Another gorgeous Oregon summer has blended gracefully into fall and
a healthy crop of beautiful Pinot fruit is coming into the winery and beginning its magical transformation into that divine liquid we call pure Oregon Pinot Noir…
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After having made our wine in shared facilities since we started, it is amazing to finally be in our own new space. Our brand-spanking new winery was sort of “ready” as harvest began on September 22 nd - well, at least ready enough that we could start the winemaking process while construction continued above and around us as we worked. (There seems to be some unwritten law that wineries are not actually allowed to be completed in time for harvest – no matter when you start construction.)
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Our new crush pad
ready to receive fruit |
The first bin of grapes from Shea
vineyard arrives at the sorting table |
Over the years we’ve made our wines at eight different facilities - (Flowers, Scherrer, Selby, Laird Family Estate, Tandem, Domaine Drouhin Oregon and the Carlton Winemakers Studion – but who’s counting!) It’s been a wonderful experience every step of the way, but nothing beats having a winery and all the equipment all to yourself. Please come visit – our tasting room is open 11-4 Wednesday-Sunday, and we’d be happy to tour you through the facilities and taste you through the wines. Come and check out the 2005 Cuvée Martha Pirrie while it lasts…
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Scott on the sorting line |
Jeremy attacks the punch-downs |
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Crush Crew 2006
l-r, back row – Scott, Marty, Jeremy, Marietta, Kelly, Emily.
Kneeling – Cameron, Kelley |
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Those who’ve been around the winemaking business a long time will tell you that there are no two vintages alike. In our seven harvests so far we’ve certainly seen that to be true, each one having its own distinct character and personality. 2005 in Oregon gave us two harvests – one before the rain, and one after. An endless string of perfect sunny, warm days and cool nights (with an average diurnal fluctuation of 30 degrees) continued through Sept. 29th – and then we got whacked with a bunch of rain for five solid days. Wonderfully for us, everything at Shea, Stoller, and Ribbon Ridge was ripe and ready and picked by the 29th (We picked on the 23rd, 24th, & 29th.)
All we had remaining on the vine when the rains came was our 2.5 acres of Maresh vineyard – the old vines at the top of the Dundee Hills planted in 1970. This also played into our favor, as old vines tend to be rather impervious to the weather, and a few days of rain didn’t affect these hearty old plants at all. If anything, it may have helped a bit, giving a drink of water to some stressed plants in what is always a late-ripening site. We waited until October 9 th to bring in the Maresh fruit, and as you’ll see further on, it turned out to be the single best lot of the vintage for us…
To download our current order form, click here.
Last year this wine sold out in the blink of an eye, and this year we have only a few more cases to sell than last time, unfortunately. Yields were down again in 2005, but not as sharply as 2004. Still, we have a scant 125 cases of this bottling available. I love everything about it – I just wish there was more…
2005 Cuvée Martha Pirrie Pinot Noir – $24
125 cases available
From our blocks of three of Oregon’s most prestigious vineyards comes the 2005 version of our value-priced Cuvée Martha Pirrie. (Named after our daughter, Martha Pirrie Wright – she goes by “Pirrie”.)
Shea Vineyard – Great structure, ripe black fruits and earthy aromas from the old-vine Pommard clone in Block 21 and younger Dijon clones 777 & 828
Stoller Vineyard - Pretty aromatics and juicy raspberries from “Goat Block” and blocks 21 & 32
Ribbon Ridge Vineyard – Lush, hedonistic fruit, a sweet, juicy mid-palate, and rich textures from this special spot in one of Oregon’s hottest new appellations.
All fruit was picked on September 23, 24 & 29. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak – 20% new – and was bottled un-fined and un-filtered on August 21, 2006.
Scott’s Tasting Notes
Put them all together and you get a rich, mouth-filling wine that is fruit-forward, sexy, and long. Blackberries and black raspberries dominate the nose, with a lush mid-palate and black-fruit flavors that keep flowing though the long and elegant finish. Drink now and over the next 3-5 years.
To download our current order form, click here.
