2000 Cooper Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley
Organically Grown Grapes
$13.99
www.coopermountainwine.com

You don’t need to be the most observant shopper these days to notice “Organic Foods” prominently displayed at your local supermarket. Eggs from free-range hens, goat milk yogurt, grass-fed beef and every fruit and vegetable under the sun are now offered to you organically. So it should come as no surprise that organic wine has muscled its way onto grocery store shelves across the country too. Typically these wines are shelved not by their country of origin but rather with their organic brethren from near and far. Therefore, it’s not at all uncommon to discover a Chianti Classico couched beside some Sancerre that’s sandwiched between Lodi Zinfandel and New Zealand pinot noir. From my experience much of this wine flaunts its organic pedigree at the expense of real wine quality and I know few wine geeks that take this stuff seriously. For sure, many great wines are made organically but they rarely advertise themselves as being so, preferring to let the wine in the bottle and not the buzzword “organic” do the talking. So I was more than a little skeptical about a bottle of Willamette Valley pinot noir (found next to a white Bordeaux no less) that put its organic breeding front and center on its label but figured what harm could really be done for $13.99. I could always sauté organic mushrooms with the stuff if it wasn’t any good.

2000 Cooper Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir was pale garnet showing some orange hues near the rim of the glass. At first reductive in odor (sulfur), with adequate aeration this pinot really shined aromatically. With its red currant, raspberry and strawberry nose the classic bright red fruits of pinot noir were here in good attendance. Sweet black cherry and a touch of compost filled this pinot’s palate while nuances of acacia, orange peel, mushroom and underbrush added considerable complexity. I was very impressed. The wine’s mouthfeel was leaner than most Oregon pinot noir, much to my liking, and it offered tart acidity, balanced alcohol and great length of finish. What I found so intriguing about this wine was its chameleon-like ability to show ever-changing flavors and shifting aromas over the course of its drinking. Without question it was excellent with dinner and I wish I had more.

If a wine bottle were a book then its label would be its front cover, its back-copy its sleeve. Upon which would you affix the phrase “Organically Grown Grapes”? Regrettably, I think Cooper Mountain Vineyards, though justifiably proud, over-share with their packaging and as a result are pigeonholed by retailer and consumer alike. Most wine drinkers I know care most about wine quality and less about the how’s and why’s of its production. Yet, from my observation those who exclusively buy organic products frequently do so with a disregard for quality. Their purchasing decisions seem most strongly influenced by “organic” being emblazoned on a label. Yes, many excellent foodstuffs are today produced organically but I haven’t found too many wines solely marketed as such to be very satisfying. That Cooper Mountain Vineyards produces wine of such high quality that is marketed as being organic first and foremost makes this bottle of Willamette Valley pinot noir all the more exceptional. Highly recommended and an overachiever at its price.

2004 Adelsheim Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley
$21.99
www.adelsheim.com

They say imitation is the ultimate form of flattery. I’m reminded of that old cliché every time a new-label of Oregon pinot noir is debuted. Yes, Willamette Valley’s pinot pioneers have indeed inspired many. Sometimes I do chance it and take home a bottle unknown and untested, and while this occasionally yields exciting results, more often than not I’m only poorer for the experience. So I must have been gun-shy a couple of weeks back when I bought this bottle of Adelsheim. You see, Adelsheim isn’t new or flashy or hip. It’s decidedly old school like a jazz standard that gets played again and again and again. Yet, somehow I never tire of listening to “Autumn Leaves” or “Love for Sale” regardless of how often they’re played. It seems that good wine, like good music, never loses its buoyancy.

Adelsheim’s 2004 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir showed a plum red in the glass with light to medium color concentration. Soft qualities of raspberry and cherry fruit were subtle beneath layers of light oak, forest-floor and truffle. While pure, bright fruit flavors were evident in both the wine’s nose and palate, this pinot will never be mistaken for a fruit-driven wine. It showcases wonderful earthy character with style (think morel and porcini mushrooms) and is far too nuanced to be defined by red and black fruit flavors alone. Yet, this Oregon pinot noir wasn’t “dirty” in any way. Far from it: it was pure and clean while remaining very interesting. Texturally, this pinot was silky, not plush nor full, but finely balanced with adequate weight, dusty tannins and a supple mouthfeel. Its drinker will be rewarded by a very long and satisfying finish.

Being elegant and deliciously subtle, Adelsheim Pinot Noir will appeal to the purist, and like an old Blue Note recording should provide pleasure for many years to come. Highly recommended!

2002 Cristom Pinot Noir
Mt. Jefferson Cuvée
Willamette Valley
$22.99 (regularly $27.99)
www.cristomwines.com

I’ve never met Steve Doerner but if asked what kind of man he must be I’d figure him for a better listener than talker. The kind of person people pay attention to when he does speak, believing that what he has to say must be real important if he’s taking the time to say it. His pinots at Cristom are real good, but the winery doesn’t get all the press of say a Ken Wright Cellars or Archery Summit, so he must be more of a listener than a talker. It seems like people who talk a lot get lots of attention, but that’s what I think and I’ve never met Steve Doerner.

Mt. Jefferson Cuvée was a deep and transparent black cherry-red in the glass. This Willamette Valley pinot offers black cherry and raspberry fruits in a medium-textured wine full of good soft tannin. In fact, this pinot was downright grippy in ample fruit tannin and texturally pleasing from lack of fining or filtration. In many respects Cristom’s Mt. Jefferson Cuvée is the archetypal Oregon pinot noir: the wine shows medium concentration has a wonderful satin-texture and offers Oregon’s signature aromatics of forest-floor and leaf. In short, this is very good and well-made wine.

Unfortunately for me, I found Mt. Jefferson Cuvée too sweet while drinking with dinner. Certainly others will disagree, perhaps even preferring this sweeter style, but I believe this pinot would be better balanced, provide greater interest and satisfaction if it finished with less residual sugar. That’s simply my preference. Many will find this pinot’s rich mouthfeel and slightly sweet finish very satisfying indeed. Highly recommended!