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Story Teller Wine Company
Warring camps. That’s how I describe the folks that militantly defend Oregon’s 2006 and 2007 vintages of Pinot Noir. At times it has been a contentious affair, with some people referring to 2007 defenders as “whimpies,” only to be called “PPs” (Parker palates) in response. Families were divided and to this day there are neighbors who will not speak to one another. All because of different tastes and preferences. You don’t see this kind of thing when people prefer skim milk to whole milk do you? I guess there’s something unique about wine that stirs the passions. So perhaps as I’m sitting in a dark theater watching the movie Invictus, it is no wonder my mind keeps drifting back to Oregon Pinot Noir. I’m also an obsessed wine geek that has to come up with material for two newsletters a week, so to be honest, my mind is always drifting in this direction. Back to the film. Nelson Mandela was faced with a country that was hopelessly divided after the fall of apartheid. So he decides to use the hosting the Rugby World Cup to unite the nation. In the film, Mandela takes a poem that he kept with him in his prison cell and hands it over to his national rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar, for inspiration. The poem by William Ernest Henley, is titled “Invictus” and it is so stirring that Pienaar and the boys rally their way to the championship match against New Zealand. A good time is had by all and South Africans of all colors unite in the warm glow. Forget about the fact that Mandela evidently gave Pienaar a copy of an excerpt from an old Teddy Roosevelt speech, as that wouldn’t make for a great movie moment or a cool movie title. After a Friday night tasting I observed, I’m beginning to think the 2008 vintage of Oregon Pinot Noir is our great unifier. At that tasting there was an assortment of newly released 2008 Oregon Pinot Noirs. I watched as people I know to be members of both warring camps expressed their appreciation of the wines. One person who I know to be a fan of the bigger, bolder 2006 vintage said of the wine in this newsletter, “when I think of Oregon Pinot Noir, the flavors of this wine are what I think in my head.” Several folks who I know to be lovers of the elegance and acidity of the 2007 vintage commented about how much they loved this wine. So with much fanfare, I introduce to you a crowd favorite from the first of the early releases of the 2008 vintage. Or as I like to call 2008, “the great unifier.” 2008 Brooks Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (22.00) Quite a few winemakers and pundits have been drawing comparisons between the 2008 vintage and the amazingly good 1999 vintage when it comes to Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. In 2008, just like in 1999, we had a very cool growing season early on, to the point where green grapes were still hanging on the vines at Labor day. 2008 was eerily similar to 1999 in terms of everything from cooler temperatures to rainfall totals. Then came the late harvest miracle; warm, dry weather! Wine critic Matt Kramer described 2008 as “a cliffhanger year with poor spring flowering reducing the size of the eventual crop. September’s cool and cloudy weather retarded the critical ripening. But October was a godsend: warm, sunny and blessedly free from rain. Growers who waited - and many did - were rewarded with well-ripened grapes with fully evolved flavors as opposed to mere sugar levels. Unlike the light 2007s and the sometimes overripe, even blowsy 2006s, Oregon’s 2008 pinot noirs promise both depth and restraint.” Based on what I have tasted so far, both from barrel and bottle, I can’t say I can disagree yet with Chehalem’s Harry Peterson-Nedry, who concluded his assessment of the vintage by writing “the parallels to 1999 are complete for the 2008 vintage. An exceptionally cool growing season ends in full ripening warmth, sun and dryness, giving us possibly one of the best vintages Oregon has seen.” But the proof is in the glass, both now and over time. But let’s just say I’m really, really optimistic so far! The only negative thing I can say about the 2008 vintage so far is there is a lot less of it to go around! The 2008 Brooks Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, made with grapes from notable vineyards like Eola Hills, Hyland, Momtazi, Battle Creek, Echo Hill and Corral Creek, is the perfect place to start. It was by far the favorite wine at our recent Friday evening tasting, and I’m not going by comments, I’m going by how people voted with their wallets. The fact that it was pleasing to such a diverse range of palates was impressive. Maybe the White House understood the unifying powers of a Brooks wine when they recently served one of their Rieslings at their first official state dinner? The 2008 Brooks Pinot Noir has very comforting aromas of dusty red cherries, a touch of smoke and brown spice and a wee bit of fresh-cut hay. It has a savory quality on the nose, that when combined with those classic cherries, makes for a very nice bouquet. But the real discussion begins when you actually drink the wine. Just swishing it around in your mouth you might be very pleasantly surprised at how much ripe fruit you can get from such a cool vintage year. The fruit flavors of sweet dark cherries, tangy cranberries and dried orange peel are nice and full, and yet there is a nice bit of acidity to round out the experience. The Brooks treads nimbly and expertly along the imaginary fruit line that divides tart from sweet. Overall, this is a very nice wine for this price range. And it is a wine that you can pour with confidence to your pinot lovin’ pals, content in the knowledge there is something for everyone to enjoy here. To get everybody in the 2008 spirit of unity and pleasure, if you purchase six to eleven bottles of the 2008 Brooks Pinot Noir, the price per bottle will drop to 21.00. Purchase twelve or more bottles and the price will drop to 19.00 a bottle. So gather a group of friends and offer up a glass of Brooks as an olive branch to those with different palates. The world will be a better place, guaranteed. I will be out of reach by email or phone from Monday January 18 until Thursday 21. So go ahead and place any orders you may have for the Brooks Pinot Noir and I will sort them out on Friday morning and send you confirmation at that time. Friday Night Wine Tasting, January 22, 6:00-9:00PM: Spain! There are a bunch of new wines from the Jose Pastor portfolio arriving in Portland this week and we will be pouring samples on Friday evening. The Mencia grape will be the focus of the evening, including some old vine Mencia that was aged in cherry wood. That’s something you don’t get to taste every day! You also don’t want to miss the sparkling wines from Spain that will get opened that night. There will be no charge for this tasting. Saturday Wine Tasting, January 23, 12:00-5:00 PM: Italy! There will be some humble, yet delightful Italian table wines on hand for you sample this Saturday. Whites and reds will be on hand and every Italian wine in the store will 25% off all day long, from 10AM until 7:00PM. There will be no charge for this tasting. Cheers, Michael Alberty Head Storyteller Visit www.StorytellerWine.com >> 5511-B SW Hood Ave, Portland \| (503) 206-7029 \| 1.800.753.2531

