Cameron, Arley's Leap Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

Glorious bottle.

2008 vintage

Cameron sets the standard for Oregon pinot noir, and Arley's is consistently the most enjoyable in the winery's lineup. This wine, from the once-maligned 2007 vintage, has been a complete joy every time we've tried it. Lovely, compelling nose, and a burnished, mahogany-tinged garnet in the glass. On the palate, a tightrope balancing act: sweet bottle age, earthy undertones, and just-right acidity make this wine a delight in its own or with food. We drank several highly regarded wines over …

2007 vintage

Popped and poured, medium-plus deep ruby, touch of bricking on the rim. Wonderful nose of assorted berry fruits, fresh root vegetables, cola, autumnal vegetation & just a hint of herbaceous spice. Moderate body. An absolute explosion of Pinot flavors on the palate, tastes like Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny combined with Eyrie South Block -- think red fruits galore combined with a silken mouthfeel, making this all too easy to drink. And although one might be inclined to chug away (who could blame??), …

2009 vintage

Better than the last bottle. Strong earth floor notes, with plum and spice. Holding well, with good acid and a long finish. Gorgeous wine.

2008 vintage

Very good again. Funk out-of-the bottle, which largely blew off. Notes of earth floor, cinnamon spice and plum. A hint of tartness.

2008 vintage

Opened and followed over two or three hours. Typical Cameron funk initially, but that faded quickly to reveal great fruit and spice. Silky smooth. Drinking really well right now, though it's still fresh and somewhat youthful so will probably continue to age well.

2008 vintage

Damn fine juice & years to go

2008 vintage

Simply wonderful - just outstanding. Has terrific depth for an Oregon Pinot, beautiful ripe and lively fruit notes of concentrated blueberry and raspberry. 92-93.

2008 vintage

Interesting but ultimately distracting strong orange peel flavor. Nice acidity and tea notes make for a long finish. Just hard to get past the overwhelming citrus element.

2008 vintage

Big and intense. Really lovely with lots of years left.

2008 vintage

My first Cameron ever -- and it was very eye-opening. zDead ringer for a burgundy 1 er cru in a ripe vintage. Enticing, super-complex nose dominated by mushroom and barnyard, along with plenty of ripe, dark fruit, spice and earth. Amazingly rich and ripe on the palate with a velvety, mouth-coating, texture, medium body, nice balance, big grip and a long finish. Not sure I have ever had an Oregon pinot this ripe and rich - and I usually prefer …

2008 vintage

Opened and decanted - was delicious immediately. Really developed over next 30 mins. - smokey; dark fruit; garnett color; after 60 mins - still excellent! Fully integrated, low tannins, harmonious. Matched this with grilled veal chops (rosemary, fresh garlic, olive oil) - was a little concerned about the match initially but what a perfect match! Wish I had more of this wine!

2009 vintage

Dusty dark red fruits. Spice. Good balance for the warm year, but sense a little heat on the back end.

2009 vintage

Wow, this was really, really good - absolutely prime from the first sip to the last. Brick-ish color, rich nose of dark fruit , oyster shell, and earthy spice. Resolved sweet tannins, cola, autumn leaves, smoke, black cap raspberries... the palate just won't quit. Long, seamless finish. Medium weight, balance, just beautiful.

2007 vintage

wow. This is wonderful right out of the gate. Dark blue fruits here with a steady flow of minerality and underbrush keeping the fruit in check and intriguing. Acidity is nice, not overblown. this could age some more, but I think it is in a great place.

2009 vintage

As I am running out of older Oregon pinots, forced to drink this too young again. I must admit, this seems pretty awkward right now. Chunky and primary. Still have three more and I have now learned my lesson and sit on them a few years...

2009 vintage

Hard edges and tannic a little sleepy right now..

2008 vintage

Earthy, dark, dense -- and balanced. This is old world Pinot, but it's not.

2008 vintage

Young and big. Darker red fruits, pine, mushrooms, saline. More funk at opening, decanted and 1.5 hours in mostly gone, liking what's left.

