Preston Reviews Willamette Valley! (Part 6 - Tasting Guide)

We drank a good amount of wine on the trip. Here’s the list of the wines we drank in a formal setting (that means we swish and spit). It does not include all the wines we actually drank at dinner or the incredible wine bars we visited like Division Wine Co. in Portland. 


Comprehensive list of wines tasted and my tasting notes (alphabetical by winery)

I included relevant and/or interesting bits of information like retail price, clone, source, aging if unusual or obvious, some blurbs about the year, reasons for producing at all, etc. I mark only my favorites with “Good”, “Good+”, “Good++”, and “Great!”. These scores are as much preference as they are comments on the quality of the wine. We really didn’t have a bad or poorly made wine the entire trip. 


You’ll see only 7 wines designated “Great”, 10 wines designated “Good++”, 8 wines designated “Good+”,
14 wines designated “Good”, and 60 wines that weren’t quite worth calling a favorite although most were  still delicious. 


Note: I know the prices can be painful. I take price into account when noting how much I like it. Also, If I do not mention a clone or specific place it is simply because it isn’t necessarily notable, or it’s a blend of clones and places. I tried to keep notes short, so you’ll actually take a look ha. Let me know if you’d like me to try to acquire any of these for you. Also keep an eye out for fun patterns, like how wines change over small verticals or how similar wines from the same vineyards are, even if they’re made by different wineries.

Argyle Spirit Hill Blanc de Blancs 2017

This Eola-Amity Hills sourced Chardonnay offered a classic BdB with lemon cream and stone. A cool savory quality with a touch of pool water. ($60)


Argyle Knudsen Blanc de Blancs 2018 

This Dundee Hills sourced BdB was a bit muted but brighter and more acid driven than Spirit Hill. Lemon forward. ($60)


Argyle Knudsen Blanc de Blancs 2010 

Marzipan, dusty, musty, maybe a touch too far gone- the mothballs have taken over here. ($115)


Argyle Knudsen Vineyard Brut 2019

Tasty and classic. Not mind blowing. Will drink not seek. ($60)


Argyle Knudsen Vineyard Brut 2010

95 chard, 5 pinot noir. Great balance, lemon, crisp, dead flowers, hazelnuts. My favorite of the extended tirage. Good++ ($115)


Argyle Extended Tirage Brut 2011

A touch too oxidized. Tasty, but at its peak. Bruised apples, nuts, pears, honey. ($85) 


Argyle 35th Anniversary 2012

Young feeling compared to 2011. Quiet. Lemongrass. Round and full in structure. Still has tons of time. Good++ ($85)


Argyle Estate Rosé 2019 

Tasty! Melon, red fruit, and herbs. Crushable. ($25)


Argyle Nuthouse Pinot Noir 2021

Eola-Amity Hills. Strawberry jam, some black fruit. Fruit bomb. Little more. Lacks acidity. ($60)


Argyle Giving Tree Pinot Noir 2021

Willamette. Tannins that are reaching to grip. Red fruit bomb, savory herbs and minerals. ($60)


Argyle Lone Star Pinot Noir 2021

Eola-Amity Hills. Bright. Great acid balance. Cherries, strawberries, orange peel, with some earthiness and dust on the palate finishes with a bitter mineraliness. Good+ ($60)


Argyle Reserve Chardonnay 2018 

Willamette. 16 months in 25% new French oak. Tart lemon. Shallow. Crusher. Finish of lemon curd and vanilla. Great balance of malo and oak. ($35)


Argyle Nuthouse Chardonnay 2020

Eola-Amity Hills. 14 months in 500L 30% new oak. Expressive! Minerally. Not much oak on the nose. High but balanced acidity. Tamed but long. Good. ($45)


Argyle Spirithouse Riesling 2017

Dry. More fruit than honey. More citrus than stone fruit. ($50)


Argyle Nuthouse Riesling 2021

Off dry. Candied apricots and lemons. A touch out of whack. ($35)


Argyle Minus 5 Riesling 2021

Sweet. Favorite of the rieslings. The sweetness brought the package together and gave the wine what it was lacking in the other bottlings. Candied peach. More fruit than honey. Balanced. Not syrupy but a bit of a grainy finish. Good. ($40)


Bergström La Spirale Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir 2021

Ribbon Ridge. Cranberry sauce. Jam but not jammy. Good fresh strawberry jam. Round and ripe, juicy and floral. Good++ ($92)


Bergström Le Pré du col Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir 2021 (Available at Frugal)

Ribbon Ridge. Darker and earthier than La Spirale. Plum, blackberry, juicy berries with an umami finish. Good++ ($92)