Mother Nature was kind enough to give us more La Paulée in 2005. (Audrey is, of course, its usual micro-production of a whopping six barrels.) We’re excited to offer these wines as futures – they’ll be ready for release in April, but you can purchase them now at significant savings over the release prices. Futures are sold in 6-bottle increments only. You’re welcome to come taste the 2005 futures with us over Thanksgiving weekend (see details below…)
2005 La Paulée Pinot Noir - Futures Price - $30
(will be $40 on release)
1,892 6-packs produced
La Paulée – our most complete and complex wine of the vintage. We individually selected 40 barrels in our cellar for this cuvée, from three different vineyards and eight separate blocks:
Shea Vineyard – 19 barrels (47.5%), from our old-vine Pommard clones in Block 21, and Dijon Clones 777 & 828 from Blocks 10, 18 & 19
Ribbon Ridge Vineyard – 13 barrels (32.5%), from our blocks of Pommard and Dijon clone 777
Stoller Vineyard - 8 barrels (20%), from blocks 32 & “Goat block”
All fruit was harvested on September 23, 24, & 29. The wine was raised for 10 months in French Oak – 20% new - and was bottled un-fined and un-filtered on August 23 & 24, 2006.
Scott’s Tasting Notes
Each of these lots on their own was very nice, but the combination truly brought out the best in all of them. This is a succulent and seductive Pinot, scents of crushed Oregon raspberries and heady aromas, leading into pure, round flavors of black cherries, raspberries and wild strawberries. This wine should flesh-out in the bottle over the next six months, and should be at its peak 2008-2011.
To download our current order form, click here.
2005 Audrey Pinot Noir - Futures Price - $40
(will be $55 on release)
261 6-packs produced
Once again a scant six barrels were selected this year to proudly wear the title of Audrey. For this special bottling we select our purest, most elegant, most intoxicatingly delicate wine of the vintage. (Audrey is named after and inspired by the timeless icon of natural beauty, elegance, and grace – Ms. Hepburn.)
The 2005 Audrey is comprised entirely of fruit from our blocks of Maresh Vineyard, situated high atop the steep Dundee Hills. This makes it a “single vineyard” wine - a rarity for us, as we’ve often stated we generally prefer to blend from our different sites to create more complete and complex wines. However, when a single vineyard produces wine like this – there is no reason to add fruit from anywhere else. Any addition could have only diminished the purity, the lacy elegance, the captivating aromas, and the special “sense of place” this wine conveys.
Maresh vineyard was planted by Jim Maresh in 1970, making it one of the true grand-daddies of Oregon vineyards (in fact only four Oregon sites are older.) The plant material is believed to be some form of the Swiss Wadenswil clone, planted on its own roots, and is of course a wide-spaced (6x10), non-irrigated planting.
Picking date was October 9th. The wine was in French oak for 10 months – two of the six barrels were new - and it was bottled un-fined and un-filtered on August 23rd, 2006.
Scott’s Tasting Notes
This wine is aptly named. Delicate and graceful yet stunningly beautiful, light on its feet but with deceptive power, floral and wild berry aromas flow seamlessly into ripe sweet mid-palate red fruits, and the purity carries on and on through the long, seductive finish. Let this wine develop to full complexity over the next 5-7 years.
To download our current order form, click here.
Pinot lovers at La Paulée de Meursault |
One of the great traditions in all the wine world is Burgundy’s “La Paulée”. This French term is the name of the harvest celebrations that began in Burgundy centuries ago, originally as a small feast the winegrowers would host for their pickers and winery crews on the final day of harvest at the estate. Over time this mutated into the now famous “La Paulée de Meursault”, where hundreds of winegrowers from all across Burgundy get together for a 10-hour lunch in the cellars of the Chateau de Meursault on the 4 th Monday of November, and each guest brings several prized bottles from their cellars to freely share with all. (If you ever get a coveted invitation to this event – re-arrange your life to be able to go – it is truly amazing.)
I’ll be attending once again this fall – the Paulée is part of a three day weekend celebration in Burgundy called “Les Trois Glorieuses” – which includes the famous Hospices de Beaune auction. As last year, I’ll be looking to purchase a barrel or two at the auction – watch this space to see if we’re successful…
In recent years, enterprising Burgundy lovers around the world have created their own “La Paulée” celebrations – there is one every couple of years in New York, and occasionally in San Francisco as well. That said, the time has come for the soon-to-be-famous “La Paulée de Carlton”.
Beginning Saturday, November 4th, and all first-Saturdays in November to come, we will proudly host the Oregon version of this bacchanalian feast here at the new Scott Paul winery and tasting room in Carlton. Watch your mailbox for your invitation.
