Wine Review: Erath 2006 Oregon Pinot Noir

Name: Erath 2006 Oregon Pinot Noir
Producer: Erath Vinyards
Region: USA, Oregon, 90.3% Willamette Valley, 9.7% Umpqua
Classification: N/A
Type: Red Wine
Variety: Pinot Noir
Year/Vintage: 2006
Bottle Size: 750ml
Purchased: $18.89, Fresh Market Food Store, March, 2008
Date Logged: 08/29/2008
Pairing(s): Grilled pork chops with Dijon baked potatoes
My Rating: 4 stars

Erath is a small producer in the Willamette Valley of Oregon that has been around since the late 1960s. They have 118 acres of vinyards, and purchase grapes from another 130 acres in Oregon. Almost two thirds of their wine is Pinot Noir, but they also produce Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and small amounts of Dry Riesling, Dry Gewürztraminer and Dolcetto. Erath produces three styles of Pinot Noir. The most affordable and first to be bottled and released each year is the 'Oregon', which is what I had here.

This wine is everything that I look for in a good American Pinot. It has a super light color that borders on pinkish. The nose is very floral, fruity, and non-French, with hints of cranberries, cherries and almost every conceivable red berry. The taste is fruit forward with very mild tannins and a little earthiness, spice and a hint of oak on the mid-length finish. The wine had a really nice silky feel in the mouth, and seemed about as fresh and aromatic as any wine I have had in recent memory.

We had this with pork chops and Dijon potatoes, and the pairing was perfect. I could also see having this with grilled salmon or grilled chicken salad. At less than 20 bucks, I think this wine is a great value and really worth having again. I logged its overall quality at 4 out of 5 stars.

Wine Review: 2006 Jaffelin Mercurey Pinot Noir

Name: 2006 Jaffelin Mercurey 1er Cru Le Clos L’Eveque
Producer: Roger Jaffelin
Region: France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey 1er Cru
Classification: Grand Vin de Bourgogne
Type: Red Wine
Variety: Pinot Noir
Year/Vintage: 2006
Bottle Size: 750ml
Purchased: $22.99, Total Wine & More, February, 2008
Date Logged: 08/10/2008
Pairing: Grilled Pork Loin
My Rating: 3-1/2 Stars

This is what I want from a wine like this… delicious, fresh, moderate complexity, a little funkiness and a lot of fruit. A very well-balanced wine that is drinking very well right now. Moderate tannins on the back end, so it may stick around for a few years as well. Paired superbly with grilled pork loin, but is also a pleasant sipping wine as well. Beautiful light ruby color in the glass, and a nose that is loaded with fruit and forest aromas. We thought that this was slightly better than a 2005 Pernand-vergelesses we had a few months ago from the same producer.

$10 Value Contest: Chile versus Australia

Recently we had two "cheap" wines which turned out to be on complete opposite ends of the value spectrum. Other than the price, these two wines didn't have much in common, so it isn't fair to either one of these wines to compare them in a head-to-head competition. It is interesting, nevertheless, to just compare the bang for the buck aspect of these two wines.

First, on the high-side of the value curve, we had a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile (2006 BrisAndes from Domaines Baron de Rothschild (Lafite), from the Colchagua Valley of Chile). We paid about $10 for it earlier this year at Total Wine and More in Delaware. With its French heritage backing by Lafite, I expected it to be a good effort, and was not disappointed. In fact, I was surprised at how good this wine actually was. It drank very much like a more expensive wine from Medoc, except a little more fruit-forward. It had a full flavor profile, with nice dark fruit, spice and chocolate tones. Very pleasing weight and finish, and paired perfectly with a grilled steak.

On the other end of the spectrum is the 2002 Jacob's Creek Reserve Chardonnay from South Australia. Another $10 purchase, but that was several years ago, so a more recent vintage today is probably a dollar or two more expensive. I probably should handicap the wine a little since it has been in the cellar a little longer than a $10 chardonnay should, but my guess is that this wasn't a very good wine even in 2002. The primary problem was oak - this wine tasted like I inhaled while I was standing in a saw mill. We had this wine with a light grilled chicken salad. At first I thought I would grow to like it, but the oak just completely overshadowed any potential good elements of the wine, not to mention the food. We ended the meal with nearly a half-bottle left, which is a rarity at our table.

So, that's the problem with wine...or maybe what's cool about wine. Two bottles for the same price, one I could drink every night, the other I don't care to ever have again.

Wine Review: 2006 Domaine Pascal Bouchard Petit Chablis

Name: 2006 Domaine Pascal Bouchard Petit Chablis
Producer: Domaine Pascal Bouchard
Region: France, Burgundy, Chablis
Classification: N/A
Type: White Wine
Variety: Chardonnay
Year/Vintage: 2006
Bottle Size: 750ml
Purchased: $17.99 Total Wine and More
Date Logged: 07/25/2008
Pairing(s): Seafood Pasta in Lemon and Olive Oil
My Rating: 3 Stars

This is classic Chablis, with plenty of green apple, citrus and mineral overtones. It had a long finish with a nice acidity. Perfect match with shrimp and scallops. Although it is very good, though, it wasn’t knock-your-socks-off good nor particularly memorable, and I’m not sure if it held its value up with the $18 price tag.