Best Barrel!

As usual, Best Barrel was an excellent event. The 2007s were all showing beautifully. They are all lovely, elegant wines; classic cool-climate Pinot Noir. And I think the Stoller Vineyard Chardonnay is gorgeous. I expect on release (almost a year away), the 2007 Ian’s Reserve Chardonnay will be the most impressive we have done–no mean feat considering the consistent quality of that wine over the years.

While we wait for those delicate 2007s to be ready to drink, we will have plenty of approachable fruit-rich 2006s to keep us occupied. 2006 and 2007 were both very good vintages for our Pinot Noir, but they are certainly an example of how dramatic the impact of vintage is on the style of Oregon wines.

- Daniel

Chehalem’s 2006 Cerise Vanquishes Cru Beaujolais in Somewhat Biased Tasting

Vanquish might be too strong a word, but I had to try and catch your attention.

A little background: a group of us from the industry (and a couple of wine-interested spouses) get together every month or two at the winery to taste wines from around the world. Generally we choose a region, sometimes a variety and everyone brings a bottle for the blind tasting.

This month, the theme was Cru Beaujolais. It wasn’t the most representative tasting–only four Beaujolais villages were represented–nor was the blinding perfect–some of us knew there was a ringer in there, but we are proud of our little wine anyway. In the blind tasting, the 2006 Chehalem Cerise, a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir that we produce in small quantities–our version of a passetoutgrains–was the overall favorite, followed by the 2003 Dubœuf Fleurie.

There could certainly have been some house-palates in the room, as there were three Chehalem folks and one Chehalem spouse, but there was also representation from a couple of other wineries, too. Regional palate, perhaps? Or maybe it’s just tasty.

Regardless of why it won our little tasting, there is no doubt that it is showing well right now: pepper and violet with full red fruit on the palate and a touch of oak and more pepper on the finish. It certainly has been fun to watch this wine as it comes into its own. Even a couple of months ago it was tart and closed. Now it’s lovely. We didn’t produce Cerise last year and people have been asking for it. I bet it goes in a hurry.