Your Oregon Wine Concierge Newsletter, May 2009

2006 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve

OK, I’ve been waxing poetically about this wine since early winter when it really started to unfold, unwind and show its inner beauty. I told Luisa Ponzi a few weeks back that this wine encompasses everything that I love about Pinot Noir! Intense, pretty rose pedal nose, silky smooth tannins and spot on acidity that integrates perfectly with the creamy, sweet black fruit. The fruit ripeness is a lesson in restraint and the wine as a whole is the perfect proponent of why and how blending can create world-class wines even in warmer than usual vintages such 2006. Trust me when I say, it’s phenomenal right now, but if you have enough patience to stash a few bottles to uncork in, say, 6-8 years, it will be one of those wines that you and whoever is lucky enough to be with you when you uncork it will be talking about for a long, long time. We expect to be sold out of this by early summer. You don’t want to wait on this one!

$60/Btl – $648/Case, which includes a 10% case discount

2006 Dukes Alyssa Vineyard Pinot Noir

Since their first release in 2005, this brand has been steadily gaining a loyal following. The 2006 offering is one of the most exciting new releases that we’ve seen in quite a while. It doesn’t hurt that their vineyard has a wide range of clonal diversity and soil types stretching over the 50 plus acre site. This wine is also, sadly, one of the last wines that Gary Andrus made before he passed away this winter. In my humble opinion, it is truly one of the highlight wines of his long and distinguished career. I have no doubt that you will start to hear much more about this winery once the national media has a chance to taste and experience it. The flavor spectrum ranges from bright raspberry to darker, spicier notes. Fragrant flowers, faint tobacco and leather notes all dance beautifully together in the nose. The balance is perfect – not an easy feat for a warm vintage coupled with a fairly young vineyard!

$45/Btl – $486/Case, which includes a 10% case discount

2006 Antica Terra Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

You may recognize the name, but many things have changed behind the scenes of this small production outfit. The winery and vineyard sold in 2005 and right off the bat the new owners started making some pretty drastic changes first and foremost to the vineyard. The vines needed a bit of time to take to the changes and the new owners responded by doing something that’s unheard of; not making wine for the year. Giving the vines all the space, time and patience they needed to give them world-class fruit, an essential starting point for a top tier wine. Winemaker/partner, Maggie Harrison, was last assistant winemaker for Sin Qua Non turning out showy, earth shattering, high scoring (98-100 point scores were not that uncommon) wines that are now some of the most sought after wines in America. Call her new home at the helm of Antica Terra venture more subdued and soft spoken, but no less striking and distinctive. Only 2 cases left for sale of her inaugural release.

$48/Btl – $518.40, which includes a 10% case discount

2005 Francis Tannahill Rogue Valley Grenache

Cheryl Francis and her husband/business partner, Sam Tannahill, have long histories making great wine in Oregon. Cheryl was winemaker at Chehalem Winery for quite some time and Sam was assistant winemaker under Gary Andrus when he founded Archery Summit in the early nineties. This is their first ever Grenache and it simply blew me away. I tried it some months back at Rex Hill (they own this winery as well as A to Z Wineworks with two other business partners) and after the first sip I was sold. I was already planning on sending out an immediate offer to get this into your hands (and of course buy some myself) when I was told the sad news that this was a winery only offering. A bit of pleading and alas, we have it in stock! This one is for all of you Syrah & Rhone lovers. Deep color with plum, espresso and bitter sweet cocoa notes. Yum!!

$30/Btl – $324/Case, which includes a 10% case discount

Also just released:

• 2008 Ponzi Vineyards Arneis @ $20/Btl, $216/Case (tiny production this vintage – it’s gonna go fast!)

• 2007 Cameron Dundee Hill Pinot Noir @ $26/Btl, $280.80/Case (this typically sells out in a week. Get it while you can!)

• 2007 Ayoub Memoirs Pinot Noir @ $30/Btl , $324/Case ( a delicious new release from Mo Ayoub! Blended from five phenomenal vineyards sites)

• 2007 ArterberryMaresh Dundee Hills Pinot Noir @ $35/Btl, $378/Case (the newest release from young and immensely talented Jim Maresh)

• 2007 Brick House Cuvee du Tonnelier Pinot Noir @ $42/Btl, $453.60/Case (lovely, pure Pinot Noir (deliciously rich, velvety smooth from Doug Tunnel)

• 2007 Evening Land Vineyards Seven Springs Pinot Noir @ $48/Btl, $518.40/Case (made by Burgundian star winemaker, Dominique Lafon)

Access Ponzi Vineyard’s currently released wines as well as small production, hard-to-find wines at http://www.ponziwines.com under the “Other Oregon Wines” tab. Purchase a case of wine (12 bottles) either mixed or full to receive our 10% case discount. If you don’t see an Oregon wine that you’re looking for, feel free to give us a ring or shoot us an e-mail. We have access to everything and are always happy to source wine for you. Soon you’ll have a chance to access wine notes and facts on all your favorite and yet to be discovered favorite producers. Look for the Ponzi Wine Bar website coming this summer!

Happy spring!