Bergström Silice Chehalem Mtns. Pinot Noir 2020 

Chehalem Mtns. Blue and black fruit nose, spice, red fruited palate, rhubarb and strawberry. Good++ ($80)


Bergström Bergström Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 

Dundee Hills. Savory nose with red fruit right beneath. Strawberry pie, herbs, cocoa powder. Favorite at Bergström. Great! ($130)


Bergström Sigrid Chardonnay 2020 

1 year in 10-15% new French oak then 6 months in stainless steel. Wow. The balance is impressive. Fruit forward. Rich lemon. Like standing next to a white flower and herb garden when a big gust of wind blows through. Wet stones. The herbs come out even more on the finish. Great! ($120)


Bergström Old Stones Chardonnay 2021

Toasty candied fruit, soft, shallow but good. Lemon, stone fruit, cream, lime zest. Good+ ($47)


Bryn Mawr Willamette Valley Sparkling Rosé NV (Available at Frugal)

Force carb. A portion whole cluster. Fresh and clean. High acid. Fresh flowers, strawberries, cherries, lemon. ($25)


Bryn Mawr Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2022 (Available at Frugal)

6 months in neutral puncheons. 85% estate grown. Lemon, baking spices, great mouthfeel, pear. Good. ($25)


Bryn Mawr Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2021 (Available at Frugal)

50% estate grown. Aromatic. Juicy, wild strawberry, spice, cranberry, richer than 2019, tasty. Good. ($25)


Bryn Mawr Estate Pinot Noir 2021 

Floral, perfumy, juicy and structured, cherry and cranberry with a touch of spice on the finish. Good. ($50)


Bryn Mawr Estate Tempranillo 2018

36 months in French oak. Red fruit. Grainy big tannins, fresh and bright, oak spice, tight, needs food. Meaty. ($60)


Bryn Mawr Estate Dolcetto 2021 

Two blocks planted. Beautiful dense purple color. Spice, purple flowers, jam, cocoa, blueberry pie, black tea. structured but short. Not great, but so fun! Good. ($35) 


Bryn Mawr Estate Pinot Noir 2020

Fire year. Most people we talked to didn’t make any wine in 2020 or only white because the white grapes were pulled before the smoke moved in. But Bryn Mawr made their wine and David's excuse was amazing. He spoke to fires being a part of the region’s story now, like it or not. Wine people talk constantly about wine telling the story of time and place, “unless it's a story of a time or place we don’t like,” David cracked. Their 2020 wines tell the transparent story. They evoke a memory, one of pain yes, but a memory of a specific time and place. How cool is that?! There was smoke on the nose, but not much on the palate. It is juicy and spicy. They didn’t just make the wine like normal but crafted them around the knowledge that smoke would be a major flavor in the wine. They used less oak, a fast ferment, lab yeast, and tried to keep it as juicy as possible. It isn’t even close to the best wine we had but it might be the coolest and most authentic, and to me that counts for a lot. I also think it will come to serve them in the future with more and more possibilities for fires. Practice makes perfect, they say. ($40)


Cristom Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 (Available at Frugal)

(Highest elevation) Single vineyard named for his wife Eileen. Classic WV nose, cherry behind green brush. Bright red fruit with some blue. High acid, South Carolina brush and pine needles. Good+ ($83)


Cristom Louise Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

(Lowest elevation) Cranberry, the Brinkman’s house, high acid, tannic finish, savory back end. Good+ ($83)


Cristom Marjorie Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 (Available at Frugal)

(Oldest vineyard) Baking spice, red fruit pie, black fruit, bruised pear, food wine for sure. The acid is maintained. Good++ ($83)


Cristom Paul Gerrie Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

(Youngest vineyard) Red Candy, red fruit, lush, stream lined and well incorporated, ripe. Good+ ($83)


Cristom Jessie Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

(Steepest vineyard) Tamed nose, expressive palate. Red apple skin, apple butter, baking spice. Good+ ($83)


Cristom Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay 2021

Barrel fermented then aged for 11 months on lees in 24% new French oak then 6 months in stainless. White flowers, apricot, lemon, squash, yellow flowers, light cream, lemon zest. Good. ($45)


Cristom Estate Syrah 2008 

Delicious but one noted. Black fruit, olive, leather. Age on the nose but not on the palate. Mixed berry compote. Fun! ($55)


Domaine Serene ‘r’ Rosé 15th Edition, multi-vintage

50% Pinot Noir-50% Chardonnay. Bitter nose I dislike. A touch too much residual sugar for my liking but does give it a nice mouthfeel. It Tastes much better than it smells. Strawberry, melon, fine tannins. ($44)


Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Dundee Hills Brut, multi-vintage

Traditional Method. 50-50 Chard-Pinot Noir. 36 months before disgorgement. Great balance of fresh fruit and secondary from lees. Honey and nuts, caramel and lemon cream. Biscotti, dried apricot. Good+ ($85)


(Domaine Serene) Chevalier de la Crée Montagny Premier Cru Knights Templar Cuvée 2020

Domaine Serene’s Burgundy project. Stones, tropical lemon, golden apple, fresh almond, struck match, well made, great balance but not complex or delicious. ($50)


Domaine Serene Evenstad Pinot Noir 2019

Fresh herbs, pepper, blackberry, black cherry, baked cherry, dried orange, luscious nose, nose shines on this guy. Chase said “Grandma’s dresser drawer” and that is spot on ha. Musty but fresh wood beneath. Good ($100)


Domaine Serene Yamhill Pinot Noir 2016 

Baked Strawberry, vanilla from oak, balsamic, herbs, cherries, not much sign of age. Good ($80)


Domaine Serene Grand Cheval 2019

70% Syrah 30% Pinot Noir. Purple, blue, black, good but not complex. Just a big red crusher. ($85)


Evening Land La Forét White Pinot Noir 2022

White peach, white flowers, green herbs, full body. ($35)


Evening Land Passe-tout-grains 2019

50% Gamay, 50% Pinot Noir. Earth forward. Barnyard, orange, baking spice, cranberry in the back, wood chips, metal or tar. ($35)


Evening Land Estate Pinot Noir 2021 

Eola-Amity Hills. Red fruited. Mixed but fresh fruit not red candy. Not too complex but delicious. Very little earth. Good. ($45)


Evening Land La Source Pinot Noir 2021

More new oak but less time. 18 instead of 24 months. Nose is blue and purple. Floral, most structure of any. Definitely a food wine. ($75)


Evening Land Summum Pinot Noir 2021

Wood grain, brown butter nose, mixed fruit, more classic WV but balanced. ($100)


Evening Land La Source Chardonnay 2021

Mineral, stone, white flowers, apples, citrus. Great balance. Good+ ($75)


Evening Land Summum Chardonnay 2021

Leaner finish than La Source. Higher acid. Lemon, brininess, melon. Good+ ($100)


King Estate Brut Cuvee 2016

Majority Pinot Noir. Red fruit, acid driven, one noted, not as complex as 2017. ($40)


King Estate Brut Cuvee 2017

Majority Chardonnay. Aromatic. Flowers, dirt, brioche, donuts with sugar, honeysuckle. ($40)


King Estate Blanc de Noirs 2008 25th Anniversary

Honey, nuts, caramel apple, still lively! Aged but in no way oxidized. Creamy lemon on palate, carraway, rye bread, yellow apple. Great! ($75)


King Estate Domaine Pinot Gris 2021 (Available at Frugal)

Honeysuckle, lime pith, rock candy, crusher, short but tasty. ($20)


King Estate Domaine Pinot Gris 2017

More developed, vanilla nose, melded together pear, melon, yellow apple, butter, rounder. Delish.  ($20)


King Estate Domaine Pinot Gris 2011

More developed but continuing on the same path. Honey oats, caramel, lemon cream, vanilla, flowers, deep and long. I had doubts about these being aged but wow. Great!  ($20)


King Estate Estate Gewurztraminer 2018 

Stone fruit and flowers, honey. Tamed and quiet. ($40)


King Estate Quail Run Roussanne Marsanne 2018 

Orange, hay, earth, rotten vegetal note, butter, full body. ($30)


King Estate Freedom Hill Pinot Noir 2015

Balance of earth and fruit. Cherry, dried flowers, dried orange, cranberry. ($70)


King Estate Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Fruit is secondary to balsamic, specific spices like pepper and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, oregano, plum, bruised cherries, herbs and fruit on the palate. Good. ($90)


King Estate Sonrisa Walla Walla Tempranillo 2017

Rich brown sugar, baking spices, plum, stewed strawberry, bramble. ($50)


King Estate Walla Walla Cabernet Franc 2016

Classic Franc nose, a touch of pepper, plum, black raspberry, currant, spice, leather. ($50)


King Estate 7 Rows Skin Contact Pinot Gris 2021

Rosé in style and color. Melon, grapefruit, watermelon rind, and some herbs. Just okay but cool that they’re doing it with all the pinot gris they have planted. Dope label. Beautiful glowing pink orange color. ($30)


Patricia Green Rose of Tempranillo 2022

Freedom Hill. Beautiful. Easy and not over-thought. Orange blossom, melon. ($30)