2009 vintage

Quite young and boisterous, and a bit more forward than we are used to from cameron. Nevertheless this has beautiful, lively dark pinot fruit, spice, violets, orange peel, and forest funk, all balanced by lifting cranberry acidity. Medium bodied, complex, and wonderfully textured. Enjoyable currently for its fruit, but needs time to settle. Hold.

2009 vintage

Amazing!

2007 vintage

Brought to a restaurant last night, no real notes, but I really enjoyed this. First one form a half case. While approachable now, no need to rush. Love Cameron...

2009 vintage

Generally consistent with prior notes; this showed as balanced with slightly pungent acidity and a touch of cola on the nose. Smooth palate with minerality typical of Cameron. Great buy for the money.

2009 vintage

Medium ruby color. Fairly pronounced nose of cherry, cranberry, cinnamon, caramel, forest floor, tobacco. Medium body, high acidity, low tannins, alcohol that tastes hotter than its 13.1% abv. Medium+ finish, with tart cherry, cranberry, minerality and earthiness lingering. Between the acidity and tart fruit flavors, this is a "puckery" wine for me. It definitely grew on me over time. Better the second day - smoother; the cherry flavor lingers nicely.

2009 vintage

Delicious and balanced, with a nice sappy quality to the fruit. Not that much better than the Dundee Hills bottling, but still a great deal. Totally on par with top CA pinots running $50-70 from top producers of balanced styles. 92+, showing best on day 2 and 3.

2009 vintage

Quite rich for the vintage, but no reduction which I was pleased to note. Solid.

2007 vintage

Reduction beyond acceptable for this dude. Even with four hours if air, the nose is a mess. Weak wine. John Paul needs to get this under control.

2008 vintage

After an hour, dark cherry, sauteed mushroom, bitter chocolate. Decent mouthfeel and acidity, especially considering the 2009 vintage. Enjoyable, but I'm underwhelmed given the price and my past experience with Cameron. Things aren't completely integrated and there's a slight astringent note. I'll check back in a couple years.

2009 vintage

Good, but pretty tannic. Likely better in a couple of years.

2008 vintage

Popped and poured. Medium-plus purple/garnet hue, hazy. Expressive aromas of cherry fruits, earthy cedar, forest floor, vanilla spice, and a lifted fragrance that's almost like Nag Champa incense. A good deal of funk too (some reduction?). Medium-plus body, nicely concentrated. Super silky on the palate and showing racy cherry and raspberry flavors nicely underpinned by fresh dill, lemongrass, plus other herbaceous flavors that are paired with a subtle touch of smoke from oak. The tannins are slightly chalky yet overall …

2009 vintage

Big, funky and super young. When 1st popped it was all asphalt, new bicycle tire and a lil burnt hair. It calmed down in the decanter to show sexy red fruits, cinnamon, teriyaki beef jerky, briar patch, wet loam, hay and that biodynamic mineral umami thing. On the palate it was still young with leathery red fruits and bit angular but I love the profile of this and look forward to have this with some cellar time.

2009 vintage

Unfortunately didn't have as much time with this as I wanted since it was shared with 6 friends and was served in very poor restaurant stem-less mini wine glasses. What I did pull from the wine I enjoyed. Super funky, briar/weedy, minerally steel and tar when 1st popped. A friend suggested it reminded him a Beaujolais which I thought was a good call. After an hour + in the mini glass it really rounded out with sweet red cherry and …

2009 vintage

Drinking really well at the moment. All the reductive stink was gone with less than an hour open but not decanted. Really in a great place.

2007 vintage

This wine was so good. Do think some bottle age would have made it even better. Very complex flavor profile, earthy with a great mouthfeel.

2008 vintage

A bright wine with a lot of character. Somewhat thin looking with a bright garnet color. Nose of earth, fruit (cherry?) sharp spices, and wood box. Bright and light in the mouth, attacks with a bunch of spices and fruit, a nice acid balance and a long complex finish. I found this wine fascinating and went back for more. Lasted well throughout the evening.

2009 vintage

Youthful, exhuberant and fruit forward wine. Well made and enjoyable but not a lot of complexity.

2009 vintage

STG does Oregon Pinot (Ed's house) : This was my 2nd place for WOTN nose: intense, lightly dirty, though the brett blew off quickly palate: thicker in heft and in weight than the Drouhin by far. The rhubarb was pronounced and I found it altogether delicious. I liked the medium weight and the compact intensity of flavor.

