March: Willamette Valley, Oregon

After Tuscany, our wine journey takes us to Oregon in the Willamette Valley to taste some stupendous Pinot Noirs. We decided to shake things up a bit and do the tasting blind. This wouldn't allow us to have any bias towards any particular wine and we could really get into the nuances of each Pinot.

We paired tonight's wine with a few classic dishes. We started with a mushroom, radicchio and roasted shallot risotto for an appetizer then had salmon with mushrooms, sweet onions and a pinot noir sauce. Served on the side (and faithfully prepared by Brady) we had brown sugar glazed, parslied carrots. To finish off the meal, we had an assortment of cheeses. The salmon recipe can be found HERE.

Chow time!

The big reveal!

2006 Archery Summit Premier Cuvee ($48)
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Group Tasting Notes: Nose resembles a fall forrest floor with a good earthy aroma. Hints of raspberry and plum on the palate. Tied for tonight's favorite.
Avg. Points: 90

2007 Argyle Pinot Noir ($28)
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Group Tasting Notes: Light bodied. Hints of fresh strawberries and light candied cherries. Youthful and refreshing but a bit thin.
Avg. Points: 87

2007 Elk Cove ($29)
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Group Tasting Notes: Dark color in the glass. Nose has hints of cherry and dark fruit. Mouth shows bits of cocoa and dark fruits. Soft back end. Easy drinker.
Avg. Points: 87

2006 Carlton Cellars Roads End Oregon Pinot Noir ($55)
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Group Tasting Notes: Light to medium color in the glass. Nose has hints of light chocolate and cherry. Mouth shows raspberry and an earthy aroma. Strong but not. "It's like getting punched by a girl." Tied for tonight's favorite.
Avg. Points: 90

2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir ($19)
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Group Tasting Notes: Light bodied in the glass. Very earthy with hints of maraschino cherries but young and very green with an almost bitter taste.
Avg. Points: 82

Tonights cheese's were picked up at Scardello's on Oak Lawn. Our cheese selection took us from Vermont to Wisconsin to California and Texas.


Look at those poor little cheeses just wanting to be set free...then eatin!

Vermont gave us a very creamy Oma (9 O'clock) made from organic raw milk. Then Texas delivered a Brazos Gouda (6 O'clock) aged for 60 days. Next was the "holy sh!t" Humboldt Fog (3 O'clolck) from Cypress Grove - made from pasteurized milk and paying hommage to the classic French (Oui Oui!) cheese Morbier. In the noon time slot, we had Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Wisconsin which had layers and layers of flavor. This and the Fog were easily the fav's of the night.

Tonight's Damage:

Up next: California Cabernet, Rutherford AVA.