Story Teller Wine Company

Warring camps. That’s how I describe the folks that militantly defend Oregon’s 2006 and 2007 vintages of Pinot Noir. At times it has been a contentious affair, with some people referring to 2007 defenders as “whimpies,” only to be called “PPs” (Parker palates) in response. Families were divided and to this day there are neighbors who will not speak to one another. All because of different tastes and preferences. You don’t see this kind of thing when people prefer skim milk to whole milk do you? I guess there’s something unique about wine that stirs the passions.

So perhaps as I’m sitting in a dark theater watching the movie Invictus, it is no wonder my mind keeps drifting back to Oregon Pinot Noir. I’m also an obsessed wine geek that has to come up with material for two newsletters a week, so to be honest, my mind is always drifting in this direction. Back to the film. Nelson Mandela was faced with a country that was hopelessly divided after the fall of apartheid. So he decides to use the hosting the Rugby World Cup to unite the nation. In the film, Mandela takes a poem that he kept with him in his prison cell and hands it over to his national rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar, for inspiration. The poem by William Ernest Henley, is titled “Invictus” and it is so stirring that Pienaar and the boys rally their way to the championship match against New Zealand. A good time is had by all and South Africans of all colors unite in the warm glow. Forget about the fact that Mandela evidently gave Pienaar a copy of an excerpt from an old Teddy Roosevelt speech, as that wouldn’t make for a great movie moment or a cool movie title.

After a Friday night tasting I observed, I’m beginning to think the 2008 vintage of Oregon Pinot Noir is our great unifier. At that tasting there was an assortment of newly released 2008 Oregon Pinot Noirs. I watched as people I know to be members of both warring camps expressed their appreciation of the wines. One person who I know to be a fan of the bigger, bolder 2006 vintage said of the wine in this newsletter, “when I think of Oregon Pinot Noir, the flavors of this wine are what I think in my head.” Several folks who I know to be lovers of the elegance and acidity of the 2007 vintage commented about how much they loved this wine. So with much fanfare, I introduce to you a crowd favorite from the first of the early releases of the 2008 vintage. Or as I like to call 2008, “the great unifier.”

