Wine
Is Good Food
Wine
(and beer)
by the glass.
South End
Wine and Gifts, 8337 SE 17th Ave., 238-9772. Open until
9 pm Tuesday-Wednesday; until 10 pm Thursday, Friday and
Saturday; and until 7 pm Sunday.
Spanish
Wines and Tapas
E
& R Wine Shop hosts a Spanish Day featuring the great
wines of Spain. Ricardo Segura of Northwest Portland's Tapeo
restaurant will be there with samples of the mini-dishes
of Spain.
6141 SW Macadam
Ave., 246-6101, erwines@earthlink.
net. 2-4 pm Sunday, May 7. $25.
The grass is always greener is one of those clichés
particularly appropriate to the wine industry. With each
new vintage comes a blizzard of press designed to whip consumers
into a frenzy and incite them to buy the newest wine. What
the wine industry fails to mention is that last year's model
just may be a better deal.
This is exactly what is happening here in Oregon. The mad
rush for the new '98 pinot noirs promises to mire the '97
vintage in obscurity. Don't get me wrong, the '97 vintage
in Oregon wasn't stellar. However, the best producers were
able to make some pinot that is only now showing itself
to be good and even very good wine. Wine lovers should realize
that this might be their last chance to score some very
good pinot noir at a reasonable price. After all, wineries
are already jockeying to see who will be the first to break
the $100-a-bottle barrier for their '98s.
After a good flowering in the spring, the vines were loaded
with grapes, but the hot spells in July and August did nothing
to ripen this immense crop. Indeed it was so hot that the
vines actually shut down. At this point, the successful
producers dropped tons of immature fruit from their vines,
in the hope that they could at least ripen some fruit before
it rained. Unluckily, our autumn monsoon hit Sept. 30. Those
who did not pick early were often forced to harvest under-ripe
and rain-bloated grapes. Those lucky producers who did reduce
their crops and harvest early were rewarded with some very
good wines.
Here are some of my favorites:
'97 Willamette Valley Vineyards: Dense and almost
purple in color, this wine takes a while to open up. It
has a lovely nose, with hints of oak on the palette. Straightforward
in style, this is a remarkably good pinot at a great price.
($10.50)
'97 Bethel Heights, Willamette Valley Estate: Another
deep, dark wine. At first brooding and closed-in, it opens
to reveal fleshy, opulent, black-cherry fruit. Moderate
oak adds a spicy counterpoint and complexity. The distributor
has actually lowered the price of this wine to move it out
and make room for the '98s. ($17.99)
'97 Evesham Wood, Le Puits Sec: Surprisingly light
in color, this is a delicate wine more focused on finesse
than power. Reminiscent of a Morey-St. Denis, there are
layers of spice, cardamom, vanilla and orange peel. The
mouth-feel is luxurious velvet with a seductive, exotic
fruit character and an elegant, long finish. ($20.99)
'97 Beaux Freres: Stratospheric in price, this wine
is still worth every penny. Here is an example of a producer
who wasn't afraid to drop an immense amount of fruit (the
yields were a mere one ton per acre). The wine looks almost
Rhone-like in color; its complexity and depth of flavor
is awesome. This rich wine belongs in any collector's cellar.
($53.99)
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Willamette Week | originally
published April 26,
2000
|