Patricia Green Willamette Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022

All stainless steel. Delicious. Green, floral, citrus, mineraly, Loire-ish, acid driven. ($25)


Patricia Green Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Stainless steel then Acacia barrels. The wood comes through in vanilla cream. Tropical, orange cream, lime zest. Good. ($40)


Patricia Green Durant Vineyard Dundee Chardonnay 2021

Dundee Hills. Concrete and 20% new puncheons. Orange creamsicle, green apple. Needs food. ($42)


Patricia Green Estate Chardonnay Ribbon Ridge 2021

Ribbon Ridge. Concrete and 50% large new Acacia puncheons. More lemon than orange, green herbs, lemon zest, melon, oak presence but so well balanced. Acid pierces the oak perfectly. Good+ ($75)


Patricia Green Balcombe Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Pommard (clone). Beautiful candy apple red color. Classic WV nose. Cherry, apple, candy, cranberry, strawberry. ($45)


Patricia Green Wind Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Ribbon Ridge. Pommard. Dark in color, more brooding and savory on the nose. Fresh flowers, black fruit, dark spices, tighter tannins, blue fruit on end. Good. ($65)


Patricia Green Chehalem Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Wadenswil (clone) Dark, earthy, luscious, structured, tight young tannins, blackberry, spice, bramble, stems. Needs good and a bit of time but so good. Good++ ($60)


Patricia Green Estate Pinot Noir 2021 

Coury (Clone) Red fruit backed by warm spices. Soft and round mouthfeel, crusher. Classic but still complex. ($42)


Patricia Green Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Coury (Clone) Earth, pepper, black fruit, cherry pie finish with a touch of baking spices. Earth and fruit. ($42)


Patricia Green Mysterious Pinot Noir 2019

Dundee Hills. Sweet baking spices, earth and dirt, smoky minerality, balanced with black and red fruit. Great mouthfeel. Soft and strong. Black cherry. Great! ($100)


Patricia Green Reserve Pinot Noir 2021 (Available at Frugal)

Perfumy, red fruit taffy, classic. ($30)


Patricia Green Durant Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022

Pommard (clone) planted in 1976. Young. Needs time and is very light in color. Big tight tannins. Still quiet and shallow. ($42)


Patricia Green Blueberry Wine 2020

Here’s another 2020. As you can see with the fires Patricia Green didn’t make much wine…out of grapes that is. They made this delicious blueberry wine though. Surprising structure, body, and color. Looks like Pinot but smells like blueberry pie. She didn’t tell us what it was at first, so I was taken aback! What is this! Ha. Blueberry muffin or blueberry pancakes with syrup, bone dry. ($50)


Purple Hands Lone Oak Ranch Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022 (Available at Frugal)

20% whole cluster. 5% new French oak, 50% stainless steel, 45% neutral oak. Dusty nose, Potpurrie, mouthfilling red fruit, driving acidity, soft texture. ($30)


Purple Hands Latchkey Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022

Dundee. Pommard. Dusty minerality, baking spices, dried flowers, classic WV cherry underneath. ($70)


Purple Hands Latchkey Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Dundee. Pommard. Wow the extra year serves it so well. Do not drink 2022s. Settled, dense, complex, strawberry, bramble, subtle olive, strawberry candy. Good++ ($70)


Purple Hands Haakon/Lenai Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 

Pommard, 777, 115. Cherry wood shavings, structured, black cherry, cocoa powder. ($70)


Purple Hands Haakon/Lenai Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Pommard, 777, 115. Toasty funky nose, barnyard, leather, not much fruit. Will be interesting in a few years. ($70)


Purple Hands Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 

Coury, Wadenswil. Stinky cheese, olive, dense, rich texture, black cherry, rotten dried grapes (but in a fun way)($70)


Purple Hands Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Coury, Wadenswil. Savory nose. Dirty cherry, olive brine, dirty rock, bitter orange pith. ($70)


Purple Hands West Wind Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 

Ribbon Ridge. Pommard, Wadenswil. Juicy, softer, sticky encompassing tannins, fruit cake, floral red, dried orange. ($70)


Purple Hands West Wind Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Ribbon Ridge. Fruit nose. Dentist clean minerality, raspberry sorbet, balanced, savory but bright, herbs, mint soap. Good++ ($70)


Purple Hands Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 (Available at Frugal)

Yamhill-Carlton. 777. Highest elevation blocks in Shea. Light red in color. Fruit forward, big body, soft structure, wild strawberry, orange, apple skin, cherry. Perfect for Fall/Winter. Good. ($70)


Purple Hands Haakon/Lenai Chardonnay 2021 (Available at Frugal)

