Week 3 Virtual Tasting for Charity - Wines of Oregon - D@vid Bu3ker for Dakin Humane Society - DEC9-DEC16

The week will once again be a celebration of Oregon Wines. $5 per note. $10 per note for wines from Berserker winemakers (e.g. Marcus G., Vincent, Jim A.) and Oregon Berserker Day participants. My company also matches donations, so it’s going to double no matter what. Pet photos welcome!

The results will be a donation to Dakin Humane Society.

Dakin is a Massachusetts organization that offers low/no cost pet services (e.g. spay/neuter clinic), and adoption of pets to forever homes. They have taken in animals left homeless due to disasters across the country, and recently been taking in pets whose families were affected by COVID. Our two cats, Deus and Houdini were adopted from Dakin in December 2010.

https://www.dakinhumane.org/home-make-a-gift-2020.html

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Let’s get this going: Recommended by @Marcus Goodfellow.

  • 2016 Twill Cellars Chardonnay - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (12/8/2020)
    Wow, what a difference a couple of years can make. Oak is now fully integrated and not noticeable on the nose or the palate. Acidity has mellowed and the fruit has come out. Fruit, acid and richness are all in balance with nothing sticking out. Great minerality throughout. It was good before, but wow! This is a seriously good bottle of Chardonnay for $20

Posted from CellarTracker

Here’s what I wrote a few years back…

  • 2016 Twill Cellars Chardonnay - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (6/9/2018)
    Med Pale, perfectly clear and shimmering in the light. Hint of sea shells and then a nice light waft of caramel make an inviting nose. There is richness even on the tip of the palate, with pear, citrus and caramel bouncing off the persistant acidity. The finish is long and dominated by the acidity with the butterscotch lingering to compliment. To me, this is Oregon in style even though it offers elements of California in its profile. Tasted side by side with 16 Goodfellow WV chardonnay, The Twill tasted more acidic yet bigger on the richness and the caramel but in a subtle Oregon kinda way. Excellent wine. POBEGA’D from the Fed-Ex guy, sampled over 2 days. Great QPR for $20

12.6% ABV, Johan, Molly’s, and Stormy Morning Vineyards. DIAM 10 Cork
(A++ for the super high quality cork on a budget friendly wine) (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Is “arriving early” a thing for you or is this just a one-off? :wink:

I was wondering if the barn door was left open… Or is it Dec 9th already somewhere?

Folks - I would prefer we get started with wines tasted starting tomorrow.

There is still one more day to have an Aussie wine, and help Jay Hack raise funds for a food bank.

Ooh I’m definitely opening some Oregon pinot during the William Kelley AMA. Take THAT Burgundy.

Ordered a mixed 6-pack from Todd Hamina a while back. Looks like the time has come to crack those open

Been trying to think of something to juice the numbers here. We donated 40% of the revenue of a 2016 Pinot Noir bottling to a local no-kill animal shelter so this is firmly in our winery’s wheelhouse.

We will match any person’s PGC tasting note by replacing your bottle. Maybe not that wine or vintage but we will send you a fresh mystery bottle of PGC for opening up your cellar to open up the wallet for the Humane Society. Yes, you won’t know what you’re getting but…you’ll have to trust me.

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Thank you Jim.

Well, I know what I’m opening!

What do I get for a Patricia Green Berserker Cuvee and a Seven of Hearts Curmudgeon Cuvee?

A this point $15 donated to a Humane Shelter, 2 good bottles of wine to drink and a bottle of wine from PGC to replace the one you’ve opened to forward along a donation. I assume a good meal and some company as well.

Welcome to Oregon wine week folks!

So as I believe I mentioned when I posted in Frank Murray’s thread in support of Laura’s House, this is my favorite time of the year on the Board. This Board can be equal parts interesting & frustrating over the full 365, but the fact that we have individuals like Frank, Jay and David (and whoever else will be following David next) sponsoring these truly worthy causes really gives all of us a pretty cool way to give Thanks - and that has never been more important than it is this year, which in retrospect for so many different reasons has truly been a challenge.

