That that time of year again, spring has sprung, which means the highly anticipated release of the EIEIO & Company 2007 vintage.  Join us on Saturday and Sunday, May 16th and 17 and Memorial Day weekend, Saturday through Monday from 10AM until 3PM at The Tasting Room in Carlton for the annual release of the new vintage. The tasting fee is $15 for nine great wines.  Your tasting fee will be doubly credited against any EIEIO purchase!  Even a bottle of the lowly Swine Wine will suffice.  If you can’t make it, call us and we will ship the party to you.

THE VINTAGE: We picked clean and beautiful fruit in late September.  The cold weather during the rains minimized the risk of Botrytis and beautiful flavors developed as a result of the additional hang-time.  No guts, no glory.  All lots underwent an extended cold soak to extract as much color and flavor without using heat.  Most fermentations were spontaneous on native yeasts giving a true impression of the terroir from which they came.  Elévage over eleven months in twenty-five percent new French oak from various coopers.  These are beautiful and balanced wines with the ability to age and will become more complex and profound with another three years of cellaring.

Cuvée E Chardonnay
Intoxicating aromas of this pale, straw colored wine abound.  Initially, notes of crunchy apple oatcakes (or the dust in the bottom of the bag of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios) combine with toasted nuts and cedar, followed by citrus rind, candied lemon peel and honeysuckle.  Then a solid spice framework of cinnamon supports big, lush flavors of baked Macoun apples, sweet butterscotch and hazelnut while crisp acidity and refined tannin add structure.  Classic Chardonnay. 

Cuvée I Chardonnay
Cuvée I is a continual work in progress in the pursuit of Chardonnay perfection.  Pale straw in color, the bouquet is an intermingling of white flower, melon, peach, Key Lime, Meyer Lemon and notes of hulled Filberts, toasted almonds, caramel crème brulee drizzled with raw honey.  A slight diesel note evolves into aromatics of freshly poured concrete, indicative of a clean fermentation.  In the mouth, delicious stone fruits, peeled green apple and lemon meringue streaked with hazelnuts and honey lead to a creamy shortcake texture that gives this wine weight while the refreshing acidity keeps its lean profile in check.  A magnificently crafted and refined wine that will delight the more critical Chardonnay follower.  Drink or cellar this baby.

Cuvée O Chardonnay
The first vintage of Cuvée O Chardonnay.  The bottling designation appears in vintages where there are stand alone barrels that exceed the high standards of vineyard designations.  This does not occur in every vintage, so when it does, it is truly something special.  Aromas of wet crystal or broken bone china.  Under all that minerality is a layer of fruit including early season fig, apple blossom, and white nectarine with earthy undertones of white truffles.  Rich, concentrated and filled with subtleties, the perfume carries on in definitely.  However, there is nothing about this wine that is over the top; no in your face fruit, no heavy handed oak; it is all about understated elegance.  The super smooth entry is filled with fresh pressed apples, lemon zest, limestone and slightly sweet brown bread toast flavors that extend on the palate building with intensity and cul! minating in a long spicy finish that continues with unwavering power.  A remarkably fine Chardonnay with beautiful, seamless flavor from beginning to end.  Load up on this one.

Cuvée E Pinot Noir
Wine Library reviewed the 2006 Cuvée E Pinot Noir: Episode 408.  Although there are subtle differences in fruit profile and a gaminess that isn’t quite as processed and artificial as a Slim Jim, the 2007 bottling is pretty damn similar.  “NOSE-smells exactly like a just snapped in-half Slim Jim; lots of red beautiful strawberries; extremely good; TASTE-great texture; beautiful mouthfeel; explodes on your palate; rounds out beautifully; very fine & focused tart berry flavors; meaty (venison action); Kill a deer, cut it open, pour Strawberries and Pepper–that’s exactly what this wine tastes like; an absolutely beautiful bottle of Pinot Noir; an exquisite finish; a very fine effort; GV-91”

There is definitely a classic Oregon Pinot noir with barnyard and distinctive meat characteristics, but the fruit profile is more freshly picked, ripe raspberry dusted with white pepper and cedar shavings, but not from a hamster cage!  This is a serious wine warranting a little aeration.  So give a chug-a-lug an hour before serving or cellar it for six more years without any worries.

