Aubin Cellars & Verve

Rusty Gaffney's Pinotfile on Aubin Cellars and Verve:

Aubin Cellars is a boutique producer of multiple varieties including Pinot Noir under the “Verve” label. The 2006 Pinot Noirs are sourced from the Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast and Dundee Hills of Oregon. French-born owner Jérôme Aubin is an importer of oak barrels from Rousseau of Burgundy, St. Martin of Bordeaux, Allary of Cognac, A&K of Missouri and Balazs of Hungary. He also imports wine concrete tanks from Nomblot of Burgundy. The label was founded in 2001. The name “Verve” translates as “crafted with enthusiasm, vigor and integrity.” Verve is also a bilingual French-American noun reflecting Aubin Cellars’ bicultural background.

The winemakers are Loren Tayerie (California bottlings) and Ray Walsh, formerly of King Estate and now with his own label, Capitello (Oregon bottlings). The wines have been consistently fine with attractive artwork on the labels and sensible prices. I have reviewed the wines a number of times very favorably. The two wines below are the best I have sampled from this producer to date. For the 2007 vintage, Pinot Noirs will be produced from Stoller Vineyard and Momtazi Vineyard in the Willamette Valley. Four California bottlings will include appellation wines from the Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Monterey and Santa Cruz Mountains.