Dundee, Oregon, USA
It’s Willamette Damn It
Tasting in August 2015
By Sean Overpeck
When most people who are not familiar with the wine world think about wines from the United States, the first place that comes to mind is California, with Napa Valley or Sonoma. In 2002 this was me as well. I new very little, and thought that wines came from either France, Germany, Italy, Australia, or California. As the years have progressed I have learned a great deal, not just in education, but in tastings, and visits to wineries all over the world from France, Australia, South Africa, and the USA. Going back to 2002 I tasted my first wine from Oregon in a place called as I pronounced it “Will-o-mitt” Valley with a pinot noir from Dobbes Family Winery. I pronounced the valley incorrectly for a few more years until a sommelier friend made it easy for me from that day forward by saying that it is “Will-am-it” damn it. Dobbes was the first stop of six wineries that my fiancé and I stopped at on our Willamette tour, and it was only befitting to stop here first since this was the first wine I had ever tasted from Oregon.
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From vineyards home page:
Dobbes Family Estate is the realization of Joe Dobbes’ dream of a family wine business and over 3 decades of winemaking. Joe began his career apprenticing at Weingut Erbhof Tesch in Germany’s Nahe region and at Domaine G. Roumier and Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Burgundy with wine legends Christophe Roumier and Dominique Lafon. He further honed his skills working in Alsace with Domaine Ostertag. Stateside, Joe has produced wine for Elk Cove Vineyards, Eola Hills, Hinman/Sylvan Ridge, Paschal Winery, and Willamette Valley Vineyards, including the Griffin Creek and Tualatin Estate labels.
In 2002, Joe created Wine By Joe, LLC, a custom winemaking company. He crafts wine for several clients within his two dedicated red and white facilities. Joe owns and produces three of his own labels: Dobbes Family Estate, a luxury label dedicated to Willamette Valley Pinot noir, Rogue Valley Syrah, Viognier and Grenache Blanc; Wine By Joe, a value-price Oregon appellation label; and Jovino, Joe’s third label, dedicated to producing Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris for on-premise accounts.
Main review:
The tasting room property was tucked in off the highway with a few parking spaces next to a a wood exterior warehouse with a cargo garage door for wine transport. The tasting room building sat next to a great piece of land with beautiful trees and rock placements, and the Oregon green grass, brighter than any grass you see on the East Coast. Before entering the tasting room you walk over a small bridge with a tiny water bed creek below flowing through. The building was built from the cedar wood trees that grow in the area with the same design as the warehouse.
We arrived maybe a half an hour after opening, and were the only ones there for a tasting, however there were a few other people walking the grounds, and most likely they had just finished their tastings. The Cellar operator and bar manager was very friendly and knowledgable about the Dobbes line, and my fiancé being part of the wine industry from Texas gave us a few extra tastings on the house beyond the items offered.
The tasting flight represents five wines, and we had a total of eight. On the tasting menu was a white, a rosé of Pinot Noir, two estate Pinot Noir’s and a Syrah. Of course Oregon is mainly known for their Pinot Noir’s as the New World of Burgundy wines. When I was in Burgundy in 2010 tasting their Pinot selections, I found them to be good, but Willamette’s being much better. The Chardonnay on the other had I did prefer from Burgundy and Chablis. As our bonus to the tasting we had a Viognier and two more Pinot Noir’s. All of these wines tasting notes from the wine maker and my notes are listed under in the price sections further below this article.
From all these tastings my personal favorites were the 2012 Single Vineyard Momtazi Pinot Noir and the Patricia’s Cuvée Pinot Noir of the same growing year. Since I first had a tasting of Dobbes back in 2002, and through the years ordering it at restaurants or for home purchase it has never disappointed me, and after this tasting the review and higher marks continue to roll in.
The Dobbes winery is celebrating it’s 30th year in 2016 with the three labels of the Family Estate, Wines by Joe, and Jovino excluding any private labels as well. After these thirty years and labels he has come along way since apprenticing in Germany and france in the early 1980’s. Joe also donates to hundreds of charities annually to include Salud!, Family Building Blocks, Classic Wine Auction, American Suicide Prevention, Humane Society, SMART, and the Randall Children’s Hospital to name a few. Here is the full philanthropy list. In honor of the 30th anniversary celebrations in August, Joe will be a sponsor at the Street of Dreams and in September at the Bounty of Yamhill County and FEAST.
