The Oregon Pinot Kitchen is open. No wine is made in this kitchen, but a good deal of it may be consumed there, to be sure! Oregon Pinot Kitchen is Martha’s exciting new food blog, focusing on her simple but fabulous recipes and all the exciting fresh ingredients we get to work with here in the Pacific Northwest. Martha has actually been blogging for a few years now, but her posts have been buried on our website – kudos to you if you’ve actually found it over the years

I can personally vouch for every delectable dish and recipe – trust me when I say I am extremely well fed! Eat it up and enjoy, and help us spread the word…

In other exciting news, our first winemaker dinner of the new year is set for March 14th at Portland’s fabulous Little Bird Bistro with special guest winemaker Alexandrine Roy of  Domaine Marc Roy in Gevrey-Chambertin. “Alex” is a motorcycle-riding rockstar of a rising-star winemaker in Burgundy, and her limited-production wines have had a cult following in Portland for several years.

We are honored to add her wines to the Scott Paul Selections family, and stoked to have you join us for dinner. We’ll be paring the full range of Alex’s wines with a killer 4-course menu from chef Gabe Rucker’s kitchen Only 10 seats are available, at $125 each, all-inclusive. Email Kelly Karr to book your seats now!

Alexandrine and "Merlot" in Gevrey-Chambertin

The best way to learn about wine is to taste wines side-by-side. With two or more glasses in front of you, and the chance to compare wines one to the other, you’ll be amazed at how easily the wines reveal their differences to you. I hear people say all the time “I don’t know how to taste”, or “I can’t tell the difference” – to both of which I say “hogwash”. Yes you do, and yes you can.

Over time we all develop our own vocabularies to help describe what we’re tasting, but even at the beginning of our journeys we can tell that one wine feels thicker in the mouth, one seems more abrasive, one appears sweeter, one smells like roses, one like cherry pie, etc.

Pour two different glasses of wine – preferably with something in common between them (such as vintage, region, producer, or variety) – then look, swirl, sniff, taste, swish, and swallow (or spit, if you’ll be tasting a lot or need to drive.)

Et voilà, as my French friends would say. You will quickly notice the differences, at the very least. Then you can start to describe those differences in your own way. Don’t get caught up in looking for obscure fruit references or “wine speak” lingo, just start a dialogue about what makes one wine different from the other. It will lead you down some very interesting paths, if nothing else.

Freddy Mugnier

In the name of science, I popped a bottle of the ’09 Mugnier Clos de la Maréchale and an ’09 Lafarge Volnay VS the other night with dinner. Two wines I enjoy immensely, but had never tasted side-by-side. It was quite illuminating indeed.

Freddy Mugnier and the father-son team of Michel & Freddy Lafarge are two of my very favorite producers on the planet. I love them and their wines, and prize their understated and elegant styles. I think of both their aesthetics in a similar vein – ethereal, lighter-bodied and less-extracted. And indeed they are. But when you taste these two wines side-by-side, the differences are as clear as night and day.

Michel & Freddy Lafarge

Terroir, of course, accounts for the lion’s share of the difference between these two – the Mugnier coming from the more powerful and intense mother-rock of Nuits St. Georges, and the Lafarge from the fractured limestone of Volnay. Boy is that clear in this tasting. Yes, the Mugnier is a lithe and slender dancer, but it has so much more underlying power and tannic punch than the Lafarge. The Lafarge is also achingly beautiful, but very delicate and lacy, almost crystalline in its purity.

I would say I love them both equally for what they are. Tasting them together provided a magnifying glass into what makes them tick. As much as I know about these producers and their wines, and as often as I drink them, it wasn’t until drinking these two together that I saw such a clear delineation.

So pull some corks and practice at home.  It’s tough work, but you’re just the one to do it, and you will definitely learn a lot!

More love for the amazing and miraculous 2010 Burgundy vintage, this time from IWC’s Steve Tanzer –

“At their best, the 2010 reds offer compellingly fresh and complex aromatics and site character; silky but sharply delineated palates; and suave, long, gripping finishes featuring firm but harmonious tannins. In their aromatic complexity, energy, intensity and clarity of flavor, transparency to soil, and overall balance, the 2010s are among the most exciting red Burgundies of my professional lifetime.”

