What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD)

While shopping for wine a couple of weeks back, I discovered a bottle of Montinore Estate pinot noir, a producer I recognized but for the life of me could not recall why. It wasn't until I did some research online and remembered this was an Oregon winery that received quite a bit of press when it was for sale several years ago for $5 million.

Rudy Marchesi, who was president of the winery when it was being sold, assumed ownership of Montinore Estate in 2006. The original estate had its founding in the early 1900's, when a Montana transplant established the 585 acre property, calling it "Montinore", which he coined from "Montana-in-Oregon". The winery wasn't established until 1982.

In the late 90's, Montinore Estate was one of the largest wineries in Oregon, producing 67,000 cases of wine in 1997. Soon after this peak period, the estate started focusing on quality over quantity, cutting its production in half to about 36,000 cases today. Even still, Montinore Estate remains a large producer in Oregon, ranking 13th in the state based on case production. The focus on quality has extended into the vineyard, where biodynamic farming is now practiced.

We paired the Montinore 2006 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir with grilled handmade sausages, an insalata caprese, and grilled bread. On the eyes, the Montinore pinot noir (14.2%) was a medium, brickish red suggesting a vintage older than an '06. On the nose, it offered earthy, cedar and spice notes, covering hints of fruit in the background. On the palate, the woody and earthy notes showed through most, with some black cherry fruit revealing itself. The wine continued to open up in the glass - with each taste I was left discovering something new in this wine.

On the second night, we paired what was remaining in the bottle with grilled kebabs made up of beef sirloin, red onions, yellow/red peppers along with a side of wild rice. At first, a barnyard earthiness was apparent on the nose, which suggests the presence of Brettanomyces. It seemed to dissipate over time revealing a considerable amount of fruit, especially cherry notes, with bright acidity throughout. Kari and I enjoyed the wine even more on the second night, after it had some time to open up. It was more balanced and the flavors seemed more pronounced than the night before.

Overall, I found this Oregon pinot noir intriguing, for it evolved in ways that surprised us both over the two nights we tasted it. After seeing the brickish color and tasting a bit of Brett in the Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, I am reluctant to buy another bottle but would definitely like to try their other wines. the majority of which are priced below $20.