Brian Shares His Expertise and Insight

I had the opportunity to sit down with Emily, the Regional Sales Manager from Bergstrom Wines recently.  Bergstrom has chosen to return to the “self-distributed” sales model in Oregon and has dropped their local wholesaler. This was my first meeting with Emily and she spared no expense in bringing lovely and tasty wines for me to try.

I prefer to taste white wines with residual sugar last, even after big hearty red wines, so we left the usually tasty Dr. Bergstrom Riesling for last and started with the 2007 Sigrid Chardonnay

The 2007 Sigrid Chardonnay, inspired by the great whites of Burgundy, is Josh’s attempt to create, in his words, “the greatest Oregon Chardonnay” is, in my opinion, a noble attempt. Lovely lemony and tropical fruit aromas touched with hazelnuts. It has excellent texture in the mouth with a moderate amount of acidity to lift the palate and refresh for another sip of wine or a bite of food. No expense was spared in the creation of this wine and that fact is reflected in the price. It is delicious none the less.

Now, on to the reds wines.

Winemaker, Vineyard Manager & General Manager Josh Bergström

The 2007 Cumberland is a multi-vineyard blend with the majority of the grapes coming from the excellent Estate, Shea and De Lancellotti vineyard. If you wanted to know what “style” Josh Bergstrom crafts his wines this is the one to try. The wine, a dark ruby red color running to pink at the rim of the glass showed aromas of red cherry, chocolate and sweet spices. 60% new oak contribute to a rich mouth feel and I would imagine some softening of fairly substantial tannins. Still softer than your average Washington Merlot this wine could “suffer” some bottle age or being decanted before drinking. All in all a good introduction to the Bergstrom style.

The single vineyards.

We started with the 2007 Nysa Vineyard. Small, high elevation family owned vineyards in the Dundee Hills planted to the newer Dijon clone Pinot Noir grapes. This wine is all about elegance and texture. Ruby red color, very floral aromas with red fruit flavors. If you’re a fan act quickly to put this one in your cellar for the production is limited to 400 cases. Decanting highly recommended, cellaring for several years will sure to add some additional complexity.

Some would consider the Yamhill-Carlton sub-AVA of the Willamette Valley the single best sub-appellation, even over the Dundee Hills. To make the decision for your self this next wine is an excellent place to start.

The 2007 Bergstrom Shea Vineyard reflects the classic Yamhill-Carlton characteristics of dark, almost violet coloring, ripe dark fruits and forest floor with accents of toasty barrel spice. It had excellent richness on the middle palate finishing with lively acidity and some serious structure. Not very hard tannins so these should resolve nicely, but just enough to warrant a recommendation of careful cellaring.

Always one of my favorite wines from Bergstrom, the 2007 de Lancellotti Vineyard was next on the tasting list. Certified Biodynamic vineyards in the Chehalem Mountains this wine shows more of a ruby-violet color with super-ripe aromas of wild berry fruits with one of the most complex spice profiles to experience in an Oregon Pinot Noir: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and anise. This wine is said to age beautifully, and this wine should be no different. Now, if it weren’t so hard to resist drinking it right away I might find out for myself. This wine is always a nice match for mesquite charcoal grilled steaks rubbed with garlic and fresh herbs, olive oil sautéed greens and creamy parmesan risotto.

The last Pinot Noir of the tasting was the 2007 Bergstrom Bergstrom Vineyard. Also farmed by the Biodynamic method, this vineyard planted in the Dundee hills during 1999 continues to impress and improve. Unfortunately, the day I tasted this wine; it seemed to be a little flat, brooding maybe. That being said when I first tasted an early sample of the 2006 vintage it was not my favorite either. However after a bit of time in the bottle it became my one of my favorite wines; and the wine of the 2006 vintage, from Bergstrom, that I put on the restaurants wine list.

The last of the Bergstrom wine was the Dr. Bergstrom Riesling. Some say that 2007 will go down in recent history as one of Oregon’s best white wine vintages and this wine does nothing to disprove that claim. This wine has lovely aromas of stone fruits, white peach, nectarine and apricot with some additional floral accents. Nice texture on the middle palate and some winter melon and citrus notes on the finish to balance the moderate sweetness. If you’re a fan of exceptional quality German Rieslings you should not hesitate to gives this wine a try.

Stop by the restaurant anytime for a chat, an appetizer and a glass of wine but the next time you’re having a special occasion, remember we still have a couple bottles of the 2006 Bergstrom Bergstrom Vineyard on the wine list and it’s drinking beautifully. When it is gone, I clearly have several wines to choose from to replace it with on the list. Cheers!