There is something very telling about a wine when you unexpectedly discover during your meal that the bottle is almost, if not entirely, empty. You're so caught up in the enjoyment of it with your dinner, that you honestly forget about how much you (or those around you) have consumed. Not until you reach for another pour when suddenly that bottle feels unexpectedly light...and unfortunately empty.

Such is the case with Love & Squalor Pinot noir.

When my wife and I first experienced this wine more than year ago at clarklewis, we were shocked at how quickly a bottle of the 2007 Love & Squalor Pinot noir disappeared. Weeks later, I was able to buy a few more bottles, but these too vanished in quick fashion during several dinners.

I did not even connect the dots on this consumption pattern until recently, when a bottle of the 2008 Love & Squalor Pinot Noir Willamette Valley (13.3%) was opened with dinner. Over comments about how much we were enjoying this wine, I picked up the bottle to pour another glass for my wife only to find a small, last sip remaining.

"Did we just drink that ENTIRE bottle?!?!", she exclaimed.

Okay, in all honesty, she might have said something more to the effect of, "Did YOU just drink that entire bottle?!?!". For the record, I poured her at least a third of that bottle during the course of our meal, but truth be told I may have tipped the bottle in my favor at times, as the advantage goes to the sommelier in the house.

Anyway, who's keeping count of what's being poured and how much is going to whom when the wine is so delicious you don't care about anything else but drinking it - hah!

And drink it we did as well as another bottle opened with family the next day over for lunch, who also became instant fans of Love & Squalor. With only 175 cases produced, there is limited supply out there, which is why I quickly snatched up several more bottles, thanks to Michael at Storyteller Wine Company in Portland.

So, what makes this wine special to me? First, it's the wonderful strawberry/cherry fruit, dusty earth aromas with hints of spice on the nose. Next, it's the way these notes continue as structured flavors of red fruit combined with balanced acidity and a pleasing minerality. Finally, it's the long fruit and mineral finish that prompts me to ponder but compels me to consume another sip (or pour another glass).

I am looking forward to the day when I can meet Matt Berson, the winemaker/owner of Love & Squalor, who is also assistant winemaker at Brooks, another favorite producer of mine (more dots are now starting to connect). Matt crafts and blends his label's Pinot noir with fruit sourced from the Temperance Hill, Winter's Hill and Left Coast vineyards (see his winemaking notes here).

At $24, there are few who come close to producing the quality of wine Matt crafts in this Pinot noir. He has also done well with another grape, the 2008 Love & Squalor Riesling WV; the 2009 is now available, which I plan to try soon. I'll be on the hunt for that and even more '08 Pinot noir in the weeks ahead.

Related Links
More coverage of Love & Squalor wines
Love & Squalor Wine Page