Oregon pinot noir features Old World charm

Occasion: There are tremendous opportunities coming up this weekend if you’re a wine and food lover and happen to find yourself in Las Vegas. First up is one of the greatest food and wine tastings in the country with the Bon Appetit Vegas Uncork’d event at Caesars Palace. It features some of the world’s top chefs and restaurants as well as wines. Not to be outdone is the Wine Spectator Grand Tour at The Mirage, which features hundreds of top wines from around the world, all scoring 90 points or higher. It is always one of the highlights in the wine-tasting calendar and is a must for any serious wine lover. I’ll be there myself enjoying some great wines, many of which are as drinkable as this week’s pick from the tremendously overachieving appellation of Willamette Valley, Wild Stock Pinot Noir. This wine, by the way, sells for more than $27 online, so you’re getting a great deal here.

Wine: Wild Stock Pinot Noir

Grape: Pinot noir

Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon

Vintage: 2013

In the glass: Wild Stock Pinot is a vibrant semi-translucent garnet color with a firm, deeply colored core going out into a fine slightly tinged light garnet-red rim definition with medium-high viscosity.

On the nose: There are good amounts of crushed black plums, cranberry juice, cherries jubilee, milk chocolate and licorice root. Then bright red flowers, herbs and earth-driven minerals round out the layered toasty nose. The wine is very Burgundian in many ways on the nose.

On the palate: The wine is very forward for a pinot noir in this class, without the usual extraction found especially in California pinots. There are fresh, bright crushed red berries, cherries, plums, raspberry coulis, cranberry fondant and copious amounts of phenols and earthy minerals with underlying hints of aniseed powder. The midpalate seems rich and forward with good amounts of balance between fruit and acidity, as well as good tannin structure that reflects the relatively cool-climate the wine is coming from. The finish is very fine with hints of candied cranberries and faint oak references. It is an elegant and classy expression of pinot in a very Old World style; a wonderful Oregon wine.

Price: $9.99

Availability: Lee’s Discount Liquor

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears on Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.