96 - 100
|
is Extraordinary
|
90 - 95
|
is Outstanding
|
80 -89
|
is Above the Average
|
70 - 79
|
is Below the Average
|
60 - 69
|
poor / appalling / “Cac”
|
Review basics:
Wine, Dine, & Play’s Rating
|
93 points
|
| Robert Parker The Wine Advocate | 90 points on the 2008 Grand Assemblage Pinot Noir and the 2008 Youngberg Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir |
| Wine Speculator | 92 points on the 2009 Youngberg Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir |
| Wine Enthusiast | 90 and 91 points on the 2012 Fortmiller Vineyard Syrah and the Momtazi Vineyard Pinot Noir |
| All Accolades | See all of Dobbes Accolades |
| Wines Produced | Red: Pinot Noir, Syrah, Rosé White: Chardonnay, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Port Style Syrah and Late Harvest Viognier |
| Regulatory | AVA: American viticulture Association |
Cases Produced:
Per Year:
Pinot Noir
|
6,500 - 7,000 |
| Syrah | 6,500 - 7,000 |
| Chardonnay | 6,500 - 7,000 |
| Viognier | 6,500 - 7,000 |
This or these wines remind me of:
I have had some great Pinot Noir’s in the past, most of them from Willamette, Oregon, and a few here and there from California like Row 11 Santa Maria Pinot, from Santa Maria California, or a few others that I have tasted from Burgundy or The High Note Pinot from Misha Vineyard in the Central Otago region of New Zealand.
The wines tasted at Dobbes are all medium to heavier in tannins with longer finishes as you will see in the tasting notes below, making them friendly to many types of dishes. Their white wines like the Viognier not only would pare perfectly with a spiced Asian duck, but a nice seared flank steak. The Pinot Noir’s and Syrah also can hit both ends of the spectrum holding up to a ribeye, tenderloin, and lechon Cuban pork, but also a baked herbed chicken, and a pasta. I see no limits in cuisine that a Dobbes wine cannot go with in your culinary experience from a finer dining establishment to you're dining room table at home. Try the Syrah with a nice piece of cheesecake desert in the later evening as you watch a show, yummy.
Bottle Prices
(excluding taxes)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s**
Wine Selction:
|
Currency in the top wine producing countries: | Price Chart : |
2011 Meyer Vineyard Pinot Noir (750 ml)
|
||
$65.00
|
United States Dollar (USD)
|
$$
|
$87.00
|
Australian Dollar (AUS)
|
$$
|
$86.00
|
Canadian Dollar (CAN)
|
$$
|
¥424.00
|
Chinese Yuan (CNY)
|
¥¥¥¥¥
|
€58.00
|
European Union (EUR)
|
€€
|
£46.00
|
Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
|
£
|
$97.00
|
New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
|
$
|
R1003.00
|
South African Rand (ZAR)
|
R
|
2013 Grenache Blanc (750 ml)
|
||
$26.00
|
United States Dollar (USD)
|
$
|
€23.00
|
European Union (EUR)
|
€
|
£18.00
|
Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
|
£
|
2012 Amelia Rosé Cuvée Pinot Noir (750 ml)
|
||
$45.00
|
United States Dollar (USD)
|
$
|
€40.00
|
European Union (EUR)
|
€
|
£32.00
|
Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
|
£
|
2012 Patricia’s Cuvée Pinot Noir (750 ml)
|
||
$55.00
|
United States Dollar (USD)
|
$$
|
€49.00
|
European Union (EUR)
|
€
|
£39.00
|
Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
|
£
|
2011 Grand Assemblage Syrah (750 ml)
|
||
$28.00
|
United States Dollar (USD)
|
$
|
€25.00
|
European Union (EUR)
|
€
|
£20.00
|
Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
|
£
|
Cost of wine tasting in USD (p/p):
Flight:
|
$15.00 |
Bouquet & Palette Notes:
Wine & Grape:
|
Nose (Bouquet):
|
Palette Experience:
|
2013 Grenache Blanc
|
Winemaker: White peach, apricot, almond, honeysuckle, hints of bread yeast, subtle vanilla and varied tropical accents build the bouquet. |
Winemaker: The flavors are as varied as the aroma; with floral blossom and stone fruit leading, supported by pineapple, grapefruit and golden raspberry. Mouth-watering acid defines the mouthfeel built on silky smooth body built from barrel fermentation. A long finish leaves a lasting impression from a rare and unique wine. |
2011 Meyer Vineyard Pinot Noir
(SOLD OUT)
|
Winemaker: Complex aromas of floral rose, black currant and cherry intermingle with integrated toasted oak. |
