Best 9 from 09, by Illahe winemaker Michael Lundeen. Part 1

Photo Credit: David Owen

Well, detailed below is the first installment of my compilation of best
bottles from 2009. I’m calling it my “best 9 from 09.” What became
clear to me as I considered and compiled the memory of these wines was that
not only were these wines which I found to be fantastic, but were enjoyed in
great company and in most cases the experience of the occasion was
fantastic as well. This served as a great reminder to share great (or even
modest!) wines with friends and loved ones, as the experience of one
certainly seems to enhance the other.

1 - 1998 Château Faugères, Saint-Emilion, Grand Cru
This delicious bottle was gifted to me by my counterpart at Illahe Brad
Ford, and I am now, after having consumed said bottle, especially thankful
indeed. I brought the bottle with me on a bachelor party weekend last
summer for a good, old friend of mine, Mr. Brian Budke. In the crowd were
a number of serious food and wine nerds (in which company I would happily
place myself), so I was pleased to have such a grand feasting occasion to
pull out such a grand bottle. If memory serves, and it rarely does
anymore, the meal was a double-header of lamb chops and grilled, marinaded
steak. The meal was a rich tsunami of flavors to be sure, but the
Faugères rode high on the waves all the way through. A profound challenge
in the face of Merlot haters, this 85% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc, 5% Cab Sauv
blend was glorious. The dark fruits, though wonderfully mellowed, were
still alive and perfectly harmonized with any spice and oak contributions.
The palate was quite full but seamless and long. I remember the wine was
in very good company thanks to some deep cellar raiding on the part of Mr.
Budke and one Mr. Kurt Heilemann in the form of a Rioja Reserva and another
aged Bordeaux. However, on that occasion, none could touch the Château
Faugères. Not a trace of astringecy left after the nearly ten years in
bottle, it was as if the wine had been waiting all its life for that meal.

2 - 2003 Castello di Verduno, Barbaresco, Rabajà
Castello di Verduno is a small family producer in Italy’s Piedmont
region, with holdings in both Barolo and Barbaresco. Their methods are
quite traditional, that is no small oak “barriques” for wine ageing,
only large ovaline and botti which could be anywhere from two-hundred to
several thousand gallons. With that said, the winemaker Mario Andrion is
young and educated in modern winemaking so the wines now benefit
beautifully from his blend of modernity and tradition. Mario is also a
good friend of mine and allowed me to come work a harvest with him in 2005.
It was then that I really fell in love with the wines of Piedmont, but
most especially Nebbiolo. Back to 2009. I received a case of Castello di
Verduno wines from Mario in trade for some winemaking supplies and I’ve
been parcelling the wines out as slowly as possible. Well, round comes by
birthday in September and I thought that was as good an occasion as any so
out comes the Barbaresco. Enjoyed it with my fiancée Desiree and good
friends Dave and Leslie as well as some excellent and very convincing
Piedmontese food at Alba Osteria in Portland. I was skeptical at first of
2003, since much of Europe was very hot that year and there were many
reports of overripe or otherwise unbalanced wines. Not the case here. It
had a gorgeous nose that only Nebbiolo can have, where very dark primordial
aromas of tar and leather mingle with seemingly misplaced delicate aromas
of flowers, especially roses. It was vibrant enough that the red and black
fruits rose up to take center stage after a few minutes in the glass.
Beautifully harmonious, the palate, undoubtedly aided by the warm vintage,
was plush and round with not a trace of astringency. My conclusion was
that the wine could probably have aged another year or two, but it was so
enjoyable that not only did I not care but the wine so overshadowed the
meal that I have no recollection of what I ate that evening! Despite the
small production, Castello di Verduno wines can be found here in the states
and are surprisingly well-distributed in the Portland area. Their Barolos
and Barbarescos, single vineyard and otherwise, can all be found and are
great bargains compared to the more famous producers from that esteemed
region.

