Oregon Pinot Noir

Two thousand seven in Oregon is turning out to be a very interesting vintage if you stick to the top producers, especially the ones who waited out a major rainfall scare at the end of September and allowed their grapes to mature fully. (In fact, the heavy rains that had been predicted never materialized.) Those who rolled the dice with Oregon’s tricky, typically wet fall benefited from up to a full month of additional maturity, but the weather remained cool enough during this period that overripeness was not an issue. On the contrary: fans of elegant, fine-grained, balanced pinot noir, wines I would describe as “Burgundian,” should pay close attention to ’07 as these wines are mostly in stark contrast to the stereotype of rich, sweet and heavy New World pinot. The best examples will surprise with their ageworthiness; more than a few winemaking old-timers, such as Patty Green and Russ Raney, told me that ’07 was their personal ideal of pinot noir for cellaring.