A Nice Afternoon in Carlton Area

This morning, after weighing in at 253.8lb, I loaded up my collected wines (no, this is not it, this is the wine display at Red Hills Market, mine is bigger) and drove north to the Abbey to drop them off for storage at Northwest Wines to You. Got kind of a late start as I stopped for an oil change, then got as far as Gateway Adventure Center and had to have them come out a find out why the check oil light was on. 45 minutes shot. When I got to Lafayette and the Abbey, Rebecca and Katie were ready for lunch so we tried out the new spot in Dundee,  Red Hills Market. Very well done building just off 99 to the left going north at the Dundee Bistro (also one of my favorites). They have a very nice Oregon wine wall and an assortment of yummy take away,I had two salmon salads trying to get to about 500 cal. and they both had the quiche and we were all smiling! I heard one of the best lines from anyone in a while come from Chelsey, who was at the register taking orders. She had read the notes for the quiche wrong and thought CH stood for chicken, not cheese so she said "Sorry, I had a Blond Moment" which was perfect as she is a stunning (and obviously clever) blond. She was also amazingly polite given the crowd of people trying to get lunch.
Great food, great service, and really good iced tea. they also have a nice selection of Smith Tea and they both stocked up. I understand their Bloody Mary is to die for, and they sell the mix.
Back to the Abbey and then to Lemelson Vineyards where I met Laura Arce, who is in charge of direct sales. She heard me out and tasted me though the wines they had out for tasting.
The whites were outstanding! I really love the Chardonnay.  The reds were all very different and the most complex and subtle was the one from the Meyer block. Hard to put my finger on what it was about the tastes but it had such interesting herbal and dry fruit. I have always enjoyed their wines and their commitment to the environment. They have always been organic growers and have a firm belief that introduced chemicals have a negative effect on terroir. This commitment shows in their wines. I also like the fact that they have committed, as have my wife and Ito solar energy.
She chose a bottle of Thea's Selection Pinot Noir, very good!

As the auction grows I am seeing more of the wineries beginning to give their best so I will see what they are willing to give next year.
Carton was calling so I parked on Main Street and walked across to Barking Frog Winery, introduced myself and started begging. I had great time talking to Cindy about the different reds they produce. They have a good selection of reds from Tepernillo to Pinot Noir and we taste quite a few of them. She decided to give me the tasty and complex  '09 Tempranillo from Washington Grapes. Of all the wines I tasted here, my favorites were the '08 Sangiovese, and the '06 Syrah. Man are these good. The Syrah was a special treat because they had an '07 to it to. The '07 was developing in bottle and was complex and fruity with very nice mouthfeel but the '06 just stood out as keeper. Juicy, complex fruit and leather, and spice, finished with cassis and spice for a long smooth finish.
The '08 Sangiovese was very different than  some I have had of late. It was very bright with strawberry and citrus on the nose followed by crisp dark berry and cherry. The mouthfeel was also a pleasant surprise. While a lot of the Sangioveses have an almost acid and  harsh feel on the pallet, this one was just perfectly balanced.
I am in a real quandary because I do like to sip, taste, and swallow and I have learned just a little bit goes a long way, but due to this diet I am on  I have to spit.
I always get a kick out of being in a winery with novice tasters and spitting into the bucket and watching them. Most people have been around wine tastings, seen a bit about it on TV, or seen Sideways or Bottle Shock or some other wine movie so they are used to noisy, spitting wine nuts. But some are not, and the looks they give just crack me up. I am always very polite and nice and explain why I am wasting such great wine, sometimes more to myself than to them.

Next door I pulled a stunt that I have never done before: ask the same people for wine in the smae year, and got it! Now I have to take it back! WildAire was busy and Matt was pouring when I came in. I had a strange feeling I had picked up a bottle at SIP! but my little mind. Well, we forget things, yes?
So I ask again and he gave me a bottle of their marvelous Clay Court Pinot Noir. Oh well, I can now have another excuse to visit.

On over to a place where my diet almost went to hell in a jam bottle! Republic of Jam is a little store that you HAVE TO VISIT! That is an order! (The former drill Sargent in me is coming out...) Lynette was there with her partner Amy Wilder and as promised in a short conversation a few weeks ago at Horse Radish, she figured out something to donate to the auction  in June: A year subscription to their "Jam of the Month Club"! Her June shipment is around the 15th so it will be perfect.
She let me have the sampler starting with a cremosa made with spiced cherry syrup, a small square of angle food cake (small) with strawberry/ balsamic reduction and infused whipped cream, a Marion Berry pie made from berry, goat cheese, and filo dough about 3/4 of an inch wide, and a meatball with hot fennel and orange chutney. I made it out without gaining any weight but it was a close call.
Around the corner is Troon, Cliff Creek Cellars, and a couple of others who will open soon. I went in to Cliff Creek and as they did last year, they presented a lovely bottle of their Claret. This one is the '05  Claret is

48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot and has a wonderful feel to it. I am a big fan of blends and this one rocks! I visited with Jo Jo while her daughters dog vied for my attention. Cute is an understatement.
Before I left town I stopped to see Joni at Troon and see the new promotion Carlton is doing. I think this is a terrific idea! they have umbrellas at each winery for people to use while wandering around town
very clever!

On the Road to Carlton

Carlton, Oregon has become a center for wine and has as many tasting rooms, wineries, and eateries as any small town I have ever been to. Today I plan to visit a few that are open this time of year and take some tasting notes. Seven of Hearts, Luminous Hills, and Alexana have already donated a bottle each but I may just pop in for a taste anyway.
My main targets today will be Carlton Cellars, Ghost Hill, Solena, and a couple of others that I hope are open, like the Carlton Winemakers Studio, Cana's Feast, and Cliff Creek.