This glorious assessment follows directly on the heels of Burghound’s Allen Meadows, who just last week released his ecstatic reviews of the 2010 reds (see post below.)

But wait – weren’t both these critics hugely positive on the 2009s as well? How can that be? The vintages are sooo very different…

It’s true that you could not have two vintages back-to-back that could be more stylistically different than 2009 & 2010. In ’09 you have lush, rich fruit-driven wines from a warm year, wines packed with yummy fruit at a level one rarely sees in Burgundy. In ’10 you have crystalline purity, laser-like precision, bright acidity and everything that makes Burgundy so unique in the world.

So are they both great vintages? The short answer is yes, but it must be understood that they are dramatically different wines. If you have developed a taste for and love of Burgundy over the years, then 2010 will blow your mind with everything you love about Burgundy in crystal clarity. If you’re newer to Burgundy, or maybe simply prefer a bit more immediate gratification and wines that are more hedonistically oriented, then 2009 is for you. I’ll happily be drinking a lot of both of these vintages, putting many 2010s in the cellar for the long haul, and drinking many of the 2009s earlier on (though the best ‘09s, as in Mugnier’s fabulous Musigny – will easily go 20-30 years and do nothing but get better.)

Ultimately, it’s an embarrassment of riches to have the ’09 and ’10 Burgs back-to-back. The downside is the tiny yields in 2010, with many of my producers down 25-50% in total production. When the 2010s go up for sale later this year, you will need to act swiftly to snap up the wines you want. Our allocations are way down, so please keep your eyes on our email offers as the wines become available starting this spring…

Ahh, the joys of a new issue of Burghound! For those of us in the Pinot and Burgundy business, Christmas comes four times a year – with the release of each quarterly issue of Allen Meadows’ Burghound – the Ultimate Burgundy Reference. Now in its 12th year, Burghound has become the last word in all things Burgundy, and we devour Allen’s reviews, ratings, and commentary with relish.

Allen Meadows

Issue #45 hit today, covering the 2010 vintage, specifically the Côte de Nuits reds. To cut to the chase, I’ll let Allen lay it out for you in all its glory –

“2010 – An Exciting and Ultra-Classic Vintage of Refinement, Balance and Superb Transparency.  2010 may be the most surprising vintage in the last 20 years and that is no small statement when one considers just how many harvests there were in this decade alone where victory has been narrowly snatched from the jaws of potentially truly awful vintages. In a scene that was to play out again and again during my fall visit, I would be in the middle of tasting the wines of a given domaine and my glance of amazement would cross that of the grower’s. In response, the grower would succinctly utter “C’est dingue eh?” which is a colloquial French way of saying that it’s crazy or it’s amazing. It was the commonplace way of acknowledging that the wines were not only remarkable but no one could really explain how or why they obtained such quality. Yes, there are plenty of theories, some of which I will share with you later on in the analysis. But in point of fact, why 2010 is so good isn’t immediately obvious.

In sum, the 2010 vintage produced a very large number of superb wines, indeed every bit as many as did 2009. And the quality of even the average 2010 is very high and it would be fair to say that there are relatively few poor 2010s, at least this is true among the growers that I visit. It is of course true that I visit Burgundy’s best but nonetheless, generally what is true for the elite is true for the average grower in vintages that are consistent such as 2005, 2009 and 2010. Moreover, 2010 is an exciting vintage because the wines are so vibrant and refreshing. But make no mistake, as appealing as they are now, there are going to be some masterpieces resident in the cellars of those who have the patience to allow the greatest 2010s to achieve full maturity. I for one can’t wait.”

In terms of the character of the wines, Allen’s take was the same as mine – these are wines of crystalline purity, freshness, energy, surprising depth, and they show their respective terroirs with great clarity. This is everything I love most about Burgundy. Where the 2009s are sexy, showy, and more obvious, the 2010s are more refined and precise. Two great vintages, but very different styles indeed.

Our producers on the Côte did exceptionally well in this review, I’m happy to report. Frédéric Mugnier knocked it out of the park once again, with a 95-98 for his amazing Musigny, 93-95 for the Amoureuses, 92-94 for the Bonnes Mares, 91-93 for the Fuées, and a 90-92 for the Clos de la Maréchale. (Final scores on the Mugnier ‘09s were also stellar, including a 98 for the Musigny. All of the ‘09s are sold-out EXCEPT for the gorgeous 91-point ’09 Clos de la Maréchale – so get it while you can. The 2010s will be offered pre-arrival this fall…

J-J Confuron had another big success with the 2010s – from the Romanée-St. Vivant to the Côte de Nuits Villages, big scores and excellent notes – which echo mine from my tasting there in November.