Dundee Hills. 10 months on lees no stirring. 30% stainless, 40% new French oak, 30% neutral French oak. Beautiful and complex. Wow. Like a kitchen baking a lemon pie. Bourbon cream, wildflowers, Masterfully Incorporated oak, lemon meringue, honey, salt water taffy. Great! ($70)


St. Innocent Freedom Hill Pinot Blanc 2021 

Yellow Flowers, nectarine, minerality. Round with perfectly layered acidity. ($25)


St. Innocent Freedom Hill Chardonnay 2019

11 months on lees in neutral oak. Fruit forward with cream, pear and orange. ($36)


St. Innocent Skin Contact Pinot Gris 2022

3 days of skin contact. Light salmon color. Watermelon, pink lemonade, grainy residual sugar. ($25)


St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir 2018 

Blackberry, black cherry, structured, spice cake. ($50)


St. Innocent Momtazi Pinot Noir 2018

Smoke and dirt, spiced pear, plum sauce. Good+ ($50)


St. Innocent Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018 

Classic WV nose with a little something extra. Lighter than the others but complex. Red hard candy, purple flowers, spice, dried orange, balanced, roses, dusty finish. Good++ ($70)


St. Innocent Freedom Hill Pinot Noir 2018 (Available at Frugal)

Denser, dirtier fruit, almost desserty on the finish, like cherry pie or blackberry cobbler. Fruit and savory. Good+ ($50)


St. Innocent Freedom Hill Blanc de Blancs NV 

Tasty! Traditional Method. They’ve been making sparkling wine since the beginning but just a tiny amount each year that is still done by hand all the way through. Good+ ($50)


Stoller Estate Brut NV 

90% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay, 1% Pinot Meunier. Traditional Method. Delicious umami nose. Bread, honey, pear, yellow apple, rich and round with great acidity. Good+ ($40)


Stoller Single Acre Pinot Blanc 2021

Stainless, concrete, and neutral oak from a single acre of planted pinot blanc on the estate. 400 acre estate, 200 planted. Apple, stone fruit, touch of grainy residual sugar, good crusher, white flowers. ($35)


Stoller Estate Chardonnay 2021

Concrete and stainless. Zero oak. Concrete on the nose. Wet stone, lime zest, chalky, mango, heavy candied pineapple, lean, tasty. Good. ($40)


Stoller Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2017 

Dundee. Pommard. Black cherry, herbs, dried mango, potpourri. Good. Tasting better than the 2019s. Like most people, they didn’t make any wine in 2020 but re-released 2017s from the cellar as a library release. ($70)


Stoller Helen’s Pinot Noir 2019

Wadenswil. Cherry, plum, dirt, bramble. ($75)


Stoller Nancy’s Pinot Noir 2019

Dark fruit, blackberry, plum, black cherry, dusty, mothball. ($75)


Willamette Valley Vineyards, Domaine Willamette Brut 2019

67% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir, 1% Pinot Meunier. Traditional. 30-36 months on lees. Classic palate. Lemon, balanced between fruit and toast. ($75)


Willamette Valley Vineyards, Domaine Willamette  Brut Rosé 2019

100% Pinot Noir. 30 months. Classic again. ($75)


Willamette Valley Vineyards, Domaine Willamette  Blanc de Blancs 2019 

100% Chardonnay. 30 months. Delicious. Nuts, honey, orange marmalade, apples, lemons, brioche. When The bubbles dissipated it tasted like great Burgundy. Great! ($75)


Willamette Valley Vineyards Bernau Block Pinot Noir 2021

Cherry, heavy baking spices, warm, nutmeg. Underwhelming for price. ($60)


Willamette Valley Vineyards, Domaine Willamette Elton Florine Pinot Noir 2017

Florine Block. Denser and more complex than Bernau. Rich red fruit. Rocks and dirt, baking spice, black cherry jam. Good. ($80)


Willamette Valley Vineyards Pambrun Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 

Good stuff, but nothing to seek out. ($75) 

The Wine Press

More Pics from the Willamette Valley Trip (Part 5)

By Preston Hunt • 15 Nov, 2023
There were so many other incredible stops on our trip. Click a picture to learn more.

