Wine & Spirits - August 2020 - 39

FOCUS: US PINOT GRIS SPECIALISTS
91 | King Estate

$35

2018 Willamette Valley Paradox Pinot
Gris ^ This vintage of Paradox is more
overtly oaky than the 2017 (also recommended here), but give it time. Tasted after
a day open, it had become more restrained
and intriguing. By day three, the wine had
turned absolutely stunning, with nutty lees
slipping like a sheath around the oak and
rendering the wine firm, structured and
layered. It was such a performance that I
felt bad to have opened it. Cellar it, as it's
clearly built to last. -P.J.C. (488 cases) §
520733

91 | King Estate

$26

2018 Willamette Valley Croft Vineyard
Pinot Gris ^ Near Salem, Croft Vineyard is one
of King's oldest long-term contracts for pinot
gris and pinot noir. In 2018, it produced a gris
with a wheaty savor, overlaying lean pear and
apple scents. The flavors are sweet as saltwater taffy, yet tense and crunchy, charged by
malic acids; it's a lean quencher for scallop
crudo. -P.J.C. (478 cases) §
520729

91 | King Estate

$28

2018 Willamette Valley Backbone Pinot
Gris ^ Backbone is King's homage to its longstanding vineyard sources. The '18 is coldfermented in steel tanks and left to settle for
several months on its lees. It smells of biscuits and nougat, the nutty and fleshy flavors
quickly turning bright and pure, with layers
of savor and tense apple fruit. Complex and
well built; for prawns. -P.J.C. (600 cases) §
520735

91 | Panther Creek

$20

2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (Best
Buy) ^ This is a lot of gris for the price. It's
austere and savory, but also persistent and
intense, moving from pineapple scents to
firm apple-flesh flavors and lacy, elegant
acidity. -P.J.C. (1,000 cases) §
520722

90 | Alexana

$32

2019 Willamette Valley Terroir Series
Pinot Gris ^ Lively and fleshy, this smells of
apples and mint, complementing jubilant
citrus and apple flavors. The mineral back
end rescues the wine from its grainy richness.
-P.J.C. (1,968 cases) §

520734
519569

90 | Big Table Farm

$32

2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris ^ Modest skin contact gives this wine a pale orange
hue and scents of narcissus and curry powder. It's bright and savory, graceful in the
middle, with a mild grip of tannins; for king
crab and clarified butter. -P.J.C. (W&S 4/20) §
520719

90 | Coeur de Terre

$19

2019 McMinnville Pinot Gris (Best Buy) ^
Winemaker Scott Neal does a modest manual
press at the end of his press run to gain a bit
of extra extraction for this wine. The result
is slightly cloudy and mildly cidery, with a
sandalwood scent and an angular grip of tannins that gives the wine some crunch. It's a
versatile gris, able to stand up to substantial
dishes, like choucroute. -P.J.C. (450 cases) §
517908

90 | The Four Graces

$21

88 | Apolloni

$19

88 | King Estate

$19

88 | Torii Mor

$18

2019 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris ^ Electric
acidity meets a biscuity lees character in this
lemony, mildly salty white. It's just as electric in its edgy flavors, a racy lemon drop of
a wine; for sand dabs. -P.J.C. §
520721
2019 Willamette Valley Estate Pinot Gris
(Best Buy) ^ An edgy wine with notes of lemon
oil and mint, this needs food, like roast monkfish, to counterbalance it. -P.J.C. (377 cases) §
520731

$28

2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (Best
Buy) ^ King's appellation bottling is wheaty
and bright in 2018, like a bowl of apple slices
spritzed with tart orange zest, with enough
lees character to lend some richness. Simple
and loose-limbed, it's well priced for summer
sipping. -P.J.C. §
520736

2017 Willamette Valley Steiner Block
Pinot Gris ^ Crisp apple and forthright lees
notes give way to flavors that are toasty, lifted
and fleshy all at once. The pear-flavored midpalate warmth is framed by crisp, mouthwatering acids. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/19; 198 cases) §
520740

2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (Best
Buy) ^ Leesy and a bit nutty when first poured,
this has a satisfying freshness despite its
weighty and mouth-coating flavors. The
citrus-pith finish would cut through a clam
pasta. -P.J.C. (265 cases) §

90 | King Estate

90 | Lumos

$19

2018 Willamette Valley Rudolfo Logsdon
Ridge Vineyard Pinot Gris (Best Buy) ^ From
a small, warm site near Corvallis planted just
to pinot gris, this wine is thrillingly grippy
and austere, with scents of almond flour and
lemon, and lean green-appley flavors. Pretty
much bursting with acidity, and buoyed on
a cushion of sourdough lees, this is built for
Willapa Bay oysters on the half shell. -P.J.C.
(768 cases) §

520737

88 | Wine by Joe

$14

2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (Best
Buy) ^ Brisk, bright and fruity, with a lemony,
sweet apple scent, this is like candy-coated
sunshine. It's simple and supple; for salt
prawns. -P.J.C. § n

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2020

39
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Wine & Spirits - August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2020