The newest addition to the Scott Paul portfolio is Domaine Marc Roy in Gevrey-Chambertin, where Alexandrine Roy has fashioned yet another set of gorgeous wines. All of this domaine’s holdings are at the village level – they have no 1er or Grand Cru, yet the wines score in the 90s! Meadows rarely gives marks in the 90s to village-level wines – these are truly outstanding, very limited, and coming to a tasting room in Carlton very very soon…

Romain & Jean Taupenot

I’m very happy to see our friend Romain Taupenot score so well with his entire range of 2010s from Domaine Taupenot-Merme – virtually everything in the 90s across the board. These will be exciting wines to turn you on to later this year.

In all, we are blessed with two consecutive excellent vintages in Burgundy, and I look forward to helping all these bottles find good homes in your cellar soon!

Since we crushed our first grapes in October 1999 it’s been a whirlwind ride, with not one trace of a dull moment. It’s been everything we thought it would be, a lot we never could have understood beforehand, a lot that’s exceeded our expectations, and truly everything in between. 2011 was our best and busiest year ever, and as we get ready to start pruning and head into our 14th harvest this fall, I wanted to reflect a bit on the past 12 months, and all the milestones, joys, and insanity…

Perhaps the most unexpected and wonderful joy was finding our 2008 La Paulée on the cover of the November ’11 issue of Food & Wine magazine, with their recommendation of our little Pinot as their choice for the holidays! To say we were stunned would be putting it mildly. Stunned and of course brimming with pride. We truly had no idea that was coming – we found out from a customer in Texas who called the winery to let us know he had just received the magazine in the mail and we were on the cover. I thought he was either joking or mistaken at first! (But of course we were over the moon to find that it was indeed the real deal!)

Many thanks to F&W’s wine guru Ray Isle, Jr. – who had a hand in selecting us for the cover, and also chose our 2008 Audrey to be on his TV show Vine Talk, which aired across the nation on PBS last year.

From day one our winemaking focus has always been on elegance and finesse. I just like wines that are more understated and nuanced, as opposed to showy and bold. The wines I like, and the wines we make, are generally not the type to get the big scores in tastings from the major critics, who generally seem to prefer the “Pamela Anderson” wines to our “Audrey Hepburn” approach. So when we get good scores I am doubly pleased, as we’ve achieved some recognition by sticking to our guns and trying to please no one but ourselves.

Event space at Scott Paul PDX

In 2011 we were fortunate to continue our run of scores in the 90s in all of our national reviews – by last count over 30+ consecutive scores in the 90s over the past few years. Most important to me is that YOU like ‘em, however. We make the wines for you to enjoy with family and friends over good food and conversation, and I sincerely thank you for your continued amazing support and enthusiasm for the wines (and for our import portfolio as well!)

The year was topped off by receiving a whopping 96 Points for our 2009 Dix Pinot from Wine Enthusiast’s Paul Gregutt, who also selected it as the #1 Oregon wine of the year in his annual Top 100 ranking! Wow! Only two Oregon wines in history have ever scored higher (’94 Broadley and ’08 Evening Land.) We are truly honored, indeed.

On top of the nice recognition from the press, we added a new dimension to our world at the end of the year, with the opening of our new event space in NW Portland – Scott Paul PDX. We’re excited to be able to bring our Burgundy and Champagne classes to our new Portland space, as well as host occasional tasting events and winemaker dinners there. We look forward to seeing you there – keep your eyes on our Events Schedule for all of the upcoming activities in both Portland and Carlton. We’ve just released a full slate of events for the next couple of months, and promise to keep the year full of fun and delicious adventures.

Speaking of adventures, we took a group of customers for a one-week Insider’s tour of Burgundy last June, and had a major blast. We plan to make it an annual event, so please let us know if you have interest for upcoming trips.

