Some brief and imprecise descriptions of a few recent wines (no notes taken, IOW):
2005 Scott Paul "La Paulee" Pinot Noir, WillametteSweet and spicy fruit, velveteen texture from soft oak, elegant. Very good. $39 winery price.
2005 Daedalus pinot noir, Willamette
Couldn't have been more opposite to the Scott Paul. A surprisingly green nose morphed into cigar tobacco and then into green olive. It basically went from resembling a Baudry Chinon to a Joseph Sabon Mt. Olivet CdP without ever settling into its calling as an Oregon pinot. The savory qualities continued on the palate, and with air was joined by some unsweet cherry/raspberry fruit. No noticeable oak. Highly polished--fined/filtered--and medium bodied. Can't say it had what I love about pinot, but it was a fun ride.
2005 Quartz Reef pinot noir, Central Otago, NZ
With the memory of friend David N's Felton Road pinot fresh in my mind from last week, I was curious to try another Central Otago pinot noir so I opened this recent Garagiste purchase. Interesting to compare it to the other two above also. Pretty big, modern/extracted style of pinot, with big sweet flavors of black cherry and marion berry. Rather monolithic at first, but it seemed to get lighter and brighter in the glass and adding some tomato skin flavor, indicating that it will improve with some bottle age. Very good.
1999 Veyry, Cotes du Castillon
Big blackberry fruit, some tar and that unmistakeable essence of traditional Bordeaux. Lusty and rustic. Drinks well now, wouldn't hold.
1998 Stony Hill chardonnay, California
Chose this to pair with a rich dish of macaroni and cheese (white cheddar and parmesan) with herbs. Great choice, great wine: clean apple fruit with meyer lemon piled onto loads of flint and wet rocks, with no oxidation whatsoever. My only bottle, wish I had a case of it.