Ours will be a two-pronged Paulée. To begin we’ll have an open-house from 11-4 in the tasting room – and we’ll open up a bunch of great wines from our cellars to taste throughout the day. Then, we’ll have a reservation-only dinner in our cellars that night, with seating limited to 50 Pinot lovers – who will all be asked to bring a few bottles share in the traditional spirit of La Paulée. Places at the dinner are $100 per person, and may be reserved by calling Kelly Karr at (503) 319-5827 or email kellykarr@scottpaul.com. We look forward to celebrating the harvest with you!
We’re proud to be participating for the first time this year in...
SALUD – the Oregon Pinot Noir Auction
Scheduled for November 11th & 12th, this outstanding event brings together 42 of Oregon’s top producers and hundreds of Pinot lovers over two days for a tasting, barrel auction and gala dinner to support medical care and services for the vineyard workers throughout Oregon. It’s a tremendous cause, and the wines up for auction are not available anywhere else – these are exclusive cuvées bottled expressly for SALUD. We’ve selected a single-barrel from our old-vine block of Maresh Vineyard in the Dundee Hills for our 2005 SALUD bottling, and it is truly a special wine. See www.saludauction.org for more details…
Thanksgiving Open House
Then on November 24 th & 25 th, it’s our first ever Thanksgiving Weekend Open House in our new facilities. Join us for your opportunity to sample the 2005 Audrey and La Paulée futures, and snap up the 2005 Cuvée Martha Pirrie while it lasts. As always, the futures will be offered at significant savings, and we’ll also have a few Burgundy surprises available for tasting and purchase.
Come early to beat the crowds – we’re opening at 10am each day – hours are 10-4 Friday & Saturday November 24 th & 25 th. Admission is $5 per person, which includes all tastings and yummy delectables. (Our tasting room will be open our regular hours 11-4 on Sunday November 26 th, minus the Open House food goodies & crowds!)
Earlier this year, we started up our new import division – Scott Paul Selections – focusing exclusively on the great wines of Burgundy. Our portfolio includes over 40 different wines from eight of Burgundy’s finest small family domaines, many of which are not available anywhere else in the U.S. We take great pride in representing the following fine Burgundian producers:
Domaine René Leclerc – Gevrey-Chambertin
Domaine François Lamarche – Vosne-Romanée
Domaine Thierry Violot-Guillemard – Pommard
Domaine Aleth Girardin – Pommard
Domaine Huber-Verdereau – Volnay
Domaine Réyane & Pascal Bouley – Volnay
Domaine Buisson-Charles – Meursault
Domaine Philippe Chavy – Puligny-Montrachet
To download our complete portolio, including tasting notes and reviews by esteemed Burgundy critic Allen Meadows/Burghound.com – click here.
To download our current order form, click here.
Producer profile – Domaine Buisson-Charles
Monsieur Michel Buisson in his cellar in Meursault
Michel Buisson and granddaughter
Margaux in the lab |
The village of Meursault is known throughout the world for its spectacular vineyards, home to some of the finest Chardonnay this planet has to offer. Michel Buisson is the 4 th-generation vigneron to run his family’s tiny 5 hectare (12.5 acre) estate, with holdings in Meursault’s finest 1er Cru and village level vineyards. He is assisted by his daughter Catherine and son-in-law Patrick Essa, representing the 5 th generation to tend these spectacular old vines.
The 1er Cru holdings total just 1 hectare (roughly 2.5 acres) – split between tiny parcels of Charmes, Goutte d’Or, Bouches-Chères, and Les Cras. Each of these parcels may produce only 3-4 barrels each vintage. The village level holdings are well situated and very old – average vine-age nears 60 years.
Leading Burgundy authority & critic Allen Meadows writes “For those who enjoy very pure, elegant, and intense white burgundies, Buisson-Charles should be on your list.” (For Allen’s tasting notes and scores on the Buisson-Charles wines, please see our complete portfolio here.)
The wines are fermented in the traditional 228-liter French Oak barrels, of which about 25% are new each year. Wines are aged in the barrel for 12 months, and are racked only once prior to bottling. The vinification is very traditional, very hands-off, and the resulting wines are pure and extremely true representations of their terroir – these are classic Meursaults in every sense of the word. The Buisson-Charles wines are approachable in their youth, but shine their brightest with many years of bottle age – 10, 15, 20 years or more in the best vintages. The Buisson-Charles wines will be featured in our tasting room throughout the fall…
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where we post frequently with the latest updates.
As always, we thank you for your continued support!
Cheers,
Martha & Scott Wright
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