Alexandrin Roy & "Merlot" in Gevrey Chambertin

We also were able to add two key new producers to our Burgundy portfolio, with new wines from both scheduled to arrive in the next several weeks. Watch for info on Domaine Marc Roy in Gevrey-Chambertin (well known to many here in the Northwest, as winemaker Alexandrine Roy is here in Oregon several times each year, consulting for Phelps Creek Vineyard in Hood River), and Domaine des Nugues, an exciting producer in the Beaujolais village of Fleurie. Wines and details soon…

Most importantly, deep thanks to you. You have been tremendously supportive, and your passion fuels our passion and keeps us focused.

The books are not closed yet, but I am happy to report that in 2011 we just may show an operating profit for the first time ever. One of these days we might even make a little money at this…

Cheers – and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2012!

As we head into the last week of the year, I wanted to thank you for making it such an amazing year for all of us at Scott Paul. Your passion, support, enthusiasm, thirst for knowledge, thirst for great wines, and overall spirit and joie de vivre continue to amaze and delight me. My sincere thanks, and I hope you’ll continue to follow us down all the exciting wine trails we explore…

It’s been a banner year for us. For a tiny little 2,500-case winery to be chosen for the cover of Food & Wine Magazine’s November issue was mind-blowing. For our 2009 Dix to be one of the highest-scoring Oregon wines of all-time even more amazing still. To be singled out as one of the “Stars of the Vintage” for the 2nd year in a row in The Wine Advocate was a great honor. For so many of our French producers to be listed among the best of the vintage in Burgundy & Champagne was fabulous validation that we’re on the right track with our import adventures. And we don’t even actively court any of this – the recognition has come organically, for which we are very, very thankful.

We’re excited to add a couple of new producers to the portfolio for the coming year. My passion for great Cru Beaujolais has led me to Domaine des Nugues in Fleurie – and I’m excited to introduce these wines early next year. And we’ll top it off with a true gem – the wines of Alexandrine Roy’s Domaine Marc Roy in Gevrey-Chambertin, three micro-production beauties that will be arriving in the next couple of months.

As we sign-off for the Christmas break, I wanted to remind you to please plan to join us in Portland on December 30th for a spectacular tasting event to closeout the year – the newly-arrived 2009s from my hero Frédéric Mugnier in Chambolle-Musigny, and the cult-favorite Champagnes from Bruno Gobillard – the best way to celebrate the New Year I could possibly think of!

Speaking of Champagne – the new reviews in Steve Tanzer’s IWC were released yesterday. Here are some great notes on several of our bubblies from reviewer Josh Raynolds –

Bruno Gobillard – NV Brut: “Bright straw.  Lemon rind, grapefruit and chalk on the intensely perfumed nose.  Extremely dry, even a touch severe, with bracing citrus and green apple flavors underscored by notes of bitter quinine and white pepper.  Shows a strong chalky quality on the finish, which lingers with impressive tenacity.  This uncompromising Champagne would be fantastic with raw oysters or clams, even sashimi.”

Bruno Gobillard – NV Brut Vieilles Vignes:  “Bright yellow.  Aromas of fresh orchard fruits, jasmine, anise and lees.  Deeply pitched but energetic, offering juicy pear, quince and cherry pit flavors braced by a jolt of bitter blood orange.  Finishes with impressive cut and spicy persistence, echoing the blood orange note.  Offers a striking combination of depth and energy.”

Camille Savès – NV Brut Carte Blanche: “Light yellow.  Pungent aromas of redcurrant, peach pit and lemon zest, with a floral topnote.  Juicy and broad, with supple texture and powerful red berry and citrus pith qualities.  Really shows its pinot side.  Finishes long and spicy, with impressive clarity and grip.”

Camille Savés – NV Brut Carte d’Or: “Bright yellow.  Powerful, toasty aromas of pear, raspberry, flowers and brioche, plus a hint of anise.  Rich and fleshy but energetic, offering broad orchard fruit and red berry flavors that are given a refreshingly bitter edge by a citrus pith nuance.  Finishes with solid grip and very good persistence, leaving smoky lees and cherry pit notes behind. ”

Camille Savès – NV Brut Rosé: “Orange-pink.  Pungent red berries and rhubarb on the nose, complicated by dried rose and gingerbread nuances.  Powerful but lithe, with very good focus and intensity to its tangy redcurrant and strawberry flavors.  Shows excellent clarity on the finish, which strongly echoes the red fruit element and shows a suave, persistent floral quality.”

