A taste of Oregon Terrior-Pinot Noir Style!

Happy Monday all!  I must say that I am in a great mood today, and not just because it is my Saturday.  What is it about drinking great wines with great people that just all makes sense?  Oh yeah, that's the way life should be.  Last night, 8-8-2010, Jonathon Kloencke from L Wine Bar, 1801 L st Sacramento CA, hosted a single vineyard selection of 8 top tier pinot noirs from 2008 Vintage from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  Order as follows:
1. Maysara 'Jamsheed' Momtazi Vineyard, McMinnville
2. Siduri Muirfield Vineyard, Willamette Valley
3. Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills
4. Auteur Shea Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton
5. Brick House Boulder Creek Block, Ribbon Ridge
6. Westrey Abbey Ridge, Dundee Hills
7. Ken Wright Nysa Vineyard, Dundee Hills
8. Ken Wright Abbott Claim Vineyard, Yamhill Carlton

And my favorites, in ascending order:

8. Maysara 'Jamsheed'
7. Auteur Shea Vineyard- dissappointing showing from my favorite vineyard =( Tight palate needs time and the alcohol needs to mellow out
6. Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard
5. Westrey Abbey Ridge- at $36 a bottle, this was the BEST VALUE wine in the group
4. Ken Wright Nysa Vineyard
3. Siduri Muirfield Vineyard-this wine grew on me a lot through the night, it was very tough not putting it #2
2. Ken Wright Abbott Claim Vineyard-all kinds of good
and the #1 wine in the bunch:

Brick House Boulder Creek Block Vineyard Ribbon Ridge 2008 Pinot Noir

My first time tasting a wine from Brick House, and was I impressed.  Definitely the most Burgundian of the bunch, which is probably why I like it so much.  The wine was starbright with a light ruby color, light concentration, the lightest of the bunch, the wine is very clear.  The beginning of a rim variation is forming as well.
All kinds of floral perfumy aromas on the nose.  Fresh lavender mingle with dry red rose petals, the fruit is almost an afterthought as it is very soft and all kinds of light red berry fruits.  Also a very distinct mineral component lingers on the nose towards the finish.  I know this wine spends time in french oak, but it is integrated so well it is not pronounced by any means.
The palate comfirms what the nose already told us, but a great wine evolves in the glass.  The candied cherries and ripe strawberries begin to wake up on the front, with the sweetness of ripe red fruit mingling with the creamy kiss of french oak.  There was great grip in the mid palate, telling me this wine will evolve beautifully over the next few years in a proper cellar.  The finish was strong with cola flavors, a key marker for a cooler climate like Willamette Valley, and the sandy soil minerality became noticable on the finish.  Also hints of a 'stemmy' quality awoke in the glass, coming from the use of whole cluster bunches for making the wine, imparting flavors from the stems in the process, a very Burgundian thing to do.  And the acidity just goes on and on.

This is definitely a wine I can drink all by itself, but it really does work well with food.  I most enjoyed the bacon and potato pizza with little dices of jalapenos and cheese.  Simply Grand!  Cheers!