Tasting Notes for Abbelone's Newest Wines

Tonight, with much help from my good friend Michael Bailey of In Vitis For Wine, I was able to make it through a very nice evening of tasting and comparing notes on some very special wines.

The first hint of something different came from the Gris: The nose had little of the citrus and bright white fruit I am used to in Oregon Pinot Gris, instead there were notes of fresh morning hay fields and sweet melons while the mouth was met with spicy pear,  melon and a brightness that is hard to describe.

'14 Pinot Gris

Light straw hue

Nose: Very subtle melon with hay and mineral earth

Palate: Bright spice with small amounts of green apple and pear, fennel

Spicy finish

Sourced from Kliewer vineyard in Cheshire with some additional Eolla Hills fruit, 100 cases

Pair with Cod and other white fish

Next came the Rose' made with Pinot Noir from the vineyards on the estate. Recently Oregon has legalized a very popular herb and the first notes I found were of that herb, bound with dark red grapefruit along with  high notes of rose petals and fresh rain. The taste is rich and complicated with earthy notes under black cherry and vanilla. Beautiful finish.

 '14 Rose’

Bright rose petal color

Nose: Slight hint of a recently legalized herb with grapefruit, rose petals, and morning rain, cinnamon carnations.

Palate: Pleasantly delightful with earth tones, light cherry, round vanilla notes.

Finish: long and spicy

75 Cases made

Pair with Lamb, salmon, salty foods.

The Pinot Noir is stunning! Deep deep red to black with an amazingly complicated aroma that continues to change and surprise. The tastes are of earthy under oak and chocolate, baked black cherries, and smoky leather. Very long finish the changes slowly from warm spice to sweet berry.

'13 Pinot Noir

All sourced from estate. 777, Pommard, 115, and 667

Deep cola hue

Nose: Just divine. So many overtones and changing hints of cola and spices

Palate: Oak, chocolate, dark cherries. Smoke and vanilla

Long and spicy finish

Drink now to ‘22

290 cases made

Pair with Salmon, lamb, turkey, ostrich

Now the Syrah. Many of Oregon's Syrahs from the Rogue Valley have a heat and smoke to them that I find somewhat unpleasant. This is NOT one of them. Sourced from  Dick Ellis' vineyards and co-fermented with Viognier in the Northern Rhone style. 

 Roasted meat, Cola, smoke, Dark chocolate, did I say meat? Yes, roasted!

Wonderful overall feel and taste. Very well made.

’13 Syrah

Big surprises lurk in this wine. Fruit sourced from Rouge Valley from Dick Ellis with a clone from the Hermitage region co-fermented with Viognier in the Northern Rhone style.

Dark Cherry hue

Nose: Cola and dark fruit

Palate:  dark chocolate, roasted meat, smoke, currents, evry light jam.

Finishes long and spicy with cola notes

80 cases made

Pair with rich Italian foods

These wines are available in many places around town including Oregon Wine LAB and at the Abbelone Vineyards