Woo hoo! It seems it was a case (no pun intended) of secret shipping! I just got my tracking info, and it turns out it was shipped Wednesday, two days ago, just in time for it to arrive on the penultimateurkey day. Lets see, that’s one crate of Pinot and another crate of sparkle all arriving on the same day–55 lbs. of vino. That’s a little much to Wootleg on the subway. Guess I’d better drive that day.
Thanks for pullin through WD.
You da man!
allrighty…opened the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir last night and gave it a tasting and am going to try and describe it. someone here noted that i should do all right since i have a decent amount of PN in my CT. well, the reason i have so many of them is because i’m saving them for a couple of years and have only had a few of the ones i’ve bought here and elsewhere.
the wine arrived on wednesday afternoon and was chilled until friday afternoon. i opened it up as soon as I got home at around 5:00 and had a quick sip. since it was a bit too cold and hadn’t breathed at all, i wasn’t really able to get much of an impression of the flavor or smell. i poured a glass and let it sit for 45-60 minutes, tasting it every once in a while to see how it opened up.
the first thing i noticed was the dark color. i don’t know if this is a PN trait or not but i was surprised by the intensity of the color. not sure why this impression is so different than the other rats.
as time progressed, the taste got better and better. the wine became fairly smooth and easy to drink. it wasn’t sweet at all but you didn’t have the heat or acidic aftertaste you get in other wines.
i was hoping to pick out some individual flavors but didn’t come away with any distinct impressions. i would say the smell and taste most closely resembled dark cherries with some spices thrown in.
we also had it with some great turkey burgers and the smoothness blended great with the food.
my in-laws and wife each had a glass. they aren’t necessarily red wine drinkers but they all commented on how smooth it was and how much they were enjoying it. which meant there wasn’t all that much for me.
i liked it. while not the very best PN i’ve ever had i’m certainly looking forward to receiving my shipment. i will absolutely be serving it to my family at thanksgiving and will likely reserve the bottles of Estate for myself. i wish i had gotten 3 sets instead of just 2. however, i travel to portland all of the time so i can just grab some there.
This CT girl is expecting delivery on Tuesday! Yay WD!
Out for Deli!
Thanks much WD and happy holidays!
birthday coupons? Lab rats? I just ordered my first wine.woot after years of regular wooting - what am I missing here?
Just showed up. Thanks for the speedy shipping action, WD. Hope one of these goes well with the goose.
Got my pinot! Thanks WD! Keeping the good stuff (Estate) for a few years, but plan on opening the whole cluster on Thursday. I’m looking forward to trying it 
Tried a whole cluster (from the local wine shop) today. A few more words on CellarTracker, but in 25 words or less:
Beaujolais nouveau with a massive hit of sugar cane (the cane, not just the sweetness) and a hint of Coca Cola.
Interesting, though perhaps not worth the $16 I paid for it. I am glad I picked it up as it is fascinating, but it’s not my cup of tea.
Thanks for the participation from the winery here, though, I was really able to enjoy it as I pondered the winemaking process and was not immediately turned off by the “candy wine” approach.
hey everyone,
have to admit - i kind of blindly bought without reading much of this thread. took it on faith that a trio of oregon pinot would not dissapoint.
quick question - i gather from skimming the threads that the whole cluster is beujolais nevoeauish and should be drank now. how about the other two pinots? ageable? should be aged? should be drank now?
i’m moving into a fantastic house (built in 1870! boston’s crazy…) with a cellar. so my wine storage capabilities have just gone through the roof. makes me kind of wonder how i managed in tucson when i had a 50 bottle fridge, and that was IT.
We opened the '07 with TG dinner. Light, tart, nice finish. DW insists on Cold Duck with thanksgiving dinner (“comfort wine”, if you will) so after that this was quite a switch!
I just wanted to mention that the Whole Cluster Pinot noir was a big hit for ALL types of wine drinkers at our Thanksgiving dinner. I am going to purchase more just to have around.
EDIT - can’t type still… sigh
had the 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir for thanksgiving dinner. it was awful with Turkey. sorry to be a downer on this wine. hope the Estate is 10 times better than the one we had.
Wondering how many of the review are from the “First Time” Pinot Noir buyers. Of all the wines woot sells, the Pinots are ALWAYS bi-polarly received, making me wonder how many of the comments come from consumers who are new enough to the grape done in a less-mass-produced way that it’s just not well received/interpreted. As an example, a coworker of mine & I both bought a few bottles of Puglian Negroamaro. I loved it, she thought she had a bad bottle and described it as “Elephants in a barnyard.”
ahh… thanks. I have spent many tries trying to look for this particular answer on sites like google to no avail, I knew I would find some valuable information if I read the posts.
I have to weigh in on the side of the disappointed Pinot fans. I have in the past drunk and loved Pinots from Willamette Valley (WV the valley, not WV Vineyards), so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on these. Tried the Pinot first and was disappointed that it wasn’t as flavorful and lush as others I’d had. Tried the Whole Cluster a few days later and, while my parents liked it (they don’t like anything too “strong,” as they put it), I found it TOO light for my liking. I’m hanging onto the Estate and figuring/hoping it will redeem WVV for me!
(Interestingly, I LOVED the GunBun Pinot. Can someone who knows more about winemaking than I tell me whether this says something about a particular “style” of Pinot I’m likely to enjoy?)
I’ve enjoyed both the whole cluster and the regular pinot so far, and i’m holding on to the estate for a while. both wines were lighter than i had thought they’d be, both in color and on the palette. I can see room for improvement, and hopefully the estate will be a bit more flavorful than the ones that I had, even though the 2 that I consumed were rather refreshing. (yes im holding on to it for a while before trying it)
for what it’s worth, I felt that both of the 2007 wines suffered from a heavy hand with the oak barrel aging. Consequently, the delicate pinot fruit characteristics were obscured in these two bottles. The 2006 Estate however, was a very nicely made wine, and the winery price for that single bottle nearly equals the Wine Woot price in any case.
Oh, I see that people were disappointed with the '07s. That makes me feel a little better, since mine wasn’t anything too special. I still have the '06 in my ‘cellar’ (linen closet), and I was tempted to open it … but now it seems I will have to wait. Maybe dig into the port 
My notes on the Whole Cluster:
Lighter, slightly muted ruby-cranberry colour. Nose is vibrant with strawberries and raspberries, beautifully tart, almost rosé-like, almost with a hint of citrus and minerals.
Velvety soft with very subdued tannins. Light bodied but somewhat richer in mouthfeel, again reminding me of rosé. Ripe strawberries and raspberries (quite sweet) present as promised, kept bright by good acidity which lingers on the finish along with mineral and herbal notes.
This is very drinkable-ly mellow and pairs well with food, but don’t expect a bold red. Would be excellent for summer, and is best slightly chilled. I don’t think this will age well, so drink now.
86/100