2014 Arterberry-Maresh Maresh Vineyard and 2014 St. Innocent Freedom Hill Vineyard

Fascinating comparison of two styles of Oregon Pinot Noir. 

Maresh Vineyard is in the Dundee Hills AVA. Jim Maresh is producing a wonderful Maresh Vineyard cuvee sourced from 40+ year old vines. 

Freedom Hill Vineyard (originally planted circa 1982) is a bit further to the south in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Mark Vlossak produces his version of the Freedom Hill cuvee at St. Innocent. 

While the Freedom Hill is very tasty right out of gate, it is the Maresh vineyard bottling that begins to rivet attention over the course of dinner and the evening.  Freedom Hill has exuberant up front fruit and minerally underpinnings, but is not the last word in complexity (at least in this early stage of development).

The Maresh Vineyard bottling unfurls slowly, more lightweight at first on the palate but gaining serious complexity. It becomes the clear favorite with food. Highly savory character, distinctive fruit (whole cluster?) ... and a nose to die for.  It echoes the depth and lovely framework of the 2014 Kelley Fox Maresh Vineyard bottling.  

Oregon winemakers are just killing it with uniquely original interpretations of great pinot noir.
Oregon is putting together a great run of vintages in 2014, 15 and 16...

Maresh vineyard is comprised of Jory soil.... here are interesting notes from the USDA NRCS website...

"...The Jory soil is recognizable by its red coloring and can be found in nine western Oregon counties on over 300,000 acres. Throughout the Interstate-5 corridor, a variety of crops and forests supported by Jory soil are visible on the foothills to the east and west of the valley...."
"...Although the Jory soil is found only in western Oregon, the soil developed mainly on Columbia River Basalt bedrock, originating from eastern Oregon lava flows. The weathering of these basalt uplands produced the deep, well-drained, rich, red characteristics of the Jory soil. These soil properties give the Jory soil a high productivity and capability for producing a wide variety of crops, orchards, vineyards, and high forest productivity...."

2010 Booker Vineyard Ripper (Paso Robles)

Delightful from the start. Slow-o in bottle for 2 hours prior to dinner. This far surpassed my expectations. Silky palate of red fruit at peak, accented by white pepper and cedar. Savory tertiary flavor that could be termed Paso Robles "garrique".
Seamless finesse on the framework. Absolutely irresistible. The nose is reticent compared to the lovely 2010 Chateau Vaudieu I enjoyed yesterday.  Eric Jensen is one of the great new world winemakers. Wears its 15.2% abv very well. Nicely balanced.... one of the most beautiful expressions of grenache outside of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Ripper is my favorite of the Booker offerings.

2009 Produttori del Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano

Pop and pour. 14.5% abv. My second encounter with this 2009 Monstefano cru in the past month. Both bottles have been very approachable and very tasty.  This bottle was right on top of its game with truffle-nuanced floral perfume.  Lush black cherry, plum, tar and leather, with a pop of acidity set on a puckering, yet elegant tannic frame.  Two thumbs up. Will improve over the next few years as the tannins mellow. Nothing wrong with trying one now while the '08's are cellaring. 
Found some of these on close out for $40.... a steal for this quality.
 

2010 Guigal Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit Saint-Joseph

Early in its evolution, but nevertheless enjoyable. Beautifully traditional 13.5% abv.  Decanted for 5 hours, it continued to open up over the course of the evening. Savory aromatics with signature iodine and goudron. Blackberry, tapenade, and mineral palate with wonderful acidic lift and and freshness on the finish. I would guess some percentage of whole cluster from the high-toned aromatics. Smooths out over time gaining presence and a bit more complexity.  Give this another 3 to 5 years for improved tertiary character. 

There is nothing quite like the alluring smell of a good Northern Rhone syrah...

2012 Antica Terra Pinot Noir Botanica (Willamette Valley)

Haven't tried the Botanica cuvee in a long time  Maggie Harrison's pinot noir's are beautiful and will do nicely since Manfred Krankl (her mentor at SQN) stopped producing pinot noir from Oregon (Shea Vineyard sourced, I think) many years ago. 

Even though it's early in the drinking curve for this wine, it shows very well with lots of air. Double decanted (minimal sediment) before taking to restaurant. 

Rich flavor with balance... very much a grand cru representation IMO. Produced primarily from Shea Vineyard.. Willakenzie soils are clastic with some limestone influence (not volcanic). 

Black and red fruit, very fine mineral backbone and a savory element that wraps around your palate to keep you from putting the glass down. Nose is stunning mix of floral, spice and sous bois. Both Josh Raynolds and Neal Martin have brilliant tasting notes that more clearly describe this wine.  This will be absolutely gorgeous with another few years of cellaring, but it's definitely worth checking out now.

Antica Terra is my favorite Oregon pinot noir apart from Thomas, and one of my favorite pinot noirs period.