Harmonia Pinot noir 07
Harmonia Pinot noir 07 -
Matt Kramer, The Oregonian, 10-31-10:
"To find an Oregon pinot noir this good at just $18 is nothing less than unheard of. Get it while you can."
More from Kramer:
"Amid all the (justified) hoopla about the goodness of Oregon's 2008 vintage, as always a few deals slip under the radar. This is one of them. Note that this pinot comes from the 2007 vintage, which in this taster's opinion was problematic. Too many wines were overly thin and diluted thanks to fall rains, with a discernible "greenness" from unripe grapes.
To be sure, there were exceptions, and Harmonia 2007 is one of them. Indeed, it is one of the best 2007s I've tasted, plumped with ripe-tasting fruit from seven Willamette Valley vineyards, with nary a green note to be found.
One of the reasons for this wine's striking goodness might be because half of the blend comes from the Pommard clone of pinot noir, a strain that delivers a deep, rich, meaty quality with notes of leather and gaminess --which is precisely what the 2007 Harmonia offers.
Owner-winemaker Michael Beckley, by the way, previously worked for eight years at Domaine Drouhin Oregon, whose own pinot noir vineyards are preponderantly planted to the Pommard clone. As it happens, Domaine Drouhin Oregon's 2007 pinot noir was one of the best of that vintage and one I had enthusiastically recommended last December.
In addition to exceptional quality, here's the clincher: price. The 2007 Harmonia pinot sells for $18. To find an Oregon pinot noir that limbos under the $20 bar is rare enough. To find an Oregon pinot noir this good at just $18 is nothing less than unheard of. Get it while you can.
-Matt Kramer
Scents of raspberries and spicy wild roses rise from the glass, introducing intense, rounded, sweet raspberry, blackberry, and black currant fruit. Hints of graham, vanilla, and sweet cherry hard candy enhance the rich flavors. The finish is long, with lots more berry and a touch of cocoa. Lovely balance and totally integrated, silky tannins complete the wine. We are very very sad that this is Michael's final vintage.
We've tasted lots of 2006 and 2007 Oregon Pinots recently (it's release season) and Michael's final Harmonia Pinot noir beats many of them - even those well over $30 a bottle.
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
2006 Tasting Notes
Quercus Harmonia Pinot noir is best value every vintage. Michael Beckley's winemaking talents are obvious in this easy going Pinot noir.
An Avalon Wine of the Week
Retro chic, Water Aerobics, and Value Pinot
2-14-08
Fashion trends, water aerobics and wine don't generally assimilate, but somehow found their way into my week...
Retro chic is everywhere these days from wide wale corduroy to fondue, but my favorite is water aerobics class at the community pool. I had horrible visions of Jane Fonda in water wings when I first agreed to take my grandma to class last summer but was pleasantly surprised to find a young hip class of working professional women. We banter about politics, swap recipes and review the work day. Inevitably, I end up chatting about wine.
Last night, slightly out of breath from wall push-ups, I discussed the merits of "value pinot" as a necessity to have on hand. "Value pinot" is a workhorse of a wine, extremely versatile for a range of weeknight dinners, unexpected guests, or just a glass to unwind with at the end of the day. My current favorite is the Quercus Harmonia 2006. Light and supple, full of red raspberry a little bit of sweet baking spice and just a touch of earth it is refreshing and charming. Harmonia is the perfect daily drinker that won't break the bank.
Though retro chic may be the current fad, I think "value pinot" is a trend that is here to stay.
Happy drinking and good eating,
Amy
Impressive! Michael Beckley, hot Indie winemaker, scores big with this noteworthy 2006 Pinot. Marcus was taken with this wine, tasting and immediately getting the word out. he says:
Another outstanding value from Michael Beckley's Quercus Winery. Aromas of raspberries shaded with black fruit, wild herbs and cream. An elegant core of red cherry is wrapped with mixed berry. The Harmonia is soft on the front of your palate, with tannins appearing on the long finish of spicy berry pie and earth. There's a whole lot of Pinot in this Pinot!
"Fred Astaire in a glass? Well balanced with a great texture & mouth feel. This is a pretty Pinot Noir that held a moderately spicy flavor, coupled with red fruit and earthiness, through to an equally pretty and impressive finish. The 14.5% alcohol wasn't noticeable; this wine is a good example of a higher alcohol wine that has finesse, power and focus." - David Johnstone, David's Muse wineblog
2005 Vintage tasting NotesExpressive aromas of berry fruit, roses and sandalwood. The 2005 Harmonia has a juicy, lush mouthfeel with red berry and pie cherry that gives way to hints of milk chocolate and creamy berry. The finish is spicy and long. -ml
"Great acidity-almost closer to a Burgundy- with delicate flavors from the fruit that came in after the rains." -Michael Beckley
When he founded Quercus Wines (aptly named for the oak genus used to make wine barrels), Berkley determined he would run it as closely as he could to how a small Burgundian producer operates, "without," he added, "the family involvement." Quercus is a one-man band."I try to emulate the hands-off technique from Burgundy, gently herding the wine to its final destination," said Beckley. "I don't have any delusions that Oregon is Burgundy-it is still Oregon, with its own unique grape-growing atmosphere.
"But the [winemaking] techniques are interchangeable," he added. "They generally mimic what has been done in Burgundy for hundreds of years." An analogy Beckley might draw is to the way a jazz standard is played differently each time it's approached by a new musician. The song is the same, and there are traditional methods with which to play it; the interpretation is unique.
Beckley believes that, in winemaking, some traditional methods are marks of integrity, and that, "many dedicated, small producers of all kinds of reds will use these techniques now."