Chehalem and The Willamette Valley’s 3rd Champion Pinot Gris (Part 4)

By Preston Hunt • 15 Nov, 2023
Stoller was the final stop on our trip. They were one of the wineries that were kind enough to put us up for the night in one of their guest houses, which made us feel like royalty. It was an incredible way to end an incredible trip. Chehalem is a sister winery of Stoller that focuses on single vineyard pinots. We rolled up to the incredible Stoller property, honestly, pretty exhausted from a long week. The sun was soon to set as we sat out back on the patio. The view of the property from our table was quite expansive, as you can see in the pics below, and the setting sun lit it beautifully. We drank some wonderful pinot gris over the course of the week, notably at King Estate where we came to find out the grape’s aging potential, and here at Stoller where the Chehalem PG sings of flowering fruit trees. Pinot gris is the third, and final, variety I must mention. There is actually more pinot gris planted in the Willamette Valley than there is chardonnay but that is soon to change as more and more people are tearing up gris to plant chard. Pinot gris is the same thing as pinot grigio to be clear. Some will argue its difference but most of those are differences in production styles and terroir. It is the same exact grape genetically. This PG was sourced from the wineries namesake, the Chehalem Mountains, a small range and AVA that is in the middle of the valley. This small range would have been one of the only islands in Lake Allison after those Missoula floods, making its peak perfect for grape growing. Chehalem Pinot Gris is fermented in stainless steel. It smells and tastes of white flowers and candied peaches and apricots and lemon. It is crisp and delicious. It’s a great example of pinot gris from Oregon. Drink now. Drink cold.  Stoller was the perfect finish to a perfect trip. The wines were amazing and our accommodations ideal. We sat outside late into the night looking at the stars and drinking wine. The girls saw a handful of shooting stars, but as my luck would have it, I did not. That is, until we were headed inside. Right out of the corner of my eye one streaked across the sky. It was as if the valley was tipping its hat to me in farewell.

Cristom and Single Vineyard Pinot Noir (Part 3)

By Preston Hunt • 14 Nov, 2023
Cristom was our second stop on the trip and one of our favorites of the week. I was so excited to not only see the winery and vineyards but to revisit the wines as these aren’t wines I get to drink often. I love Cristom. This winery was my first real exposure to high quality Willamette Valley pinot noir. They really opened my eyes to the beauty of pinot from Oregon and the practices that it takes to create them. Like I mentioned, most wineries we visited are biodynamic, Cristom included. Mitch was our host. He immediately threw us in the truck and sped up the hill pointing sites out along the way, mostly biodynamic ones. We sped by their compost piles, the horn pits, the stag’s bladders filled with yarrow flowers hanging from trees, and wild flower fields. Once we got on top of the ridge we were taken by the view. The vineyards of Cristom sit perfectly in front of the Van Duzer Corridor and thus are swept with a constant breeze. This is the Van Duzer Corridor , the only gap in the Coastal Mountain range that allows that Pacific ocean breeze to sweep through and into the valley helping regulate temperatures and keep things cool. This view from the top of Cristom was incredible. You can see straight ahead where the mountains dip down, and then just to the right and out of sight, they reach back up. It is a perfectly shaped gap in the range that is crucial in creating a climate suited for these vines. Wineries that are smack dab in the middle of it, like Cristom, benefit the most. Location location location. Cristom is all about place . They bottle pinot noirs that have been sourced from single vineyards, each showing a different terroir and micro climate. It is hard to believe, because they are all pinot noirs and all the single vineyards are right next to each other, but these wines all tasted so different. It was fantastic to taste them side by side. There is a great map of the estate on the back of every bottle. Check it out. You can read my tasting notes of each wine below. As you can see by my wine list and tasting notes at the bottom, Cristom is focused almost entirely on pinot noir. They make some amazing chardonnays and pinot gris and even some viognier and syrah (a real treat), but single vineyard pinot noir is what they do best. They aren’t cheap, but you should definitely keep them in mind for a special occasion. I usually keep two at a time at the store. I currently have Eileen and Louise on the shelf. You can read about them at the end of this letter. When your focus each year is making the same 5 wines from the same 5 vineyards you learn so much about those places. Cristom knows their single vineyards so well and the way they express themselves. They know the best ways to tend to those places to display their specific terroir through the wines they produce. Their single vineyards- Eileen, Marjorie, Jessie, Louise, Paul Gerrie all slightly face different directions at slightly different altitudes, with slightly different soil compositions. Even though they all are planted with pinot noir the wines that are produced from them taste completely different. That is both the magic of Cristom, but also the magic of pinot noir, a grape that is easily influenced by its terroir and the things that are done to it in the winery. I suggest you start with their Willamette Valley bottling, meaning the fruit was pulled from more than one sight but all within the Willamette Valley. Most of the fruit in this bottle came from their single vineyards so the quality is there, it just doesn’t speak of place like the single vineyards do. The rest of the fruit in this wine comes from a few of their neighbors in the Eola-Amity Hills. Bang for your buck this bottle is hard to beat. It is a wonderful expression of pinot noir that is super quality for under $40. This Willamette Valley bottle was hand harvested from sites on volcanic soils in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. It was fermented about half whole cluster (that is with stems) and aged for 10 months in French oak, 22% of which was new oak. It tastes of red cherries, bramble, blackberry leaves, some earth and dried herbs and baking spices. The whole clusters can be tasted in some of those earthy notes and tannin structure. This wine is food wine. Pair with a whole baked chicken with herbs, charcuterie, pizza, or a mushroom dish. Drink now. Drink cellar temp (cool to the touch but not cold).

