Guest Wines
the Guest “red eye” $11. to taste both
Every week, we like to pour two Pinot Noirs side-by-side to highlight their differences & hopefully evoke interesting conversation.
This week we’re pouring two small production gems from the bold 2009 vintage.
- Johanna and Don Sandberg moved from Minnesota to Oregon in 1999 with the goal of making world-class Pinot Noir. With support from their friends Lynne and Perry Pelos, they soon planted 12 acres of diverse Pinot Noir clones in the Eola-Amity area. We love that, as the name “Iota” implies, the Sandbergs believe that only in working with the smallest quantities and paying attention to the minutest details can a wine of exceptional quality evolve. From the outset, “harmony with nature” has played a key role in their vineyard and winery practices. Through careful preservation of the wild habitat areas surrounding the Pelos-Sandberg vineyard, they have taken important steps to ensure that the ecosystem remains balanced and healthy.
-Inimitable. Unique. Effervescent. If we were asked to describe John Paul Cameron, those three words would pop up first. Describing Cameron wines, on the other hand, requires a little more depth to capture that special spark underlying each of John Paul’s tiny production selections.
John Paul came through the wine bar last week and treated us to a few splashes of Cameron’s current releases. We were truly amazed at the complexity and nuance present in each. The 2009 Clos Electrique Rouge tempted us with a classic Cameron “funk,” but it’s more refined in the 2009 vintage than previous ones. The aromatics lead to a beautifully complex nose of elegant black cherry, dried cranberries and mushrooms. Only 150 cases made and officially sold out at the winery.
2009 Cameron Clos Electrique Rouge Pinot Noir $19. glass/ $55. bottle / $594 case
2009 Iota Pelos-Sandberg Pinot Noir $13. glass / $36. bottle / $388.80 case
