Oregon

• Columbia Gorge
• Dundee Hills
• McMinnville
• Willamette

Sineann sadly no longer utilizes fruit from this vineyard.  Panther Creek does, but I have yet to try one.  Peter Rosback did amazing things with this vineyard back in the day.  At age 10, this is still youthful but drinking wonderfully.  For Oregon, Sineann wines tend to be big at birth, but as they age, they mellow and integrate.  This one is just starting to.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has cherries, slight sour cherries, a slight bit of cedar and a nice earthiness.  On the palate, the sour cherries and slight cherries layer with the clean earthiness.  Great balance and energy.  Deep

A very nice Chardonnay from Oregon.  Light golden/yellow in color, just a hint of cloudiness.  The nose is big with a bit of oak/vanilla.  Nice red apples and a bit of lemon cream.  On the palate, this is a bit fat but enough acidity to make it work.  Apples and slight lemons.  Good finish.  This is terrific on it own, a bit more limited with food but would be great with sea food or lighter middle eastern foods.  While it won't get better, it still has five years (at least left).  

Sineann gets grapes in Oregon and Washington and makes quite a few different wines.  This one is a blend of grapes that did not get bottled as a single varietal.  It is always a great wine and a better value.  This vintage it contains Merlot, Cabernet and Zinfandel.  By the way, Abondante means "generous" in Italian.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, spice, slight chocolate and forest floor.  On the palate, there are light tannins.  This is medium to full bodied.  Plenty of black cherry fruit with some cherry over a forest floor quality.  Good finish.  This is very fle

This is from the Food and Gift purveyor Harry & David and made with Oregon fruit.  It is a "Bordeaux Styled" wine though the exact blend is unclear.  These wines sell as part of gift packages that one can order online or at a store.  It is quite good and was a real crowd pleaser.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  The nose is dusty with black cherries and a nice earthiness to it.  On the palate, this has a nice acidity.  Tart cherry fruit over a forest floor base.  Silky tannins.  Nice finish.  This is food friendly and should go well with medium and heavier foods but especially meat a

Another wine from Food and Gift purveyors Harry & David.  These are available from their web site and stores and sold as packages and gift sets along with their other products.  The label touts that the grapes were picked early in the season which seemed a bit counter intuitive although they likely are trying to achieve a crispness.  Given Oregon's climate, that was a bit puzzling.  In any event, not the first wine label I didn't understand.  The wine itself is very nice.  Very pale pink in color with some light lavender and silver hues.  The nose is very nice with peaches, strawberries

This is from Food and Gift purveyor Harry & David and made in Southern Oregon.  This is a very interesting and different take on Riesling.  Light yellow/white/gold in color with a bit of a green tinge to it.  The nose has a fresh cantaloupe quality to it which is very interesting.  On the palate, this has a bit of a tingling acidity.  The cantaloupe /melon quality comes thru.

2007 in Oregon was a love it or hate it vintage.  The wines tended to be thinner and less ripe.  Whether this is good is up to the taster.  While I have had some lovely wines from that vintage, for the most part, it is not one of my favorite vintages.  Sineann tends to make bigger styled Pinots (on an Oregon scale), so it was interesting to see how this was drinking at 12 years from vintage.  For my tastes, this was not up to the usual level of enjoyment.  Ruby in color.  The nose has some cherry juice, a bit of spice and slight herbaceous quality.  On the palate, this is light bodied.  Lig

To my knowledge, no one uses this vineyard any longer which is a shame as it produced some outstanding Pinots.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has cherries, black cherries, macerated cherries with a nice funky earthiness.  Gorgeous texture.  Deep and complex but still youthful.  Ripe cherry and black cherry fruit with slight tannins.  Long finish.  Just a gorgeous Pinot that at age 10 still has some upside.  Drink now with air or hold for at least a decade.  Worked well with pizza!

Purple/ruby in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black cherries with slight sour cherries and sandalwood.  On the palate, this is a big Pinot on Oregon standards.  Sour cherries, some underlying char.  Full bodied.  Slight tannins.  This should work well with medium bodied and heavier foods.  Think Salmon, game, etc.  Screw capped.  It is still young and should improve a bit.  Drink over the next ten years.  

Light golden in color.  The nose is mild with pears and melons.  On the palate, there is a slight diesel note but also some slight fruit.  It has a round texture, but lacks much acidity or intensity.  It is enjoyable, but leaves one wanting for a bit more.  Some of that is the varietal but still.  $19 retail.  A very solid wine.  Drink now this may have been better a year ago.