Bryn Mawr, Where Chardonnay Reigns (Part 2)

By Preston Hunt • 14 Nov, 2023
The views!! The best views we had the entire trip. Bryn Mawr hangs on the edge of a mountain that overlooks the entire valley, and David Lauer is king of that mountain and was our host for this short but significant stop. David is the VP of Sales and Marketing and son of owners, Jon and Kathy, who purchased the property in 2009. We met last year when he visited Nashville to show his wines around town. That was my first time tasting the wines, but definitely not my last. Following that meeting I put all 3 of the wines available to me on the shelf. David sold me on the wines, the story, and the mentality of Bryn Mawr. When we decided to go to the Willamette Valley and started planning, I knew I had to make it by Bryn Mawr. David was a fantastic host, but we barely caught each other. He was headed out of the state for a wine dinner and we had a full day booked with only about an hour and a half to spare. But we put it to good use. After a walk around the winery, totally full and being prepped for harvest, we settled out back on the porch to taste through some wines while staring out at that amazing view. They are so high up, in fact, that you can see 110 miles from right to left and nearly 40 miles straight ahead. There is a spectacular view of the Van Duzer corridor (something I’ll talk about later) and a cool breeze that never stops. So cool that they can often harvest 2-3 weeks later than the rest of the valley. Bryn Mawr loves chardonnay. One of David’s main points was that chard reigns at Bryn Mawr and, he strongly believes, will reign over the entire valley in the near future (something that would have sounded ludacrious even 3 years ago). But, he wasn’t the only one. We heard over and over again, from winemaker after winemaker, that chardonnay isn’t only on the up but the future. Bryn Mawr is ahead of the game, even going as far as to pull up some of their pinot vines to plant chardonnay, something that many would still call crazy. Bryn Mawr chardonnays aren’t only their best sellers but their most critically acclaimed. They are chardonnays you will love. Light on the oak, bright and crisp but deep in flavor. One of the big revelations of the week was chardonnay, when we realized by the end of the trip they had been some of our favorite wines. It has been a long time coming, David told us. For years Willamette Valley producers tried to mimic either the buttery ripe styles of Napa or the crispy styles of Chablis or nuanced styles of Burgundy. It is only in recent years that producers in Oregon have started to find their own style, and it isn’t one taken from these other regions. It is one of their own, one that sits somewhere in the in between. And it is amazing! This was my first full push into Oregon chardonnay, one I am super happy about and one I’ll preach hard going forward. David wasn’t just focused on chardonnay, but anything against the grain. He preached, “Everyone here makes amazing pinot noir, why not make something different? How else will we stand out? Rachel (Rachel Rose - Winemaker and Vineyard Manager) has taken this and run with it.” He embodied this idea of difference and I love that. He poured for us an estate Tempranillo and, the star of the show, an estate Dolcetto. He dove into a story about pouring the Dolcetto for some Italian men that ranted and raved, and how Dolcetto fits so well into the climate and terroir of the Eola-Amity Hills but nobody would ever think to plant it or risk wasting good land on it, and his vision for varieties like these to grow in Oregon. The Dolcetto was amazing. We brought a bottle of it home. Overall this was one of our favorite stops and the Bryn Mawr WV chardonnay ($25) is currently one of my favorites. It is typical of Willamette Valley Chardonnay in that it has a balance that California and Burgundy have gotten away from. It touches oak, but mostly neutral oak. It is fermented in sandstone and used oaked and aged in those same vessels sur lie for 11 months before bottling. It is crisp and dry and tastes of lemon, pear, some ginger and spice. Drink now. Drink cold. I can’t wait to get back and spend more time at Bryn Mawr. One of the most memorable wines we drank the entire trip was the Bryn Mawr Estate Pinot Noir 2020, which was a wildfire year when most producers chose not to make wine. But Bryn Mawr made wine. See below to find out why. It is more of that authentic difference that I love about this place. (You can find more notes like this in the Tasting Guide (Part 6). Bryn Mawr Estate Pinot Noir 2020 Fire year. Most people we talked to didn’t make any wine in 2020 or only white because the white grapes were pulled before the smoke moved in. But Bryn Mawr made their wine and David's excuse was amazing. He spoke to fires being a part of the region’s story now, like it or not. Wine people talk constantly about wine telling the story of time and place, “unless it's a story of a time or place we don’t like,” David cracked. Their 2020 wines tell the transparent story. They evoke a memory, one of pain yes, but a memory of a specific time and place. How cool is that?! There was smoke on the nose, but not much on the palate. It is juicy and spicy. They didn’t simply make the wine like normal but crafted them with the knowledge that smoke would be a major flavor in the wine. They used less oak, a fast ferment, lab yeast, and tried to keep it as juicy as possible. It isn’t even close to the best wine we had but it might be the coolest and most authentic, and to me that counts for a lot. I also think it will come to serve them in the future with more and more possibilities for fires. Practice makes perfect, they say. ($40)