Winemaker: On the palate, tart acid leads the entry and lengthens the finish filled in with medium body and moderate structured tannins. Flavors of juicy raspberry, mouth-watering cranberry and oaky vanilla transition into black fruited accents. |
2012 Amelia Rosé Cuvée Pinot Noir
|
Winemaker: 2013: A young wine at the time of review; the aroma became more fruit driven with air; leading with ripe strawberry, spicy oak and Bing cherry. |
Winemaker: The palate has fresh, racy acid with medium body and moderate young tannins. Fruit flavors are a shade darker with boysenberry, wild blackberry and dark cherry accented by light pomegranate and intriguing oak complexity. |
2012 Patricia’s Cuvée Pinot Noir
|
Winemaker: Lucious, red fruit aromas redolent of cherry and strawberry, toasted oak characters of cedar, vanilla and tobacco with an underlying wet soil complexity. |
Winemaker: The palate opens to full body, fine grained tannins and ends with a long balanced finish. Opulent flavors of ripe strawberry, bing cherry and black currant wrap around complex oak characteristics of cocoa and vanilla. |
2011 Grand Assemblage Syrah
|
Winemaker: A complex aroma of this red wine pours over the glass edge laden with ripe fruit characters of marionberry and blueberry preserves. |
Winemaker: Sweet dried fig transitions into complex oak spice, leather, vanilla and hints of clove. Structured tannins frame a full body filled with flavors of ripe plum, berry pie, graham/pie crust accents and tobacco leaf. A long acid finish is a pleasant conclusion to this weighty, ripe Syrah. |
2014 Viognier
|
Winemaker: Stone fruit aromas of ripe peach and apricot mingle with candied orange and floral complexity found in honeysuckle and Daphne blossom. |
Winemaker: A woven thread of vanilla and nutmeg from 20% new oak carries from the aroma into the palate. Tart green apple and pear flavors are balanced with medium full body, juicy acid and ripe apricot. This complex wine finishes with medium length balanced with bright acidity. |
2012 Griffin’s Cuvée Pinot Noir
|
Winemaker: Complex, spicy oak, marion and boysenberry, dried cherry, floral rose and Italian plum |
Winemaker: Full bodied, structured tannins, fresh acid. Flavor: Strawberry, raspberry and red licorice, oak driven spice, cola, earthy undertones. Finish: Long with tannins and acid |
2012 Single Vineyard Momtazi Pinot Noir
|
Winemaker: Dark, ripe fruits lead the aroma with marionberry and cherry pie accented with brambly spice, chocolate, subtle ginger and nutmeg. |
Winemaker: A bright acid entry is countered by assertive fine grained tannins and full mid-palate body. Flavors lead with Bing cherry supported by pipe tobacco, bittersweet cocoa and hints of vanilla. |
Vineyard Owner:
Joe Dobbes
Production Winemaker:
Travis Proctor
Assistant Winemakers:
Griffin Brown and Andy McVay
Vineyard &Tasting Room Address:
240 SE 5th Street
Dundee, Oregon 97115
GPS Coordinates:
45.279530
-123.007842
Contact Information:
Tasting room:
|
503-538-1141 x 118 |
| Fax: | 503-538-1244 |
| Website: | Dobbes Family Wines |
| Email: | Contact Winery |
| Social Media: |
Facebook Link |
| Twitter @DobbesWinery | |
| YouTube | |
Tasting Room Information:
Monday - Sunday: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8:00)
Review by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE)
I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, Dubai, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army food service program. The idea for the Wine, Dine, and Play Blog started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by others to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, plus the wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra, and the culture. Since that time, nearly 200 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide; exotic world locations such as Dubai, Petra, and African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; country cuisines such as Afghan and Peruvian; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia
Who is John Galt?
“I like cooking with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.”
TTFN