José Dhondt – NV Blanc de Blancs: “Light yellow.  Intensely perfumed, complex bouquet evokes fresh pear, quince, orange zest, lemon and chalky minerals, plus a subtle note of toasty lees.  Stains the palate with spicy citrus and orchard fruit flavors and picks up smokiness with air.  Finishes long and focused, with persistent floral and spice notes.”

Marc Chauvet – NV Brut Sélection: “Light yellow.  Fresh pear and orange pith aromas are complemented by notes of anise and bitter herbs.  Silky in texture and refreshingly brisk, offering incisive citrus fruit flavors that turn spicier with air.  Finishes stony and persistent.”

Enjoy great Pinot, Burgundy & Champagne for the holidays, and everyday!

Cheers!!!

One cannot (nor should not!) drink wine all of the time, but we can certainly read about it as often as we want. Here are my recommendations for some of my favorite wine books of the year…

As noted here previously, the best reference book on Burgundy in the last 250 years was published this year – the superbly excellent Inside Burgundy by Jasper Morris. Maddeningly, it has still not been released in the U.S. – but is available through a UK site, which seems to be the most cost effective way to get the book into your hands here stateside. If you have only one Burgundy book on your shelf, this is the one.

The best-written, best-researched book on a single Burgundian subject ever is undoubtedly Allen Meadows’ Pearl of the Côte, a simply brilliant work that digs deep into the history and magic of the terroir of Vosne-Romanée and its exalted Grand Crus. Every Burgundy lover should own this book, period.

Closer to home, I highly recommend Voodoo Vintners by Oregonian & Mix wine columnist Katherine Cole. It’s an excellent and thoughtful exploration of the Biodynamic farming and winemaking practices, focusing on a number of us practitioners here in the Willamette Valley. The book lets you make up your own mind about whether you believe in the philosophy or not, and it is all laid out logically and concisely. Well-written and very informative, it gives you a great window into what’s going on in the fields and cellars of many of Oregon’s marquee producers.

I’m also a big fan of Secrets of the Sommeliers, from wine writer Jordan Mackay and mega-somm Raj Parr. If you want to kick your overall wine knowledge up a notch or two, this is an excellent guide to the world of fine wine and how best to navigate through it like the pros.

Grab any of these, along with some Scott Paul Pinot (or Burgundy or Champagne, of course) – and your gift list is complete. Cheers!

‘Tis the season – for popping the corks on some great Grower Champagnes and celebrating anything and everything. Personally, I believe every new day is reason enough for a Champagne celebration. Waking up to find that one is NOT in the obituaries always call for a bottle of Champers in my book!

We are honored with some great reviews for some of the bubblies in our portfolio, in the new report just released by The Wine Advocate (reviews and scores by Antonio Galloni) -

José Dhondt NV Brut Blanc de Blancs -  flows with the essence of lemon, white flowers, almonds and pears. It is a bright, focused wine backed up with considerable plushness and generosity in its fruit. The Blanc de Blancs should drink beautifully for a number of years. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014.  92 PTS

Camille Savès 2004 Brut Millésime -  emerges from the glass with finely spun red berries, flowers, mint and spices. This understated, classy wine continues to open up beautifully in the glass as the fruit fleshes out on the mid-palate and finish. The 2004 Millesime is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay, all from Bouzy. Disgorged 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. 92 PTS

Camille Savès NV Brut Rosé – a big, lusty wine bursting with rich, dark red fruit, flowers and mint. This large scaled, broad shouldered wine saturates the palate with layer after layer of flavor. It is a fabulous effort. The Rose is 60% Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Noir and 12% still Pinot, all from Bouzy.  92 PTS

Godmé Père et Fils -  NV Brut Premier Cru Reserve – a pretty, focused wine with excellent definition in its aromas and flavors. It shows good balance and plenty of cut on the vibrant finish. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014. 90 PTS

Tasting at the estate with José Dhondt

Bubbles fans in Portland – I wanted to be sure to alert you to some great Champagne drinking opportunities in PDX. Be sure to check out Portland’s first and only Champagne bar – Ambonnay – now open in the same building with Olympic Provisions in SE Portland. It’s cozy, relaxed, fun, and has a great selection of Grower Champagne (and truffled popcorn too!) Also, Pix Patisserie has assembled a stunning list of over 100 top artisanal bubblies and a month-long lineup of Champagne-focused events – be sure to check these out. We’ll likely see you at both of these spots over the holidays.

