It’s uncommon for the same exact wine to receive more than a Platinum Award more than once. However, here is rarefied air. The 2018 Gunkel Vineyard Grenache earned a Double Platinum in our 2020 judging. Two years later, it not only repeats, but also ranks as the No. 1 wine in the field of 697 entries. That’s because it’s a lush, layered and opulent drink offering notes of dark … [Read more...] about Mt. Hood Winery 2018 Gunkel Vineyard Grenache, Columbia Valley $34
Oregon
Marshall Davis Wine 2019 Township No. 3 Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton , $55
Chef-turned-winemaker Sean Davis and his brothers-in-law, Ryan and Matt Marshall blend from three vineyards including their 15-acre estate, so melange of available Pinot Noir clones for this cuvée includes Dijon 114, 777, Mariafeld and the sexy Pommard. They created a cherry bomb from stem to stern, beginning with the nose of cherry punch, cola and blackberry with a pinch … [Read more...] about Marshall Davis Wine 2019 Township No. 3 Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton , $55
Argyle Winery 2020 Master Series Nuthouse Riesling, Eola-Amity Hills $35
The top of the estate Lone Star Vineyard is the birthplace of this unusual West Coast approach to Riesling, which begins with devigorated rootstock and high-density plantings in Oregon’s Willamette Valley — which Argyle bills as “the only American Riesling planting of its kind.” Longtime winemaker Nate Klostermann took a different approach to this fire-plagued vintage than he … [Read more...] about Argyle Winery 2020 Master Series Nuthouse Riesling, Eola-Amity Hills $35
Iris Vineyards NV Brut Sparkling Wine, Willamette Valley, $30
Aaron Lieberman’s education in soil science at Oregon State University led him to the Peace Corps where he helped Central American farmers. When he returned to the Willamette Valley, he transitioned from viticulture to a winemaking internship with Burgundy-inspired Isabelle Dutartre, and that experience has served Lieberman well during his career at Iris Vineyards near Cottage … [Read more...] about Iris Vineyards NV Brut Sparkling Wine, Willamette Valley, $30
Reustle – Prayer Rock Vineyards 2021 Estate Dolium Sekt Trocken Grüner Veltliner, Umpqua Valley, $38
The guiding light for Grüner Veltliner in the U.S. continues to be Southern Oregon winegrower Stephen Reustle, and his use of dolium - a concrete egg for fermentation and aging - the Austrian term for "off-dry" go a long way in describing this expression of the white grape he's most known for. Its nose mimics a Riesling as a whiff of petrol comes in behind other notes of dusty … [Read more...] about Reustle – Prayer Rock Vineyards 2021 Estate Dolium Sekt Trocken Grüner Veltliner, Umpqua Valley, $38