Finishing up with my 2009 Oregon Pinot Noir assessments, I visited Beaux Freres and Penner Ash, two of my favorite properties.

Mike Etzel, winemaker at Beaux Freres, tasted us through several barrels that will be going into the 2009 Willamette Valley bottling. The samples varied from being tight, linear, and layered with raspberry and bramble patch to rangy, smoky, loamy, with dusty, dried fruit and notes of sweetness. Colors showed transparent throughout with wide rims verging on pink or vermillion. The Estate barrels were tightly focused with prickly raspberry, paraffin tannins that gave length and grip, and tart cherry notes on the finish. The Upper Terrace barrels showed especially well, the wines tightly wound, with dusty tannic cores and salty parmesan, and complex windings of berry, clove , and sweet basil. Looking forward to seeing the final results!

At Penner Ash the ‘09s were already bottled. We began with the Hyland Vineyard: transparent purple with sultry smokey notes in the perfume. Sweet, jammy fruit with lively acidity and toasty tannins. Very nice length. I think this was my favorite.

Next was Shea: dried cherry potpourri in the nose. Full palate with chewy, peppery fruit jam. Good length and integration with toasted notes on the end.

The Estate had an effusive perfume of smoky, loamy berry patch aromas. It’s berry fruit was nicely integrated with dusty, dried tannins, loam and some smoke. Very nice on the finish.

Finally, the Pas de Nom. Transparent throughout the glass. Smoke, loam, and berry permeate the perfume. The tightly wound palate was pulled together with chalk, fig, sweet spice, and hints of guava. On the end mouth-coating tannins extended the lovely flavors in a delicious finale.

Overall, I think the 2009 Oregon Pinots exhibit more structure and less of the lushness of the 2008s. Yet they retain the fullness characteristic of Oregon Pinots without the lightness (attractive in itself) of the 2007 vintage. A very good vintage indeed.

Cecilia Beretta is owned by the Pasqua family. Vineyards are located in the Veneto area around Verona, Soave and Trento in the NE. The grapes for the Beretta Castelnuovo Custoza 2009 come from the hillsides south west of Verona. Composed primarily of Trebbiano, Garganega, Tocai Friuliano, and Malvasia, it sports a ripe perfume of white flower and ripe tropical fruits. Mouthfeel is unctuous with tropical mango, and hints of chalk and citrus. It finishes refreshing and lightly tart. $7.99/750ml.

Mas dels Mets 2009 Tinto Montsant is a burly red wine from the NE coast in Spain’s Catalonia province. The vineyards are primarily on hillsides with soils composed of schists, formed from the underlying slate and quartz layers, called llicorella. This stunning tinto is made from Garnacha, Mazuela, and Tempranillo. Dense opaque purple/black in the glass with narrow purple rims. Perfume comes up slowly with notes of licorice and anisette. Powerful tannins assault the palate with gun metal in the middle and peripheral anisette liquor balanced by tart cranberry. Muscular and long finish. How the Spaniards manage to produce this kind of wine, ship it over here, and make it possible for me to charge $6.99/ 750ml. is a profound mystery. But there you have it. My wine of the week.

In Italy’s Marche region there is a tiny DOC near Ancona. Lacrima di Morro D’Alba appears to be an ancient varietal of vitus vinefera, but it’s provenance is unclear due to the great number of vinifera varietals in the central and south of Italy. Luigi Giuisti 2009 Lacrima di Morro D’Alba is redolent of roses and brambly earth. In the glass it’s opaque purple with very narrow rims. The palate is very attractive with deliciously chewy, loamy raspberry and a delightful tartness on the end. Recommendations for food pairings can be found at www.italianmade.com. $13.79/750ml.

In stock now: Beaux Freres 2008 Upper Terrace $83.99/750ml.
Quelceda Creek 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, $173.99/750ml.

Our tasting schedule this weekend:

• Friday, Sept. 3^rd, Plume Bleue 2007 Vin de Pays d’Oc and Notro Torrontes 2009, 5pm.

• Saturday, Sept. 4^th, Great Divide Rumble , oak aged IPA, 5pm.

• Sunday, Sept. 5^th, Provenza 2010 Chiaretto , 5pm.