This event on May 16 at the Nantucket Wine Festival featured some of the same winemakers as the Burgundy Wine Luncheon plus J. Christopher and Lynn Penner-Ash representing Willamette Valley, OR.
2011 J. CHRISTOPHER PINOT NOIR BELLA VIDA VINEYARD DUNDEE HILLS, OR. Natural yeasts. 2011 was a cool vintage. Red volcanic soil with iron at a higher elevation. Light burgundy color in the glass with transparency. Cherries prominent on the nose. Long finish. Quite nice.
2013 DOMAINE DROUHIN DUNDEE HILLS, OR. Paler than the J. Christopher and tasted a bit more dilute. It does finish with an elegant note. Grew on me somewhat as I sipped it.
2011 JOSEPH DROUHIN CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 1ER CRU BURGUNDY, FRANCE. Raspberry and cherry notes; mouth-filling; lingering finish. Nice with a hard cheese that had a nutty flavor. Alex Gambal commented "silky texture, elegant" Usually bottled at 18 months. 2011 described as a "classic" vintage which to some may mean "austere."
2013 PENNER-ASH PINOT NOIR ESTATE VINEYARD YAMHILL-CARLTON AVA OR. Gravity-flow facility. Sedimentary soils. Lynn works with 17 vineyard sites. Darker color, smooth-tasting, some spice notes. Nice wine.
2013 PENNER-ASH PINOT NOIR ZENA CROWN VINEYARD EOLA-AMITY HILLS AVA, OR. Shallower soils than the Dundee Hills. Higher acidity and take longer to develop in the bottle. I preferred the estate Pinot
2011 ALEX GAMBAL BEAUNE LES GREVES 1ER CRU, BURGUNDY, FRANCE. 12.5% abv. A difficult vintage. Destemmed, used natural yeasts, fermented in stainless steel vats. Iron-bearing soil. Produced five barrels, 125 cases. Raspberry and other red fruit notes. Long finish. Did well with a difficult vintage. (2012 was distastrous with hail on parcels from Nuits-St.-Georges to Chassagne.)
2012 MAISON AMBROISE NUITS-ST.-GEORGES 1ER CRU LES VAUCRAINS, BURGUNDY, FRANCE. Nice, lifted nose. Some power and balance. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. From old vines. 100% destemmed. Darker fruit flavors.
From questions and answers;
J. Christopher doesn't irrigate "Irrigation causes lazy roots--winemakers want roots to go deeper."
The 2011 vintage was lower alcohol and more acidity than other recent vintages. These wines could last 20 years.
Lynn Penner-Ash. Surprisingly more elegance, bigger yields and bigger berries
Alex Gambal: 2014 Burgundy whites should be good but scarce. Reds similar to 200, 2009 and 1999.
He produces more cases of white wine than red.
People compare the latitude of Burgundy and Oregon but they are dissimilar terroirs. Burgundy has humidity and fungal issues. Mildew, odium--mildew attacks the leaves and in some years attacks the grapes.