Pinots of the Year

The latest vintage of Oregon’s signature wine has finally hit shelves. 
Our wine critic tells you which superior bottles to buy now.

By Condé Cox

DAVID LETT, the founder of Eyrie Vineyards—and the pioneer of pinot noir production in Oregon—once told me that “fine wine can only be made in marginal climates.” By this he meant places where grapes must, at times, stay on the vine late into the fall, when the threat of meteorological misfortune is at its greatest. In other words, a good pinot should taste like the fruit worked hard to get into the bottle.

Luckily, 2006 blessed the valley with good fall weather.

Thankfully, the Willamette Valley is just such a locale, which means that we produce some of the best pinot noir in the world. But it also means that the quality of our grapes can vary drastically from vintage to vintage. In 1995, for example, the vines had to work a little too hard: Heavy fall rains left us with a notoriously watery, literally rotten vintage.

However, 2006 blessed the Willamette Valley with a good range of fall weather: a long Indian summer with moderate temperatures and light rainfall. In fact, the 2006 pinots (the latest vintage to be released this year) are a remarkable combination of the voluptuousness of the 2002 pinots and the firm, mineral-like acidity of the 2000 pinots. After spending a year and a half in oak barrels, high-end Willamette Valley pinots are typically released between May and October of the second year following the vintage harvest; the most impressive have only recently become available.

As such, we give you our first-ever roundup of the best pinots from this year’s release. Cellar them now, or drink them tonight. In either case, you’ll have invested in the best darn “marginalized” wines around.

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Cristom ‘Jessie 
Vineyard’ Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($50)
When winemakers refer to the “typicity” of pinot noir, they mean intense berry flavors, firm acidity, and light, almost-feminine tannins—near-perfection in the glass. The Willamette Valley is one of only three or four places in the world that have the climate and winemaking talent to express typicity. Cristom, under the direction of winemaker Steve Doerner, has cranked out the epitome of such pinots for the past 16 years. The 2006 Jessie Vineyard bottling is marked by a touch of warm spice and well-integrated oak and vanilla flavors.
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St. Innocent ‘White Rose Vineyard’ Dundee Hills Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($48)
Mark Vlossak has created a superb wine using tightly grained French forest oak barrels that match perfectly with the typical red cherry and carnation scents of fruit grown in the Dundee Hills, in the heart of Willamette Valley wine country. Complex, floral-scented, and long on the palate, the bottling has a dense minerality that demands the company of rich foods like lamb chops or burgers topped with blue cheese. {% display:image for: article image:1 align:right height:150 }




Brick House ‘Les Dijonnais’ Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir ($56)
Multiple layers of rich, black- and red-raspberry flavors define this delicate wine. Made by former CBS television personality Doug Tunnell, this pinot was produced from organically and biodynamically grown grapes, harvested from the diminutive Ribbon Ridge AVA in the northern Willamette Valley.{ display:image for: article image:3 align:left height:150 }


Dobbes Family Estate ‘Meyer Vineyard’ Dundee Hills Pinot Noir ($65)
Made by the talented Joe Dobbes from fruit grown on a certified organic site owned by Lemelson Vineyards, this wine has a translucent color and a persistent, rich flavor that makes a compelling case for letting pinot noir be pinot noir—there is no misguided attempt here to try and coax cabernet colors and flavors out of the more delicate and ethereal pinot, a mistake many wineries tend to make. The result is a delightful wine, with bright, red-raspberry flavors and plenty of refreshing acidity on the finish. { display:image for: article image:0 align:right height:150 %}

Argyle ‘Spirithouse’ Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($70)
With pinot noir, the most elegant and expressive flavors are often found in bottlings that are barely red, and Argyle’s Spirithouse is just such a wine. Over the next four to five years, this wine will become heftier as its subtle nature matures.