Speaking of bubbles – thanks for making last Sunday’s debut of our new NW Portland event space such a festive and fun success! I’m excited to have the opportunity to do tastings, events, and classes in both Carlton and Portland now, and look forward to seeing you even more often in the coming year. watch your email for details on upcoming events…

Pouring Bubbles at the opening of our PDX space, (photo by Daniel Stark Photography)

We’ve just added our final big Burgundy event of the year – join us in Carlton on Saturday Dec. 17th from 12n-5p for a special tasting of selections from our cellar – focusing on the pure and precise 2008 vintage on the Côte d’Or – with a fabulous tasting lineup of 1er and Grand Crus from Michel Lafarge, Comte Armand, Benjamin Leroux, Jean-Marc Millot, Hervé Sigaut and Violot-Guillemard – with special discounts on all 2008 and older red Burgs in stock while they last. Remember, Santa is lactose-intolerant and does not want milk – he wants Grand Cru Burgundy!

The smoke has cleared and the turkey has settled after the big holiday weekend here in Oregon, and it’s time to catch up on assorted tastings and events both in Burgundy and here at home.

I believe I left off after my tasting at Buisson-Charles in Meursault, where once again they have outdone themselves and produced some of the finest and most intense whites anywhere on the Côte. This domaine truly deserves to be thought of in the same breath with Lafon, Roulot, Jobard, and even Coche – but we should all be glad they remain just under the radar, as the prices are still within reach. (Don’t tell anybody…)

My 3rd visit this year with Michel and Frédéric Lafarge was illuminating as always. Neither father nor son are ones to ramble on, but when they speak, I listen. They speak mostly through their wines, which in the 2010 vintage have a lot to say indeed. My tasting notes on just about every appellation chez Lafarge say “intense, long, long, intense, minerals, bright, long, intense.” That pretty well sums it up. God, these are stunning wines. I want to dive head-first into the Clos du Chateau des Ducs – they could sell this stuff by the ounce as perfume…

The harvest crew at Buisson-Charles in Meursault

Another gorgeous range across the board was found in Morey-St. Denis at Domaine Taupenot-Merme – where Romain Taupenot pulled samples of his 2010s that were precise and rich at that same time, and beautifully refined from top to bottom. The Mazoyères-Chambertin was exceptionally open and expressive for this Grand Cru that is often very tight and brooding in its youth – this is going to be a stunner…

I am very excited to announce that we will begin working with Domaine Marc Roy in Gevrey-Chambertin, a tiny 10-acre domaine headed up by the young and dynamic Alexandrine Roy (who moonlights as a winemaker here in Oregon for Phelps Creek out in the Columbia Gorge.) Alex’s ‘09s are flat-out delicious. She makes a tiny bit of Marsannay Blanc and three different village cuvées of Gevrey-Chambertin, each with a distinctive personality. More details on this new addition to our portfolio shortly, along with info on a winemaker dinner with Alex in Portland coming up in March…

As I reported here a few weeks ago, the 2010 vintage in Burgundy has exceeded everyone’s expectations and produced gorgeous, stunning, wines – in both red and white. The first critical commentary has just come out from John Gilman (publisher of View from the Cellar – a review I highly recommend.) Here’s Gilman’s first take on the 2010s –

“Thus far, 2010 looks to be one of the finest vintages of the last twenty-five years for both red and white Burgundies, and it would make good sense to start making plans for chasing down some of your favorite producers from this year. The yields are down a fair bit (generally anywhere from 20-50 percent, depending on the vineyard), so some early planning is going to definitely pay dividends.

The reds are all silky, purity and stunningly transparent terroir, with ripe, sometimes quite substantial tannins, bright acids and magical length and grip. They are, at the very least, as terroir-specific as the 2008s, but much deeper, fleshier and sappier at the core. They will not necessarily drink young, but they will drink long and brilliantly once they have had a bit of bottle age. It is not as powerful of a vintage as 2005 for the reds, but it is at least as fine, and the two vintages will make very interesting comparisons for many decades to come. 2010 clearly looks superior to every vintage other than 2005 that has preceded it since 1978, with the possible exception of 1993- so you get some idea of the quality of the reds this year!