2008 Brooks Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (22.00)

Quite a few winemakers and pundits have been drawing comparisons between the 2008 vintage and the amazingly good 1999 vintage when it comes to Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. In 2008, just like in 1999, we had a very cool growing season early on, to the point where green grapes were still hanging on the vines at Labor day. 2008 was eerily similar to 1999 in terms of everything from cooler temperatures to rainfall totals. Then came the late harvest miracle; warm, dry weather!

Wine critic Matt Kramer described 2008 as “a cliffhanger year with poor spring flowering reducing the size of the eventual crop. September’s cool and cloudy weather retarded the critical ripening. But October was a godsend: warm, sunny and blessedly free from rain. Growers who waited - and many did - were rewarded with well-ripened grapes with fully evolved flavors as opposed to mere sugar levels. Unlike the light 2007s and the sometimes overripe, even blowsy 2006s, Oregon’s 2008 pinot noirs promise both depth and restraint.” Based on what I have tasted so far, both from barrel and bottle, I can’t say I can disagree yet with Chehalem’s Harry Peterson-Nedry, who concluded his assessment of the vintage by writing “the parallels to 1999 are complete for the 2008 vintage. An exceptionally cool growing season ends in full ripening warmth, sun and dryness, giving us possibly one of the best vintages Oregon has seen.” But the proof is in the glass, both now and over time. But let’s just say I’m really, really optimistic so far! The only negative thing I can say about the 2008 vintage so far is there is a lot less of it to go around!

The 2008 Brooks Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, made with grapes from notable vineyards like Eola Hills, Hyland, Momtazi, Battle Creek, Echo Hill and Corral Creek, is the perfect place to start. It was by far the favorite wine at our recent Friday evening tasting, and I’m not going by comments, I’m going by how people voted with their wallets. The fact that it was pleasing to such a diverse range of palates was impressive. Maybe the White House understood the unifying powers of a Brooks wine when they recently served one of their Rieslings at their first official state dinner? The 2008 Brooks Pinot Noir has very comforting aromas of dusty red cherries, a touch of smoke and brown spice and a wee bit of fresh-cut hay. It has a savory quality on the nose, that when combined with those classic cherries, makes for a very nice bouquet.

But the real discussion begins when you actually drink the wine. Just swishing it around in your mouth you might be very pleasantly surprised at how much ripe fruit you can get from such a cool vintage year. The fruit flavors of sweet dark cherries, tangy cranberries and dried orange peel are nice and full, and yet there is a nice bit of acidity to round out the experience. The Brooks treads nimbly and expertly along the imaginary fruit line that divides tart from sweet.

Overall, this is a very nice wine for this price range. And it is a wine that you can pour with confidence to your pinot lovin’ pals, content in the knowledge there is something for everyone to enjoy here. To get everybody in the 2008 spirit of unity and pleasure, if you purchase six to eleven bottles of the 2008 Brooks Pinot Noir, the price per bottle will drop to 21.00. Purchase twelve or more bottles and the price will drop to 19.00 a bottle. So gather a group of friends and offer up a glass of Brooks as an olive branch to those with different palates. The world will be a better place, guaranteed.

I will be out of reach by email or phone from Monday January 18 until Thursday 21. So go ahead and place any orders you may have for the Brooks Pinot Noir and I will sort them out on Friday morning and send you confirmation at that time.

Friday Night Wine Tasting, January 22, 6:00-9:00PM: Spain!

There are a bunch of new wines from the Jose Pastor portfolio arriving in Portland this week and we will be pouring samples on Friday evening. The Mencia grape will be the focus of the evening, including some old vine Mencia that was aged in cherry wood. That’s something you don’t get to taste every day! You also don’t want to miss the sparkling wines from Spain that will get opened that night. There will be no charge for this tasting.

Saturday Wine Tasting, January 23, 12:00-5:00 PM: Italy!

There will be some humble, yet delightful Italian table wines on hand for you sample this Saturday. Whites and reds will be on hand and every Italian wine in the store will 25% off all day long, from 10AM until 7:00PM. There will be no charge for this tasting.

Cheers,
Michael Alberty
Head Storyteller

Visit www.StorytellerWine.com >>
5511-B SW Hood Ave, Portland | (503) 206-7029 | 1.800.753.2531

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