A product of Virginia, Leah Jorgensen was selling Loire Valley wines to restaurants and embassies in Washington, D.C., but an invite to Oregon Pinot Camp in 2004 changed her life. By 2011, she’d launched Leah Jorgensen Cellars. Mae’s Vineyard, owned and farmed organically near Jacksonville, Ore., by the Quady family, has been a critical piece of Jorgensen’s program, and this … [Read more...] about Leah Jørgensen Cellars 2013 Mae’s Vineyard Grand Reserve Cabernet Franc, Applegate Valley, $75
Oregon
Abiqua Wind Vineyard NV Lot 15 Estate Intertwined Cuvée White Wine, Willamette Valley, $12
Best Buy! Abiqua Creek and the climate created in the Cascade Foothills east of Salem, Ore., combine to allow Pete Buffington to grow and craft some of the Northwest’s most aromatic wines at Abiqua Wind Vineyard. Across his 11 acres are Pinot Gris, Müller-Thurgau, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Early Muscat. After nearly 40 years of growing among each other, the roots are … [Read more...] about Abiqua Wind Vineyard NV Lot 15 Estate Intertwined Cuvée White Wine, Willamette Valley, $12
Spindrift Cellars 2014 Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $32
A couple of older Willamette Valley sites established in 1978 - Woodhall and Mary’s Peak vineyards - were blended with significantly younger Deerhaven Vineyard (1997) for an expressive dry-farmed Pinot Noir. All three lots spent a year by themselves in French barrels, presenting an aromatic theme of toasty oak, grilled cherry and chalkboard dust. There's less toastiness to the … [Read more...] about Spindrift Cellars 2014 Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $32
Winter’s Hill Winery 2015 Estate Pearly Everlasting White Table Wine, Dundee Hills, $25
Russell Gladhart and his supporters continue to benefit from his family’s investment in the upper reaches of Oregon’s Dundee Hills, where they’ve owned this parcel since 1961. Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc come together as a product of both stainless steel and barrel fermentation, and the results are enjoyable, starting with a nose of fruit cocktail and light butterscotch. Hints … [Read more...] about Winter’s Hill Winery 2015 Estate Pearly Everlasting White Table Wine, Dundee Hills, $25
Winter’s Hill Winery 2015 Reserve Pinot Blanc, Dundee Hills, $29
The Gladhart family’s 35-acre pocket in the higher elevations of the Dundee Hills seems to suit grapes native to Burgundy, and understated Pinot Blanc does deliciously well here. In the warm vintage of 2015, these berries were harvested Oct. 3, and a percentage of the pressed wine made it into neutral oak, leading to aromas of butter and vanilla with fruitiness of Asian pear … [Read more...] about Winter’s Hill Winery 2015 Reserve Pinot Blanc, Dundee Hills, $29