Beyond the Bottle : Willamette Valley Vineyards Archives

November 21, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Chardonnay Dijon Clone

Full Disclosure: This wine was provided as a free sample from the producer. In the glass, the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Chardonnay Dijon Clone (14.5%) was a beautiful clear, golden yellow. Aromas of wood, cream, and ripe tropical fruit were a bit overwhelming. Flavors of old, over-ripe pineapple and melon were predominant. This Oregon chardonnay was over-extracted, over-oaked, and over-alcohol. It was far too cloying and viscous for my taste. The only thing pleasing about this wine was its color - the smell and taste made this undrinkable. Unfortunately, it is yet another far too common example of how such...

Posted by Thad W. at 04:47 PM | Permalink

November 17, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir Elton Vineyard

Full Disclosure: This wine was provided as a free sample from the producer. In the glass, the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir Elton Vineyard was a clear, ruby red color delivering floral notes of red and black fruit along with cedar and wood. In the mouth, this Oregon pinot noir was well balanced, with good texture and bright acidity. Tannins were present as was a predominant flavor of oak, even though 20% new French oak was used. We paired the WWV Elton Vineyard with grilled beef tenderloin and sauteed cremini mushrooms served on a bed of egg noodles with...

Posted by Thad W. at 08:45 PM | Permalink

November 15, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Riesling WV

Full Disclosure: This wine was provided as a free sample from the producer. The WVV 2007 Riesling Willamette Valley (10%) was a clear. light golden yellow in the glass with faint notes of petrol, wet stone, and minerals. In the mouth, this Oregon riesling offered nice floral honeysuckle flavors with crisp acidity leading to a slightly sweet finish (residual sugar = I found this Willamette Valley Vineyards riesling to be a terrific wine, one that we enjoyed on its own as well as a lead to a various meals over the three nights we tasted it. Depending on where you...

Posted by Thad W. at 12:32 PM | Permalink

November 09, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay Estate Vineyard WV

Full Disclosure: This wine was provided as a free sample from the producer. In the glass, the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay Estate Vineyard (13.5%) was a clear, golden yellow color offering fleeting hints of pear and pineapple fruit that led to clear notes of vanilla, cream, and nutmeg. In the mouth, this Oregon chardonnay reminded me of egg nog, with its flavors of nutmeg, clove, toast, vanilla and cream. Overall, it was a bit too reduced and creamy for my taste. There was decent acidity in the wine, but the egg nog aspect put me off. We paired this...

Posted by Thad W. at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

November 01, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Dry Riesling WV

Full Disclosure: This wine was provided as a free sample from the producer. In the glass, the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Dry Riesling Willamette Valley (11%) was a clear, light gold color, offering notes of petrol, honeysuckle, strong minerality, especially wet stone. In the mouth, the WWV riesling delivered bright acidity creating a crisp, clean texture wrapped with delicious fruit flavors leading to a pleasingly long finish. We drank this wine first on its own and then alongside a salad, which was comprised of green leaf lettuce, thinly sliced Washington honeycrisp apples, red grapes, oil and vinegar. I really enjoyed...

Posted by Thad W. at 08:12 PM | Permalink

March 25, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir WV

For a study in contrasts, we decided to open the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir (13%) alongside a 2006 Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir (14.5%) from the same producer. I purchased the '07 at retail for $24, while the '06 was provided as a free sample from the winery. Before getting into comparative tasting notes, it's worth calling out the terrific way in which Willamette Valley Vineyards connects their customers to the people and places behind their wines. I called this out in a previous post and want to highlight this distinguishing factor again. Simply put, there are few...

Posted by Thad W. at 07:12 PM | Permalink

November 22, 2008

Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) In my last post, I wrote about a wine that was a case study in bottle label minimalism. With this one, I wanted to highlight a producer at the opposite end of the spectrum, Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVV), who with their labels do a fantastic job connecting the consumer to the people, places, and practices going into each bottle of wine. The back label was the first thing I noticed when getting ready to open a bottle of their 2007 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley ($15) and the 2006 Tualatin Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir...

Posted by Thad W. at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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November 21, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Chardonnay Dijon Clone

November 17, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir Elton Vineyard

November 15, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Riesling WV

November 09, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay Estate Vineyard WV

November 01, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Dry Riesling WV

March 25, 2009

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir WV

November 22, 2008

Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris

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