Tasting Notes: Sunfish Cellars Oregon and Burgundy Event

February 15, 2020

Sunfish Cellars Oregon and & Burgundy Tasting.

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For only $25.00 guest enjoyed the following wines. While not all wines showed well there was plenty of highlights listed below. Another great event by Hoyt Hill at Sunfish Cellars.

Table One:

2018 Guilhem et Jean-Hugues Goisot Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre – France, Burgundy, Côtes d’Auxerre, Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre
Solid wine and interesting. Wood, earth, raspberries and floral notes. Medium finish. Drink now to 2026. (88 pts.)
2017 Prosper Maufoux Bourgogne – France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Good acidity with cherry, floral and minerals. A very clean wine and drinking well now. Drink now to 2024. (89 pts.)
2016 LAVINEA Pinot Noir Nysa Vineyard – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Very nice with cherry, wood, spices, floral and celery. Medium finish and good acidity. Should improve with some age. (93 pts.)
2016 LAVINEA Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Estate – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola – Amity Hills
Not as good as the Nysa. Floral, strawberry and wood. Medium plus finish. Hold until 2023 and beyond. 90 to 92 points (90 pts.)
2018 Walnut City Wineworks Pinot Noir – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
This wine got better with air time. Little on the sweeter side with strawberries, floral and earth. Short to medium finish. Decant introduction wine to Pinot Noir. (87 pts.)
2017 Whoa Nelly! Pinot Noir – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
As the name suggests not a good wine. Little to no Pinot character. Wafer, light fruits and very simple wine. No thanks. (81 pts.)
2017 Kin & Cascadia Pinot Noir – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Simple with earth, mild fruits and floral notes. Drinkable but so much better out there. (83 pts.)

Table Two:
2016 Chanson Père & Fils Viré-Clessé – France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Viré-Clessé
Lemon oil, spice, minerals and sour apples. Medium finish and good acidity. (88 pts.)
2017 Daniel & Julien Barraud Pouilly-Fuissé Alliance Vieilles Vignes – France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé
Minerals, apple, pear, mild spice and floral notes. Short to medium finish. Decant acidity. Solid wine. (88 pts.)
2017 Chanson Père & Fils Bourgogne – France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Earth, clay, dust and red fruits. Medium finish and picks up some dusty notes. Very Old World in style. (87 pts.)
2014 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Bourgogne Cuvée Saint-Vincent – France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
A bit too acidic. Forest floor, raspberries, floral and earth. Short to medium finish. Lacks personality. (85 pts.)
2016 Domaine Bourgogne-Devaux Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune La Perrière – France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
Raspberries, floral and cherry notes. Simple but tasty. Medium finish. (87 pts.)
2015 Joseph Drouhin Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune – France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
Nice overall with strawberries, earth, floral and rustic edge to the wine. (88 pts.)
2016 Joseph Drouhin Côte de Nuits Villages – France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Nuits Villages
Raspberries, forest floor, spices and damp earth. Medium finish. (88 pts.)

Table Three:
2015 Airlie Winery Pinot Gris – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Basic wine with little going on. Floral and soft fruit. Short finish. (83 pts.)
2018 Anne Amie Müller-Thurgau Cuvée A Anne Amie Estate Vineyard – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
Not my thing. Sweet with floral and apple notes. Very simple wine. (84 pts.)
2017 Anne Amie Müller-Thurgau Cuvée A Anne Amie Estate Vineyard – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
Apricots, floral and semi sweet. Not bad and better than the first two wines. (87 pts.)
2017 Airlie Winery Seven – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
A fragrant wine with floral notes, honey suckles and perfume. Nice finish. (87 pts.)
2014 Airlie Winery Pinot Noir – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Clean wine but not inspiring. Cranberry, cherry and earth. Medium finish. (88 pts.)
2017 Anne Amie Pinot Noir Winemaker’s Selection – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Earth, smoke, wood and some funk. A bit clunky of a wine. Hold. (87 pts.)

