A Day of Rest and Burghound

Today was really the calm before the storm. While the weather cleared up, we can feel the threatening storm of three days of intense picking that will start Saturday and run through Monday. On Saturday and Sunday we will process almost 40 tons of fruit each day.

However, today was quiet and gave us a chance to catch up and a few members of the crew even got a day off. As we enjoyed the day we also got some good news about vintages past as Burghound gave us and our neighbors some nice reviews. I, in particular, am pleased with Allen Meadows' comments on our wines as he is clearly the definitive writer on pinot noir in the industry today.  No one knows the entire world of pinot noir better than Allen and anyone who loves pinot noir should be a subscriber to his newsletter, Burghound.

Below are Allen's Comments about our current releases and I find them very accurate.

Anne Amie Vineyards (Carlton)
2005 Pinot Noir – Cuvée A red - 88
2004 Pinot Noir – La Colina Vineyard red - 91
2004 Pinot Noir – Willamette Valley red – 89

These consistently impressive wines were bottled unfined and unfiltered. For more information visit: www.anneamie.com

2005 Pinot Noir – Cuvée A: (bottled under screw cap at 13.5%). A lower register fruit nose of ripe red and blue fruit plush hints of earth and briar lead to round, rich, supple and forward flavors that offer good volume and reasonable complexity plus nice finishing balance. This is designed for early drinking and it’s perfect for what it was designed to be. While there is no reason to wait, it could repay 6 months to a year in the cellar. 88/now+

2004 Pinot Noir – Willamette Valley: (bottled at 14.4%). An extremely pretty nose of red and blue pinot fruit aromas nuanced with hints of plum, spice and briar merges into elegant and silky flavors that carry a deft touch of wood which culminate in a sweet and sappy finish. This is not as concentrated as some ‘04s but it’s very stylish. Lovely and particularly good for a “regional” wine where the only nit is a trace of backend warmth. Worth a look. 89/2008+

2004 Pinot Noir – La Colina Vineyard: (from Willamette Valley fruit bottled at 14.5%). A higher-toned, more complex and more elegant nose that is airy and layered features ripe red berry fruit with hints of violet and briar that can also be found on the pure, sweet and equally stylish flavors that are quite supple with excellent flavor authority and focus. This is really lovely with a touch of youthful asperity on the long finish that a few years in bottle will round out. Recommended. 91/2009+

From 4th Quarter 2007, Issue 28 of Allen Meadow’s Burghound, October 2007