A to Z Pinot Gris
Wine: A to Z Pinot Gris
Grape: Pinot gris
Region: Dundee, Ore.
Vintage: 2011
Price: $9.99
Availability: Lee’s Discount Liquors
In the glass: A to Z Pinot Gris is a light butter-yellow color with a star-bright core going out into a faint glass-clear rim definition with light to medium viscosity.
On the nose: There are fresh notes of crushed white fruit from pomelo, white cranberries, stone rose, white flowers, Asian pear and subtle hints of white rose petals and white corn as well as soft minerality in an altogether wonderfully fragrant package.
On the palate: The wine is ultrasuave with a sweetish pear and white currant entry followed by citrus rind, dried apricots, buttery anise components, no traces of wood and that lively mineral component so desirable in a pinot gris. The midpalate is lovely and balanced, marrying the white fruit with the acidity just right and transitioning into the surprisingly long finish with a zesty Key lime kick.
Odds and ends: While the market is loaded with pinot grigios from Italy — some even from California — it is not often I come across true pinot gris from Oregon. Native pinot gris comes from Alsace in the northeastern part of France, and while Oregon is farther south on the map latitude-wise, it still can produce a pinot gris wine that is not too dissimilar with the original ones from great Alsatian producers such as Hugel, Zind-Humbrecht and Trimbach. While the wine is as bone-dry as pinot grigio, it has a bit more character and dimension and certainly in terms of smell and taste, it very nearly overachieves. The main problem with Oregon wines in general is not their quality, but their high prices. This A to Z Pinot Gris, however, really delivers the goods , retailing on a special for less than $10. It also is perfect for the middle of the summer heat. Drink it well-chilled to 45 degrees Fahrenheit and serve it straight up by the glass or with fresh shellfish. Drink it now through 2015.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.
