Southwest of Eugene, Oregon I had the opportunity to visit Iris Vineyards. The sprawling estate is impressive when you arrive on the property that is over 800 acres. The winery has Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which is to be expected in Oregon… But it was also fascinating to find Syrah, Merlot and Tempranillo on the property as well. The vineyards were planted in 1996 with Iris producing their first wines in 2002. Here are some highlights from the visit.
2014 Chalice Pinot Gris – $22.00USD – **** – This is a mineral driven wine. The nose is apples and peach. While growing in a cool climate there are definitely signs of warm summer in this bottle. There is nice acidity on the finish of this wine that leaves the palate refreshed with a return to the mineral note.
2014 Chalice Chardonnay – $28.00USD – **** – There is a slight funkiness on the nose layered over apples and peach with baking spice tossed into the mix. The flavours are perfectly balanced. Apples, Peach, Pear, Baking Spice, Vanilla all play off each other. There is a nice creamy texture to this wine, but before it settles in too heavy on the palate nice acidity keeps it in check.
2014 C Block Pinot Noir – $38.00USD – ****+ – The nose is rich and heavy with cocoa and earth. When you take your first sip your mouth is filled with very rich cherry and wild strawberry. There is nice earthiness to this finish of this wine. There is a lot going on in this bottle and while it’s approachable in its youth it has nice structure to age gracefully in a cellar.
2013 Pinot Noir – $24.00USD – **** – This is soft and delicate on the nose with rich cherry and raspberry. This is the definition of elegance – the fruit from the nose follows through in the mouth. The finish is silky smooth and this wine is dangerously easy drinking. This is a solid well priced Oregon Pinot Noir.
2014 Steelhead Syrah – $24.00USD – **** – It was interesting tasting this wine having come 1000km south of the Okanagan and tasting Syrah that had a warm climate feel to it. So how does this taste? There is a great cool climate feel to it with lots of spice and smoke on the nose. There is nice ripe red fruit on the palate with blackberry, currant, blueberry and a return of the cracked pepper on the finish. I don’t think anyone will dispute that Pinot Noir is king in this State but there is much more going on here.
2014 Aroha Merlot – $24.00USD – **** – The nose is bright ripe cherry, it’s almost to the point of being maraschino. The fruit is perfectly ripe and pushes up on strawberry or raspberry jam. There is nice acidity to round out the package and approachable tannin. This may not be a bottle that I would want to have sitting in my cellar for a long time, but it doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Pick this up and drink it young.
2014 Aroha Tempranillo – $28.00USD – **** – This is a bottle that needs to spend some time in a decanter or in a cellar to relax. While the tannin is grippy and tight there is still an elegance in this bottle. The fruit is plum and raspberry with a nice cocoa note on the finish.