The white wines are also brilliant, pure, suave and racy, with the same stunning purity as is displayed in the reds. They are not quite as tensile or as ripe as the 2008s, but they are superior to this vintage in terms of precision, site-specificity, and overall balance. They will make very special drinking in the future.”

Our producers are in the process of pricing their 2010s over the next month or so, and once we’ve secured our allocations I’ll alert you to pre-arrival offers as the process comes together…

Closer to home, I am really looking forward to welcoming you to our new event space in NW Portland, opening this Sunday for a special Grower Champagne tasting from 2-5 – please stop in to see us if you can. A lot of great events are in the works for 2012 in the new space, including our annual series of Burgundy seminars and winemaker dinners. Watch this space and your email for all the details – and I hope to see you on Sunday in Portland!

I’m back from Burgundy, tired and happy, and thrilled to have a lovely 2011 Oregon vintage in barrel and put to bed. From what was certainly the most stressful fall we’ve faced has come some really excellent wines. That which does not kill you makes you stronger, indeed! In the end, we just may have one of our better vintages ever. Lower alcohol, excellent acid and pH levels and complex flavors and aromas – it’s really everything we hope to happen, and this wacky year ended up giving it to us on a platter. It just goes to show that until you’ve got the fruit in the winery, you never really know…

Fall colors in the Dundee Hills

Without having added any new producers, we’ve got a lot of new wines coming next year in the Scott Paul portfolio. A number of our producers have added new parcels to their estates, either thru purchases or lease agreements. Interestingly, there are several of them that are making their debut with the 2010 vintage.

Alain & Sophie Confuron-Meunier at J-J Confuron purchased a 1.48-acre parcel of dead and neglected vines in the village of Comblanchien in 2005. They replanted the same year, and the vineyard known as “La Montagne” produced its first crop in 2010. It is part of the Côte de Nuits Villages appellation, and sits directly above the “Aux Faulques” vineyard that is a monopole of another of our producers, Jean-Marc Millot.

The young and dynamic superstar Benjamin Leroux has added a bunch of great sources to his arsenal, and in 2010 produced a staggering 32 different wines. New for Ben in 2010 are several whites from Meursault, Puligny & Chassagne at both the villages and 1er Cru level, a Volnay Mitans 1er, an amazing Clos Vougeot, a sweet parcel of Clos de la Roche, and a mind-blowing Chambolle-Musigny les Amoureuses. Only one barrel of the Amoureuses was produced, and it will be bottled entirely in magnums. Stand by for more info on what will clearly be one of the most sought-after wines of the vintage.

In the cuverie with Thiébault Huber

Volnay-based Thiébault Huber at Domaine Huber-Vedereau has added a new single-parcel bottling of Pommard Vaumauriens-Haut – a spectacular villages-level site that sits high atop the village and produces a very bright and refined expression of Pommard. It will be interesting to taste this alongside his regular Pommard and the Pommard Bertins 1er Cru – three very different terroirs that show distinctly different aspects of Pommard.

And at Thierry-Violot-Guillemard in Pommard, we’ll have to wait for the release of the 2011s for a wine I’ve been waiting for a long time. In 2006 Thierry replanted a section of his Beaune Clos des Mouches parcel, planting four ouvrées of Chardonnay. (That’s about enough to produce three-four barrels when the vines are fully mature. In 2011 he made only two barrels – only 50 cases total.) Clos de Mouches is a vineyard made famous by Burgundy’s Maison Joseph Drouhin – they own a little more than half of the __ acre site, and it was the first vineyard the Drouhins purchased, back in the early 1900s. It is one of those rare terroirs that is capable of producing excellent wines in both red and white. It is planted mostly to Pinot Noir, but I am not in the minority in thinking that the Chardonnay there is even more special. I am super excited to have some Clos des Mouches Blanc in our program. I tasted the 2011 in barrel yesterday. It has been worth the wait. (and will be worth the one more year we’ve yet to wait to finally have this in our hands!)

I’ll leave you for now with this thought on the two most recent Burgundy vintages from the introspective and thoughtful Monsieur Frédéric Mugnier in Chambolle-Musigny – “2009 is impressive. 2010 is exciting.”

Jacques-Frédéric "Freddy" Mugnier