Table Four:
2017 Domaine Laroche Bourgogne Blanc – France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
Solid wine with shells, lemon, spice and mild oak. Refreshing wine and medium finish. (90 pts.)
2016 Penner-Ash Viognier – USA, Oregon
Floral, orange peel and minerals. A nice wine but very pricy. (88 pts.)
2015 La Crema Chardonnay Yamhill-Carlton – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
My second favorite white at the tasting. Rich with apple, mild oak, spice, minerals and floral notes. Medium plus and complex finish. (92 pts.)
2015 Gran Moraine Chardonnay – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
Rich with apple, pear, earth, dust and mild oak. Medium finish and picks up some orange peel. (91 pts.)
2017 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Gris – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
Another example of an underwhelming Pinot Gris. Chalk, minerals, and a lack of fruit come together to create a boring wine. (85 pts.)
2018 WillaKenzie Estate Rosé – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Very good featuring watermelon, stone and floral notes. Very clean wine and flavorful. (90 pts.)
2016 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Very good base bottle. Good acidity featuring raspberries, earth, mushroom and cranberry. A rustic wine. (90 pts.)
2017 Siduri Pinot Noir Willamette Valley – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Really liked this wine and the price is a great value. Light in color featuring rose petals, minerals, strawberries, smoke and mild wood. Medium plus finish. Very good. (90 pts.)
2014 Penner-Ash Syrah – USA, Oregon
Very nice wine. Normally not a big fan of the Rogue Valley Syrahs’ but this one exceeds. Floral, pepper, cherry, earth and tar. Medium plus finish. (92 pts.)

Table Five:
2015 David Duband Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbé – France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
Very nice wine and tied at the top of the tasting. Intense wine with earth, minerals, mild oak. dark cherries and floral notes. Medium to long finish and balanced has been achieved. (93 pts.)
2016 Leah Jorgensen Cellars Blanc de Cabernet Franc Les Collines Vineyard – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Sometimes wine makers should not experiment and this is one of those times. Bitter, earth and lacks any complexity. A mess of a wine. (82 pts.)
2017 David Duband Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits – France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits
Solid wine with earth, mushrooms, cranberry and floral notes. Medium finish. (88 pts.)
2016 Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Noir Clay Court Vineyard – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
Very solid wine with earth, forest floor, blueberries, bramble and possesses good acidity. Medium plus finish. Should drink well with some age. (91 pts.)
2016 Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Noir Five Mountain – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains
Very nice a one point higher than the Clay Court. Spice, dust, earth and floral notes. Medium plus finish and complex wine. (92 pts.)
2015 Andrew Rich Pinot Noir – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola – Amity Hills
Simple wine with earth, red fruits and mild spices. A bit pricy. (87 pts.)
2016 Leah Jorgensen Cellars Crater View Vineyard – USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley
Very interesting wine and tasty. Perfume, blueberries, cherries and earth. Some nice dusty notes on the medium plus finish. (91 pts.)

Table Six:
2016 Château de Beauregard (Joseph Burrier) Pouilly-Fuissé – France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé
Nice with minerals, floral, lemon and chalk. Medium finish. (88 pts.)
2017 Domaine Xavier Maranges 1er Cru Clos de la Fussière – France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Maranges 1er Cru
Nice overall with oak, cherry, plum, minerals and roasted meat. A bigger style wine. (88 pts.)
2016 Xavier Monnot Meursault Les Chevalières – France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
For sure a highlight of the tasting. Slate, shells, lemon, sour apple and floral. Medium plus finish and concentrated wine. Would love to try this again soon. (92 pts.)
2018 King Estate Sauvignon Blanc – USA, Oregon
Probably the most explosive wine at the tasting. Grass, floral and grapefruit in spades. Medium and good acidity. (89 pts.)
2017 Joseph Burrier Morgon Grands Cras – France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
Really nice Beaujolais. One of my favorite wines at the tasting. Funk, earth, floral and red currants. Medium plus finish. A buy wine! (91 pts.)
2017 Michel Magnien Bourgogne – France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
A very good Bourgogne. Flavorful featuring strawberries, minerals and earth. Medium finish. (90 pts.)
2016 Domaine Pierre Gelin Fixin – France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Fixin
Not bad for the money. Minerals, earth, earth and dried leaves. Good concentrated medium plus finish. Very nice. (90 pts.)
2016 A. et P. de Villaine Aligoté Bouzeron – France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Bouzeron
Not too often do you drink an Aligote based wine. Bread crust, shells and orange peel. Short to medium finish and tasty overall. (88 pts.)
2017 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Chorey-les-Beaune – France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chorey-les-Beaune
Earth, cherry and rose petals. Good wine overall. (89 pts.)
2017 Cooper Mountain Vineyards Pinot Gris – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Simple wine with light spices, floral and apple. Simple but refreshing. (86 pts.)
2017 Cooper Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Spice, floral, some funk and red fruits. Very good value Pinot Noir from Oregon. (90 pts.)