2008 vintage

Another real nice bottle from Cameron. A treat to drink.

2007 vintage

Elegant, silky, balanced, Cameron OR Funky, and will get even better in time. As others have noted, darker but very Chambolle like "08 OR Pinot but focused, penetrating fruits around some nice terroir and forest floor flavors. Gorgeous, sexy, sensuous, silky ethereral wine from one of a kind John Paul & crew at Cameron Winery. Always one of Oregon's best that never tries to hard but always delivers the best of vintage and what Oregon Pinot has to offer.

2008 vintage

Bright red color. Very earthy nose gives way to fruit with some air (note: not decanted). Clear, lovely fruit on the palate. Well-balanced, except for an occasional disjoint on the finish. Appreciate the low (12.8%) alcohol. Lovely.

2007 vintage

My notes are consistent w/ others in terms of the flavor profile (and score). Very good, complex wine that could benefit from a few more years in the bottle. It is the mixture of funk, good acid and restraint that makes this better than other pinots that get overzealous w/ the oak and extract. I don't know that this is THAT much better than the Dundee Hills bottling, however, to warrant the price difference; both are great values, however, for …

2008 vintage

Notes similar to last bottle. Funk and cherry with silky texture. Good intensity.

2008 vintage

Not decanted. Clear, dark garnet color. Reticent black cherry nose. On palate, the cherries turn at little sweeter, with a little earth and oyster shell. Mouthfeel is excellent, as is the mid-palate and finish. As with just about all the Oregon 2008s I've had, this is very tight. I will likely not open another for several years. I find it interesting that all the the Dundee Hills 2008s I've had to date (Cameron, Eyrie, R. Stuart, Westrey, Winderlea) have had …

2008 vintage

Nose of funk, earth and red cherry - I'm finding the noses of these Cameron Pinots to be very similar across all of the wines (the Gehrts was the most unique of the '08s I've tried). Well made. Coats the palate but manages to stay light and fresh. The Arley's was similar to the Dundee Hills, though with a bit more structure and depth. 91+

2008 vintage

Wow, nice dundee wine and what a value, very chambolle like.

2008 vintage

Tasted with orther Oregon PNs: 2003 Soter North Valley, 2003 Stevenson Barrie; and Williams Selyem Ferrrington Vyd Anderson Valley PN Opened 2 hours. Color is light medium transparent ruby. Nose has cherries, leaves, cola, earth, mushrooms. Palate opened a bit tart, with red fruits up front, and some bitter and saline notes coming in on the finish. Vegetal notes as well. Shows good balance. A very feminine style that pairs well with food.

2007 vintage

From the list at Bastille. Opened and 2 generous pours that sat while we had muscadet and a first course - about 40 mins. This was just lovely. It started a bit shy but opened very nicely during the rest of the meal - definitely did not last to make it home from the restaurant. Beautiful red fruit with lots of stuffing and persistance burbling underneath, and that WV earth aspect that I love. This will develop more I think. …

2007 vintage

So incredibly reduced on the nose when first opening. I wish I understood this better, as it's so distracting the first hour plus in the glass. Under all that is some really nice funky elements (might just be more lingering reduction, but the note changes) mixed red and darker fruit. Great mouth-feel, just great wine once the sulfur blows off. I hope with time this element either integrates or whatever as it's not the nicest first whiff at the moment. …

2007 vintage

Nose: Very nice - barnyard cherry floral perfume. Palate: Abundance of tart cherries with good acidity* and depth through the finish. Drinking great now and thinking it will be better over next 2-3yrs. *At barrel tasting the acidity was uber- intense for me, but it is quite lovely now like many of the '07s have shown over the past 6-12 months.

2007 vintage

Popped and poured. Clear, dark garnet color. The aroma starts rather reticent, but with time opens to reveal sweet cherry, black cherry, and some stemmy notes. On the palate, smooth, rich cherries, a little oyster shell, and some tannins. Excellent mouth-feel, balance, and acidity. Very good and long finish. Very good now and based on how it evolved and opened in the glass, it should improve over the next five years.

2007 vintage

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Cameron, Arley's Leap Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

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