3 - 2003 St. Innocent, Pinot Noir, Anden Vineyard, Willamette Valley
So, the former Anden Vineyard is a bittersweet subject for many in the
Willamette Valley. One of the older vineyards around, it was until
recently owned and farmed by local legend Al MacDonald. Anden, and its
adjoined Seven Springs, have cranked out wonderful pinot noir for many
years which found its way in to many a notable single vineyard bottling.
When the property was leased in its entirety several years ago to one
entity, many esteemed wineries lost forever the rights to some of their
favorite fruit. St. Innocent is no exception to this misfortune, and
unless you want one hell of an earful on the subject, I don’t recommend
broaching the subject with winemaker Mark Vlossak! Fortunately, Mark has
much to be proud of regarding the many wines he made from the Anden/Seven
Springs property over the years, and this 2003 Anden is a shining example
in my book. So, I had occasion to mark some minor celebration with our
good friends Matt, Jean, and Amy Driscoll of WildAire Cellars, and we found
ourselves at the always pleasing Thistle in McMinnville. Thistle is one of
the new generation of farm-to-fork restaurants, run by the young duo of
Eric Bechard and Emily Howard. The dishes are always locally sourced, hand
crafted, and inspired. Well, I know St. Innocent to produce some powerful
pinot noirs that hold their own against food in their youth and then age
beautifully, so I embarked on a pairing of very tender steak and roast
vegetables with great results! The pinot was so plush, again thanks in my
opinion to a warm 2003 vintage, but balanced. The palate was still lively
while moderately full bodied, and reminded me that when done right pinot
noir is a nearly unmatched food wine. The cascading aromas of bramble,
violets, cherries, raspberries, oak, toast, leather and more was nearly
mesmerizing in its complexity. In a word, delicious! Only the vibrancy of
the fruits told me that the wine could have actually aged a little longer,
but again, it was too good to care, let alone have regrets! Anything St.
Innocent produces is recommended in my book, but if you can get your hands
on any of the Anden/Seven Springs bottlings, I think they are worth any
reasonable price you could pay.

Brad Top 10 Wines of '09, 7-10

7. 2005 WildAire Reserve – A person who works in the wine industry in Oregon gets to try a bunch of limited-production wines that should be incredibly popular but aren’t quite yet. Matt Driscoll is making this wine with the best techniques and with as much heart as anyone in the valley, and his 2005 is starting to sing. I think it’s sold out, but never fear, there are vintages after 2005 to grab, too. Matt has a sticker on the back of his F-150 that says “No Wimpy Wines,” and he isn’t about to let that happen to a WildAire. He demands low yield and high extraction, giving his wines power and long finish. The 2005 envelopes the mind in velvet, coating the entire tongue and enriching the nose with purple aromas of plum and Turkish delight. Behind all this is waxed fir, black caps, and Snickers pie. I only wish I would have drunk this with game instead of pasta, but that’s only in my imagination.

8. 2001 Château de la Peyre, Fargues, Sauternes – You get two experiences as a foreigner in wine country. One is the experience where no one knows you from Bob Hamilton and you get a tour and a tasting. There’s nothing wrong with this and, in fact, it can be pretty relaxing. The other experience is that you know someone who knows someone and you get a lot of talking and tasting in a little cellar that a handful of wine lovers ever visit. Château de la Peyre, whose holding is next door to the famous Château de Fargues, whose owners also own Château d’Yquem, is made in a large outbuilding in a suburb filled with ranch houses. Here, we got the second kind of tasting from a Sauternes producer who makes red wine, dry whites, sweet table whites, white brandy, and the regular old sweet, botrytized stuff we know as Sauternes. We tried all of them, including three vintages of the brandy. Despite the impossible amount to drink, I still remember the 2001, though we couldn’t buy it. It had orange peel, caramel, honey, and oak coming out of a dark yellow/orange liquid that the winemaker said had about 30 brix after his three passes through the vineyard. Top that off with the diesel oil smell of botrytis and you have a wine that you can remember 8 months later.

9. 2006 Remy Wines Lagrein – Michael makes wine here and so does Matt, but their vineyards are elsewhere. Remy’s lagrein comes from Illahe, so I have no idea how she makes such mind-blowing stuff. American oak and magic is all I can come up with. My dad planted lagrein because Bryce Bagnall had told us that he thought the valley was the perfect place for it, and even if it wasn’t, a person could blend it with pinot to give the pinot color. A person could do that, but we never will because Remy has already made a Cinderella out of this poor obscure grape. I had this wine most recently at an Oregon Wine Board dinner with some slow-roasted duck. Good pairing. It’s not the most palatial mouth you can have in a red: it is more refined and less rococo than a big Italian. You have to keep in mind this is a cool-climate grape. What it offers is perfect balance between the tropical tiki of its oak and the wild berries and cherries of temperate regions, filling the senses with worldly happiness.

10. 2002 Broadley Vineyards Marcile Lorraine – It’s not every day I walk down from the office in the pole barn and get to taste one of the best wines of the year. Thanks to wine club member Gary Mudge, it happened during harvest at the exact right time to keep me going. Broadley’s stout, expressive pinots are the stuff of legend, but I had a bad bottle once, so I was glad Gary brought this wine around. It had true charpentier, brown leather, blueberry, spicy, figgy, candied cherry smells—like drinking in a home library with walnut bookshelves and an oil lamp burning with a blanket over your lap while reading a leather-bound volume of Jane Eyre. At least that’s what I was thinking about at the end of harvest. The wine kept me going.