Cuvée I Pinot Noir
This wine is a classic, from its entrancing medium ruby color and its aromas of red currants and Bing cherries, talc and violets, to its appealing texture that contains plenty of mineral grip. Squeaky clean and perfectly polished with flavors of dust and chalky limestone.  Initially there is an incredible initial wetness to the wine with a round mouthfeel.  Upon swallowing, the wine finishes completely dry with fine tannins in the form of blackberry briers and underbrush resulting in a subtle finish.  Austere is the intention with this blend as it will gain weight with time, just like the 2006 did, a current favorite of foodies.  Vigorous decanting reveals the balance and the melding of many beautiful nuances from the blending trials.  One of the most cellar worthy 2007s.

Cuvée O Pinot Noir
In 2007 there were three barrels of Pinot noir that stood out from all the rest.  Alone these barrels were great, but when blended they became an Outstanding, Over-the-top, Outrageous, Opulent, Out-of-this-world wine warranting the “O” designation.  Aromatically this wine is sexy and flashy with racy red fruit, pie spice, and lots and lots of candied cherry enhanced by seductive notes of vanilla, caramel, and smoke.  Unleashed upon the palate, flavors erupt into a complex barrage of ripe red raspberry, licorice, and dry sauna cedar.  The oak is present but with the primary function of defining the bones of the body with the fruit being the flesh, clothing optional.  Ever evolving flavors unfold layer by layer to reveal just how serious a wine this is.  It truly is something special.

Blackburn Reserve Pinot Noir
Blackburn is always that bottle that is big and backward and well…a “reserve”, or at least has been thus far.  This vintage is generous and expansive, opening with aromas of stewed black plums and cherries, Oriental Ramen spices, bourbon and graphite and filling the mouth with all sorts of dark dimensions.  This is perhaps the best representation of the 2007 vintage; fruit and flavors are there, but in the background, as in classic Burgundy, there is always seems to be something else lurking.  Very drinkable now, but it would be better to let it rest until 2010-2015.

Canary Hill Pinot Noir
This is the last vintage of EIEIO Canary Hill and undoubtedly one of the best.  Although we have gone on ad nausea about how this site is meticulously farmed, it’s definitely worth stating one last time.  Minerals and earthy elements are right up front, both in the nose and the mouth.  Flavors expand into ripe and fleshy red and black currants plus cherry jam filled sugar cookies, while the texture is like dusty satin.  The wine deepens and intensifies in the glass exhibiting darker flavors of dried cherries, warm brown sugar, jelly filled donuts and star anise.  Substantial, solid, tense, and ravishing with intense fruit flavors deeply etched with vibrant acid; the earthy aspect comes in as strata of brambles and briers and deep coast-range moss with underlying minerality.  A model of absolute harmony, balance and integration.  Check the website for verticals of this beauty.  

Swine Wine
More than just a great label, it’s also a great Pinot noir.  This wine is distinguished by the slightly smoky bacon and black currant combination with juicy plum aromas and flavors.  More smoked meat components evolve which is ridiculously enticing.  A dense gaminess is balanced by floral tones of lilac and hyacinth while natural acidity is matched with some stout support in the form of earthy tannins and more ephemeral autumnal qualities like the smoke from burning fall leaves. This is one of those wines that confirms the belief that great Pinot around $25 does exist.

2007 EIEIO & Company

Chardonnay – Cuvée E                                                              `                     $150 / six-pack Chardonnay – Cuvée I                                                                                      $210 / six-pack

Chardonnay – Cuvée O                                                                                    $270 / six-pack
Pinot Noir – Cuvée E                                                                                       $210 / six-pack
Pinot Noir – Cuvée I                                                                                        $270 / six-pack
Pinot Noir – Cuvée O                                                                                       $330 / six-pack
Pinot Noir – Blackburn Reserve                                                                        $300 / six-pack
Pinot Noir – Canary Hill Vineyard                                                                      $450 / six-pack
Pinot Noir – Swine Wine                                                                                   $150 / six-pack

Special Release Pricing
10% off a case purchase
20% off a 3 or more case purchase

Release Pricing valid ONLY until 3PM May 26th, 2009.   

The Tasting Room in Carlton
503.852.6733
ttr@pinot-noir.com
www.pinot-noir.com