Soon we will be headed for a short trip to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. We are going up to Portland for a wedding and have decided to spend a couple of days in Dundee wine tasting. All we have to worry about is that our house sitter doesn’t drink our best wines 🙂
To get tuned up we decided to have an Oregon Pinot Noir with dinner. We opened a 2005 Adelsheim Calkins Lane Vineyard Pinot Noir. We bought this at the winery when we were last in the Willamette Valley two or three years ago. We will have to see what the newest vintage is like when we get to Dundee.
This Pinot Noir was a medium Garnet color, a little darker than most Pinot Noir from the area. The nose had berry bramble and dark fruit. There was nice ripe dark fruit and an earthiness in the flavor. A lot a of flavor even though the alcohol level was less than 14%. A good thing! The tannins were moderate, integrated and there was good acid. There was a moderately long finish of flavor and some tannins.
I didn’t decant the wine and as it sat in the glass it became more complex with dark fruit, spice and pepper.
Oh, by the way, Nancy made Chicken Picatta with smashed potatoes and fresh Asparagus. It paired well with the wine.
We’re planning to post to Pull That Cork during our wine tasting in the Willamette Valley. The first day we will start tasting down around Salem and finish the day in Dundee. From there we are planning to taste our way to Carlton the next day.
