Left Coast Estate Cools the Pinot

June 5th was the last day for comments regarding the proposed Van Duzer Corridor AVA, a viticultural area that would be carved out of the existing Willamette Valley AVA from portions of Polk and Yamhill Counties, Oregon. About the same time I opened a trio of wines from Left Coast Estate whose 350 acre contiguous estate lies entirely within this pending AVA. The grapes for these wines benefit from the Willamette Valley's three major soil types (marine sediment, volcanic sediment at higher altitudes, and loess from the Missoula Floods) as well as from the cooling breezes from the Van Duzer Corridor. This cooling allows the grapes to retain acidity which is reflected in these samples.


2017 The Orchard Pinot Gris ($18) is a blend of 91% Pinot Gris and 9% Pinot Blanc. The Orchards is the winery's prime estate for Pinot Gris and once hosted apple, pear, and cherry orchards. This is a fresh wine, great acids with plenty of citrus and green apples. Besides the refreshing acids the wine finishes with a steely minerality and tea.

2017 Rosé ($25) consists of 54% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier, and 6% Pinot Blanc sharing more traits with Burgundy other than residing along the 45th parallel. The wine was fermented in oak which provides a fair amount of texture to augment the light cherry - strawberry flavors. Finishes dry and savory.

2017 White Pinot Noir ($24) contains 91% Pinot Noir and 9% Pinot Blanc. The grapes are crushed at cold temperatures to ensure minimal coloration from the skins and then fermented and aged on lees in stainless steel. This process provides plenty of body - a creamy texture - that envelopes the citrus and stone fruit flavors.

The 2018 SAVOR Collaboration Beer: Brett de Vinum

One of the highlights to the annual SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience is that every guest leaves with a parting gift — a collaboration beer brewed specifically for the event. The 2018 collaboration beer Brett de Vinum is a partnership between Virginia's Port City Brewing Company and Oregon's Crux Fermentation Project.  Port City's Founder Bill Butcher explained how two breweries from opposite ends of the country partnered in creating this Barrel Aged Imperial Wit (8.0% ABV).

The two breweries have admired each other's beers over the years and over multiple calls and meetings discussed recipes, styles, and each of their strengths. One of Port City's strengths is brewing with raw wheat (Optimal Wit) and one of Crux Fermentation's strengths is barrel aging and mixed fermentation. According to Bill, "They wanted to learn more about brewing with wheat, which is not such a common style in the Pacific Northwest, and we wanted to learn more about mixed fermentation and barrel aging. As discussions progressed, we settled on a Barrel Aged Imperial Sour Wit".

As they refined the recipe they thought it would be interesting to utilize wine grapes in order to boost the sugar content and achieve a stronger Imperial alcohol level.  Again from Bill, "The National Sales Manager for Crux is a colleague of mine from Robert Mondavi, so we thought it appropriate to use wine grapes. Viognier is a grape that grows well in Virginia and in Oregon, so it naturally made sense to use Viognier".  Since Pinot Noir is Oregon's signature grape "healthy" doses of that grape were also used.  And since production occurred at Crux's facility in Bend, they sourced Oregon grapes. After fermentation, the beer was “banished” into red wine barrels with Crux’s house strains of Brettanomyces.

The result is a delicious beer combining the freshness and citrus yeastiness of the Optimal Wit with an enhanced creamy texture with just hints of sourness. Fortunately, the breweries closed the bottles with a cork so that it can be enjoyed over multiple evenings. Cheers to collaborations and SAVOR.

Celebrating Generations of Vineyard Workers with Matsu Tinta de Toro

Castilla y León is the largest region of Spain, as well the largest region of all the European Union, and hosts the wine regions of Ribera and Rueda in addition to the more recently designated Toro DO. Toro lies to the west of Rueda in the province of Zamora and and is bisected by the Duero River flowing towards Portugal. Despite gaining Denomination of Origin (DO) status as late as 1987, wine making traditions predate the Romans as Greek settlers taught the local Celtic tribes how to vinify grapes. During the Middle Ages, Toro gained considerable wealth from the wine trade which expanded during the phylloxera epidemic as the local vines were protected by the sandy soil. Thus even today there are 150 year old vines still producing fruit. Traditionally Tinta de Toro refers to red wine from Toro and equates to a clone of the Tempranillo grape that excels in the DO's continental climate. Like other Spanish DOs there are several classifications of Tinta de Toro:

Roble: a young red aged between three and six months (can contain some Garnacha)
Crianza: must age for at least two years with at least six months in oak barrel
Reserva: must age for at least three years with one year in oak barrel
Gran Reserva: must age for at least five years with two years in oak barrel

El Picaro

In the Toro DO there are currently 8,000 ha of land planted with vines with a portion sourced to Vintae, the La Rioja wine company launched by José Miguel Arambarri and sons José Miguel and Ricardo. The produce wine from 15 DOs and in 2006 ventured into Toro. Three years later they introduced the Matsu brand. In Japanese the brand name translates to "wait" and is a tribute to the workers who tend the vines over multiple generations. As proof, each wine label includes a photo of a viticulturist spanning these generations. I recently received samples of three of these 100% Tinta de Toro wines sourced from extremely old vines farmed using biodynamic techniques.

El Recio

Matsu El Picaro 2016 ($13.99) - consists of grapes harvested from a selection of 50 to 70 year old vines. The juice is fermented and rests three months on lees in concrete vats and undergoes malolatic fermentation in French oak barrels. This Roble wine is fresh yet full bodied with a velvety texture, dark juicy fruit, and lasting tannins. A great tasting wine. 

El Viejo

Matsu El Recio 2015 ($21.99) - consists of grapes harvested from a selection of 90 to 100 year old vines. After fermentation in concrete vats the wine was aged 14 months in French oak. This Crianza is intense that is both chalky and chewy; dusty and leathery. The dark fruit and chocolate lingers with the tannins. Ups their game here.

Matsu El Viejo 2015 ($46.99) - consists of grapes harvested from a vines over 100 years old. It follows a similar fermentation and aging regime as the El Racio but extended to 16 months. This Reserva is even more intense exploding in the palate with a combination of fruit, spice, and toasted wood. Chewy tannins integrate with the juicy acids to keep the party going. Oh yes, if only in my budget.