I love the theme here - for Frank’s Pinot-based fundraiser, I opted for four 2013 Pinots from Marcus Goodfellow. Following up on that, I was down in the cellar yesterday and stood up three 2013 Pinot’s from Jim Anderson - the Freedom Hill, Freedom Hill Dijon 115 and the Freedom Hill Pommard Clone. I’ve always wanted to try these side-by-side to see what differences I might discern from the different clonal selections, and David’s thread for Dakin gives me the perfect opportunity to do so.

Still a little early on the East coast to pull any corks, but I will update this later today as I check out each wine. David, thanks for doing this [cheers.gif]

Okay, time to get serious here. First up, the2013 Patricia Green Freedom Hill; according to the label, this contains three different clones harvested from five different sections of the vineyard. The nose is quite evocative here, red fruits & florals. A little more tied down on the palate, with primarily red fruit with good acidity for lift. Very likable.

Next up, the 2013 PG Freedom Hill Dijon 115; this has a similarly appealing nose, but seems more relaxed/expansive on the palate. Very nice. According to the label, 50% whole cluster.

And finally, the 2013 PG Freedom Hill Pommard Clone; oooh, the nose here is much different than on the first two wines, with a good dash of that farmhouse funk - very interesting & complex, as long as you can tolerate some funkiness with your wine. On the palate, this is more of a mix of black & red fruit - I’m enjoying this. According to the label, this was 100% destemmed from a section of the vineyard replanted in 2001.

Yeah, a huge thank you to David and everyone else for their contributions and donations over the years including this crazy 2020. My SO is on the board at The Humane Society of Charlotte, so I’m grateful for your continued support of all the furry friends. We recently donated a tasting of Oregon wines to the Humane Society for their annual Gala auction a few months ago. Hopefully, we can schedule the tasting in the very near future and open some bottles of Goodfellow, Patty Green (or late 90’s Torii Mor), Cameron, Eyrie, Walter Scott and Thomas.

And thanks to Jim A. for the generous offer. Let’s make this a week of Patty Green wines. I’ll try to open one bottle or split of PGC every night and post a note here. If anyone has any favorite vintages or a specific wine, please let me know and I’ll try to open a bottle. We opened a bottle of 1999 Torii Mor Balcombe Pinot* on Sunday night at the local restaurants social distanced Christmas show and it was exceptional with many years ahead. Also opened a 2004 PGC Croft Pinot the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was amazing.

Kudos to all!

  • Jim A. can clarify, but at a minimum I think that Patty and Jim completed the 1999 harvest at Torii Mor before starting PGC. Then again, I could be very wrong.

Thanks for doing this David. Coincidentally, our dog Oreo who was rescued had his initial vet evaluation at Dakin after he was found on the streets in Springfield, MA. I’ll plan to open a Goodfellow pinot tonight.

Woo Hoo.
I now know what I am opening. May have to do t Berserker Cuvee Vertical of the '13 and the '14!
Thanks.

Plus some teeny tiny winery wines from Kelley Fox arrived this week so I can add one of those to the mix.

Thanks David and Jim. Remarkably generous and a fine cause. Oregon wines will be on deck after the currently open Chianti and Aussie Pinot.

RT

2017 Bethel Heights Estate Vineyard “Casteel” Pinot Noir:

Dark color. Really dark actually. Cocoa, kirsch, stewed raspberries and spiced wood. Concentrated upfront fruit resonating with the intense kirsch/raspberry aromatics. Tannins come on mid-palate and pull flavors back into the acid driven finish. Dense, chewy. Would be a good foil for a brisket based burger or a steak. Lots of impact. A little unwieldy and youthfully disjointed right now suggesting some harmonizing over time. Definitely good stuff.

Could NOT get a photo to attach despite several efforts and different pictures. Fail.

Went to the computer and it worked.
BH (2).jpg

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No worries!