Frugal MacDoogal Wine Team Visits Willamette Valley (Part 1)

By Preston Hunt • 14 Nov, 2023
In September I went on, possibly, my favorite wine trip ever, and I’ve had the privilege of taking some incredible wine trips all around the world. The trip was so amazing I hope you’ll excuse the length of this post and settle in with a coffee, or better yet, a glass of pinot noir and read from top to bottom. There’s a lot to take from the Willamette Valley- a lot to learn about the current state of pinot noir and chardonnay and a lot to learn about the direction in which pinot and chard are going. I think the Willamette Valley will be at the center of all the change, the movements, and the growing popularity of pinot and, just as notably, the exciting rebirth of American chardonnay. I was lucky enough to get to go out for a week with two of my favorite people and spend time jumping from winery to winery learning the ins and outs of Oregon wine country. We lucked out with perfect weather and arrived at the most beautiful time of year when grapes hung full and ready on the vines, one week before harvest. The wines were amazing, the views spectacular, and our hosts were so generous. The food was incredible, the little towns were perfectly quaint, the coast was jaw-droppingly epic, and our Airbnb in Newberg was dope. It was a relaxing week compared to wine trips I’ve taken in the past. We flew out on the 1st, visited 12 wineries over the following 6 days, spent one day and night in Portland, and landed back in Nashville late on the 9th. Our appointments were perfectly spread out, as were the wineries- beautiful drives from each to the next. It reminded me more of Champagne than Napa, vineyards more spread out and strategic than crammed on top of one another. The valley is still made up of small farm towns and that culture hasn’t yet been, and hopefully never will be, stripped. Luckily for us, and them, tourists don’t yet outnumber locals. It wasn’t only an informative learning experience and successful business trip, it was a much needed week of R&R before OND (October, November, December) our industry’s busiest time of year. It was such a great trip that it was hard to come back to Nashville. If you’ve never been, you must add it to your list. It was my first time and I am already planning to return.

A pilgrimage to the heart of Champagne!

By Preston Hunt • 13 Sep, 2023
An homage to craftsmanship and a celebration of the exquisite art of winemaking

Two weeks in Spain, one year to ship, finally the payoff!

By Preston Hunt, Wine Manager • 10 May, 2023
We hope you'll enjoy this blog post, taken from the monthly Preston's Picks Wine Club content that accompanies each group of wines received by Club Members.

Ahhh, Napa

By Preston Hunt, Wine Manager • 18 Apr, 2022
Perfect weather. Perfect food. Perfect wine. My wife, Erin, and I just got back from Napa and wow, where to begin! It was an incredible trip to one of my favorite places in the world. The landscapes are so beautiful it's as if your eyes are deceiving you. The weather is so perfect it makes you question why people live in the south. There isn’t bad food anywhere. Oh, and there’s wine!
Harvest! Blog post by Frugal MacDoogal Wine Manager, Preston Hunt

Harvest

By Preston Hunt, Wine Manager • 05 Oct, 2021
But first, harvest! Preston Hunt, Frugal MacDoogal Wine Manager also manages a vineyard in his spare time! Read about this year's harvest that he once again shared with friends and family.
Rosé wines at Frugal MacDoogal Nashville.

Let's Talk Rosé

By Preston Hunt, Wine Manager • 15 Jul, 2021
There are two main ways to make rosé wine: short skin contact time and blending. Most rosés we drink are made using the first method. This skin contact time is called maceration. Red wines gain their color, tannin, and some flavors by being crushed and soaked with the grape skins. Rosé wine is made using the same red wine grapes but without being soaked on the skins. Thus, the wine takes very little color, little to no tannins, and only certain flavors during fermentation. Very few rosé wines are oak-aged.
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