Lemelson Vineyards Thea's Selection Pinot Noir 2000

Lemelson Vineyards is the offspring of Eric Lemelson, who is also a trustee of the Lemelson Foundation, and a lawyer. We'll just have to ignore the foundation and allow for lapses, and just say that making Pinot is probably the best for everyone.

Lemelson Vineyards is one of the older (I'm guessing here, but based on the time I have had this cellared...) in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Located southwest of Portland (map) Carlson, Oregon is a small town in a valley that is becoming ever more popular for the wine elite, due primarily for the increasing quality we have seen in the last five or six years of the Pinot Noir.

The Thea's Selection (named after Eric's mother) is what they like to call a "reserve-level" wine. Hmmm. Ok. But why not call it reserve? These are supposedly select barrels from several vineyards, so while not a vineyard specific wine, still a reserve. Since they have no info dating to the 2000 vintage, let's just say this is more in the Burgundian style, (they claim "Burgundian barrels". I have no idea what they are...) That is to say it is not a sweet or as full bodied as something that is from the better California areas, or as we like to say "fruit forward". It is slightly more tart, dark in color, but in lighter density that we see these days.

The wine has good viscosity as evidenced by the wide long legs in the glass, and has a nose that is classic Pinot fruit, more toward.. well, Burgundy wines. (I just had a bee land on my arm, in the house, in winter... Not a good sign, nor good for writing!)

The taste is slightly faded as one would expect in a wine of this age. I suspect that fuller flavor would be had several years earlier. Considering that this was probably released in 2002 or 2003, I'd venture to guess that 2004 or 2005 would have left this a prime wine.

On a side note, at least one of the Thea's releases is stated as "unfiltered", but the 2000 show absolutely no sedimentation in the bottle which is surprising for a wine almost seven years old. Not a problem, but I wonder. This bottle comes in at 13.5% alcohol, a low number for recent Californian wines, but more along the line of the Burgundian style. The use of indigenous yeasts and most likely the lower temperatures compared to California, as well as higher precipitation, would mean lower sugar levels when picked; and lower alcohol as well. This is part of what makes this wine expressive of the local terroir in Oregon.

If you haven't tried a Pinot from outside of California or France,, try some now. The Lemelson Vineyard is a good place to start. Somewhere around $30. And visit Oregon!