2011 Thomas Winery Pinot Noir Estate Dundee Hills

https://www.brownderby.com/wineproduct.php?pf_id=16934

I don’t know if there is a lotta love for these around here but thought this was a good opportunity to stock up, a 2004 a few years back was sheer brilliance

MT

Michael, there’s considerable love. Glad your 2004 was excellent as some bottles are less brilliant (having tasted some very good and one not so good). A recent 2002 was one of the best Oregon Pinots I’ve ever tasted.

Rich T

Ouch at the $11 markup though. I have a few 2011’s sitting in the cellar and am in no hurry to open them.

I called Thomas last month and he immediately sent me a mailer. Tried my first 2011 last weekend. If you want the wine, I would just call the winery instead of paying markup.

Thanks
They had 21 bottles is stock yesterday and 0 in stock today…this would suggest Mr Thomas would be best to bring the commercialisation of his business into this century with a website and online ordering
MT

Why should he? It would appear that he sells (in one way or another) every bottle he makes. Around here some folks have a borderline weird cultish devotion to his wines. They buy as much as they can, and obviously the rest goes into various distribution channels.

Worst case, sign up on the mailing list so you’ll hopefully get to purchase some next year. If you frequent the auction sites and CC on this blog, you’ll find bottles for sale if your lucky. I’m sure you’ll pay a tariff but that’s to be expected if you really want the wine.

My allocation from John is part of the 3-4 cases of 2011 Oregon wines that I purchased. The 11 Thomas will remain in my cellar until probably 2017 or 2018 when I try the first to see how they’re doing. No motivation to even read tasting notes on such a young wine from Thomas, but you baby killers have fun.

I have 2 thomas magnums. Do fans think these are 20+ year bottles? (my son was born in 2011.)

Greg;;

Tough call. the wine will definitely have the acidity to go the distance, just not sure about the fruit. 2012’s no question, but the 11s are iffy. I would hold both, pop one around 2021 and use it as a judge!

11s are iffy? Every vintage had clunkers, but Gordon, do you really want to go off half-cocked like the 2007 doubters?

Over the past month I’ve been plowing through multiple 2011 bottles from Cameron, J Christopher, Matello, Westrey, Evesham Wood, Brick House and Ayres…ranging from very good to outstanding.

David Schildknecht describes the vintage: “My intuition is that they are going to display exceptional stamina and that we’ll relish the best of them a decade and more from now at least as much as we do today.”

Greg, in Magnum (and well stored), you’ve got a reasonble shot at 20 years.

RT

Thought I’d post on this since this seems to be a fan favorite in these parts. I’m a huge fan of Eyrie, Westrey, and Cameron, and was expecting to love this Thomas quite a bit, my first experience with this wine. I came away quite a bit underwhelmed, especially considering the tariff. I understand Thomas has a solid track record with ageability, but based on the high CT marks for this young wine, I guess I just don’t get it. Feel free to fire away at my yak palate.

• 2011 Thomas Pinot Noir Dundee Hills - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (2/8/2014)
  Slow-ox for four hours. Sour cherries, cherry stones, and light oak on the nose. Nice acidity and impeccable balance in the mouth, but the flavors come across as slightly bitter/sour. Like blenderized cherry skins and stones. Medium finish is quite dry. Interesting, elegant, and good concentration, though not entirely delicious. (89 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

I respect your stones for posting. I am holding mine and appreciate your data point. Cheers.

Sounds about right. In ten years you’ll love it.

At this early stage, I would expect it to show better on day 2 or 3.

As opposed to year 12 or 13?

RT

Not sure I would leave it open that long.

Fair enough, but that still doesn’t explain the high scoring on CT (93-94). After thinking about this some more, I can’t recall having read any of the local winemakers who are active here raving about Thomas. Am I wrong? Is there anything to this?

I guess it’s clear that many here are Thomas believers, which is great. I’m just wondering if there are also those who are familiar with multiple vintages of this wine, even with some age, who think something is lacking. If so, what stylistically is this failing to deliver? Especially considering this is inching towards the upper echelon of Dundee Hills Pinot Noir pricing.

Joey, John Thomas is pretty reclusive. Most Oregon winemakers are quite open and even collaborative (quality-wise). I’m not a local winemaker but their reactions to the wines range from “rolling of eyes”, sometimes a hint of jealousy and some “accept” it as one of the better OR Pinots. What most experienced tasters agree on is variability. Some bottles are just plain off. Not an appreciable % but enough to be discussed. Some times you get a few fairly mediocre bottles and then find one (or more) that’s a home run.

I know that Greg Malcolm, Andy Steinman, myself and a couple other Berserkers have tasted plenty of older and newer bottlings. Two experienced and doubting friends tasted examples this past year that caused them to rethink their blanket skepticism.

In terms of the pricing “inching” towards the upper echelon…the cost seems in line with a lot of the competition. We’re talking about the $40 - $55 price range over the past several years. Compare that to Arterberry-Maresh, White Rose, Archery Summit, Domaine Obscene, Winderlea, Cameron and a bunch of other Dundee Hills producers, not to mention Burgundy…or Rhys and a slew of other popular Cali Pinots.

RT