Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Le Cadeau Winery Pinot Noir – Rocheux, Diversité and Côte Est

Written by Allison Levine on January 22, 2020

Wine

Sitting down with Tom Mortimer of Le Cadeau Winery in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, I was regaled with Tom’s passionate description of his vineyard located in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. He spoke about the various soils, the microclimates and the clones that he has in his vineyard. Then I tasted his Pinot Noirs and it all came together. And that is why the three Pinot Noirs – Rocheux, Diversité and Côte Est are the Please The Palate wine(s) of the week.

Originally from the Midwest, Tom and Deb Mortimer purchased an uncultivated piece of land located on the south slope of Parrett Mountain in the Chehalem Mountains AVA in 1997. Sitting at a high elevation between 610 feet and 725 feet, they cleared the land and planted six acres of Pinot Noir in 1999. Tom selected a mix of Pinot Noir clones and planted Pommard, Dijon clones 667, 777, 113, and 115, as well as Mariafeld (a Swiss Pinot noir clone) and assorted heritage clones from California. Today there is a total of sixteen acres planted. Read More +

Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Vintage Wine + Eats Studio City

Written by Allison Levine on January 18, 2020

Food Wine

Having grown up in Studio City, I am always excited to try new places that open in the area. The newest spot that I tried was Vintage Wine + Eats on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. Located in the former Artisan Cheese Gallery space, Vintage Wine + Eats is a charming and welcoming neighborhood spot with an interesting selection of wines and some tasty food and it is the Please The Palate pick of the week.

I remember when Artisan Cheese Gallery first opened its doors in 2005. The space was a retail store but there were tables inside and outside and whenever I would drive by, the outdoor tables would be full with people enjoying sandwiches and salads. This popular spot closed in the summer of 2019 and in July 2019, Vintage Wine + Eats opened in its place. Read More +

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Native Flora 2017 Jumping Ship Pinot Gouges, Eola Amity Hills

Written by Allison Levine on January 15, 2020

Wine

Pinot Noir is a grape with more than 1000 registered clones, according to Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes. There are also various Pinot mutations, such as Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Meunier, to name a few. But have you heard of Pinot Gouges? I had not until I tasted one in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. This unique grape is not Pinot Noir nor is it Pinot Blanc. Pinot Gouges is a mutated Pinot Noir and the Native Flora 2017 Jumping Ship Pinot Gouges, Eola Amity Hills is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

Native Flora is a 33-acre property sitting at 800 feet elevation in the Dundee Hills. Scott and Denise Flora founded Native Flora in 2005 and produce premium estate wines in limited quantities. The Pinot Gouges is definitely very limited in quantity. Native Flora only made 68 cases of this wine.

Pinot Gouges was first discovered in Nuits-St.Georges in Burgundy by Henri Gouges in 1936. Found in 1er Cru La Perrière, he located a vine with white clusters. He cut off a branch of the mutated grape and propagated the vine, which produced white clusters as well. The grape continues to be cultivated in La Perrière as well as in the premier cru vineyard of Clos de Porrets-Saint-Georges. Today the Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-St.-Georges 1er Cru La Perrière is a white wine made from Pinot Gouges, however Pinot Gouges is not written anywhere on the label.

Today there are 10 acres of Pinot Gouges in Burgundy. Pinot Gouges arrived in Oregon in the 1980s and a small plot, approximately half an acre, was planted in the Eola-Amity Hills by John Zelko of Zivo Wines. Scott Flora took cuttings of the Pinot Gouges and planted two acres on his property in the Dundee Hills.

The Native Flora 2017 Jumping Ship Pinot Gouges, Eola Amity Hills is a light gold color wine with bright aromatics. On the palate, the wine is restrained with high acidity. It has a lovely weight on the mid-palate and a long finish.

Sadly, the 2017 is sold out but the 2018 is now available, also sourced from the Eola-Amity Hills vineyard. But beginning in 2019, the Native Flora Pinot Gouges will be sourced from the estate vineyard in Dundee Hills.