Willamette Valley Vineyard, Pinot Gris, 2008
Here's another wine we got from Willamette Valley Vineyards. And while we review a lot of Pinot Noir, we also like the Gris and Blanc cousins.
This one smells like pear, and lime ... and peach! This was a well balanced and tasty Pinot Gris and was not overly acidic. The taste was a pear and peach combo — it starts peach (just hints of sweetness) and then ends in pear (not sweet). So it feels dry and smooth with just enough tartness to give it a little backbone.
Denise, who normally isn't much for whites, really like this one. She thought that initial spark of sweetness was like a can of sweet mandarins (in a good way). Yet, she liked that that sweetness immediately dissipated into what she thought was a celery mixed with lychee fruit (that sounds weird to type, but the flavor was really nice). Denise also thought it has a little buttery-ness to it and a slight effervescence. She concluded that this wine would go great with chili and satsumas.
For me, I think they did a really great job with this too. I read the back label and found that they blended in a little Pinot Blanc and Muscat into this bottle. I really like Pinot Blanc (though most people don't seem to); I think it gave this wine that buttery-ness Denise found and liked. And while I don't usually like Muscat, I suppose it's a lot like Grenache: better when blended, but perhaps hit-and-miss on it's own (that's my personal opinion anyway).
Bottomline: Denise and both really liked this one. And only $16, that's a great bargin too.
Cost:
$16Rating:
8.5