First stop, Cana's Feast for a visit with my face-book buddy Jason, winemaker, tasting room dude, and soon to be Australian traveler and wine maker. He served up a tasting of all the wines that were out and one that was not. First in line was a new Pinot Noir. An 08, from the Gran Moraine vineyard due east of Carlton up high with sedimentary soils. This wine shows lots of red fruit in the nose with earthy tones. Dry mouth feel and a hint of chocolate and toast over red berry. Nice $20 Pinot Noir, and it will age well, say 5-7 years.
Watch this space for notes tonight.
Next came one of my old favorites, the '07 Barbera. This wine is all blackberry nose with a hint of blackberry layered over more blackberry. Taste? Guess. Love this one and it is not as simple as I might let on. It is a deep dark wine with layer after layer of infused dark fruit, spice and wood. 
 I then tasted the surprise wine, an '09 Counoise , a blending grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley,
used in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
It was light, low tannin, subtle, and a surprise. 

As we were chatting a couple came in and started their round of tastes. They were from North Carolina and were both retired school teachers from New York.Mel and Moreen Hauser. Very nice to talk opera with them as we are both going to Portland Opera Thursday night to see Turandot. Small world indeed!
They had been driving upp the west coast stopping in various wineries along the way and had come to Carlton for much the same reason had I.
The '07 Sangiovasi was next and was also the wine Cana's feast donated this year. A full bodied, raspberry taste with rich ripe notes of soft black fruits and a long pleasant finish of spice at the back of the tongue.
We tasted the '07 and '06 Syrahs back to back and as neither was even a little spineless, it was quite a match up;,the '06 leather and wood with black raspberry fruit, long soft tones of spice and earth. The '07 was blended with a bit of Viognier to mellow it and give it polish. It was a much more formal Syrah with hibiscus on the nose and a blueberry and plum taste. Lovely wine!

When I left I told the Hausers to make sure they stopped at Alexana for a taste and I headed there for my next adventure. Christie had given me a bottle of the '08 Shea vineyard Pinot Noir on my last trip through but I had no time to taste so today was all about taking time.
The two whites, a '09 Pinot Gris from the Revana vineyard and a  Riesling from  the same vineyard were a nice change from all the big heavy reds I had been sipping. The pinot Gris fills the nose with light dry straw and bright fruits followed by semi-sweet tastes of pear, spiced tea, and green apple. Soft mouth feel with a lingering spice finish. Lovely wine.
The '09 Riesling was a bit of a surprise! I lived in Germany and was used to that diesel or kerosene smell when I first opened a bottle of really fine Riesling. This one has just a hint of that smell followed by burnt sugar, apricot, and gives way to soft peach and white peach. I bought a bottle to take home and hide from myself for a few years.
All these wines are made by Lynn Penner-Ash and show her skill, especially the '08 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir. There is little I can say about this wine that would do it justice, high score from the wine mags, smokey black ripe fruit with chocolate and earth and spiced coffee finish. I could taste this for days and get a new hit every time. Truly an Oregon Pinot Noir!

Great Article in OregonWine.com about Carlton

THREE PERFECT DAYS IN CARLTON

by Jim Gullo

My friend Carol was visiting from Los Angeles, so naturally I drove her down NW Westside Road, the back way from McMinnville to Carlton, and naturally she gasped and cried out, "I want to move here!" We passed amazing grain silos and an enormous, white farmhouse, and the green fields, I told her, turn bright purple in May when the red clover plants mature, before they're harvested for seed. We passed the meat-packing plant, the town's park and ballfield, and when we crossed onto Main Street, Carol gasped again, because Carlton is an utterly picturesque collection of old brick buildings, and they're all full of wineries and tasting rooms.

"I want to live here," she repeated, remembering the traffic and congestion of southern California. It had taken all of thirty seconds for her to be seduced by Carlton's charms. Easy.(more)

Wednesday at a Dead Run!

I left Winderlea with a bottle of Inaugural 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir and headed up the hill to Aramenta where they gave me their very fine 2006 Chardonnay. I then dashed to Willakenzie Estate and had a nice relaxing talk with Ronnie about the winery and it's history and a taste of their four top Pinot Noirs. I left with a bottle of 2006 Pierre Leon Pinot Noir!
Off to Elk Cove for a promised 2007 Pinot Gris( 91 points W.E. editors choice). I never get tired of a well made Pinot Gris. There is a mix of delicasy and power in that wine and when made right, it is great!
Deep breath! Off to Carlton where I stopped for a really nice chat at Cana's Feast with Patrick and left with a bottle of 2006 Bricco Reserva, a Sangiovese that is excellent!
I stopped by the wine studio but nobody home so I went down to Scott Paul and found them doing paperwork and after some pleading, left with a wonderful 2007 Cuvee Martha Pirrie Pinot Noir.
Down the street Solena Cellars had a big surprise waiting in the from of a Magnum of 2006Dommaine Danielle Laurant Pinot Noir . This is a very good wine and should be held for 8 to 10 years and will be a singal item at the auction.
A short hop to McMinnville and the next stop, Panther Creek for a bottle of 2007 Winemaker's Cuvee Pinot Noir. This is one of the wines that prove 2007 was good year after all. It hearkens back to a cool climate Pinot Noir that is delicate yet strong and has a fine quality.
Alas, I am almost 60 and happily married...My last stop of the day was at R. Stuart& Co where Nicole entertained me through a glass of Pinot and a relaxed end of gathering for the day. She gave me a bottle of 2007 Autograph Pinot Noir.
Home and a rest, then off again Friday!