Anne Amie, Pinot Blanc, Chehalem Mountains

4.5 Aged in neutral oak on the lees, this Pinot Blanc stuns. Pit fruit aromas lead with gentle nut undertones. On the palate, peaches and cream flavors captivate with beautiful mountain brook acidity flowing through the center. Captivating from initial swirl to last sip. Stellar.

Color: pale yellow core with good viscosity showing a lot of long, well formed legs. Nice but simple bouquet of melon, apple, oak and little honey. Palate showing some creaminess with the oak coming though along with honeydew and tropical notes. At 13.3% Alc., this shows good acid and structure but I think this is one for enjoying in the short term.

Thursday Walk Around Tasting at Best Bottle, Columbia, SC 11/13/2014 (Best Bottle, Columbia, SC) : Wish we had the chance to taste more Pinot Blanc. This one is really something special. Reading the tech sheet does wonders helping explain the flavors and aromas from the glass. To me, the nose and the flavor profile had a nutmeg, caramel, pear skin, apricot pit thing going on. They used whole cluster fermentation which resulted in a very soft approach and mouth feel. …

Lemon, apple, caramel, minerality, nice acidity, slight new world oakiness. Delicious.

Oak! That's almost all I get off this wine. This tastes similar to a cheap over-oaked Cali Chardonnay. The fruit is there but is completely dominated by the oak. The wine smells like a freshly chopped piece of oak with some light fruit and buttery notes. Tastes exactly similar. Not digging this at all.