the money is making some great wines.  These sell locally for about $35 and these will improve with age.  91 points

 Medium purple

Nose:  Spice, raspberries, floral

Taste:  Very approachable right now with fruit, spice, earth and floral

Finish:  Medium and solid

Evaluation:  Well done 91 points

2003 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Anden - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (3/7/2010)
Minneapolis Does St. Innocent (Edina Country Club): Medium purple. No decant but previewed. Billiant nose with strawberry, perfume, forest floor and rapsberry. On the palate forest floor, chalk, raspberry, cherry and stawberry. Medium finish and medium tannins. Still a lot of life in this bottle of wine. (93 pts.)

2003 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (3/7/2010)
Minneapolis Does St. Innocent (Edina Country Club): Dark purple. Nose of perfume, violets, charcoal, and spice. On the palate this wine amazes with spice, blackberries, cranberries, mineral, and cedar. Medium finish and concentrated wine. Still some life left and should age 5 plus years. (94 pts.)

 

 

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