Willamette Valley is success story with pinot noir

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SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Pinot noir is a temptress, no matter its origin. It teases you with promise but frequently disappoints in performance. For every sumptuous,

multilayered wine made from this grape, 10 or more will taste either thin and tart or fat and blowsy. So why bother with it? Because pinot noir can be the most sensuous wine in the world.

The best examples of this varietal feel seductively silky when you drink them. They display an opulent perfume and have richly nuanced, complex flavors. They're a hedonist's delight.

As most wine lovers know, the best in this context usually means Burgundy. The wines there are extremely expensive and notoriously inconsistent, but the top examples set a worldwide standard.

American producers have been less successful with pinot noir than with cabernet or chardonnay. The grape is difficult to grow, the wine even more difficult to make. Just a few regions have demonstrated reliability.

Among these, eastern Oregon, particularly the Willamette Valley, ranks at the top. Most California appellations are simply too hot for pinot, and many top-scoring Golden State versions tend to taste brawny rather than voluptuous. The climate in eastern Oregon, in contrast, is appropriately moderate. If the autumn rains hold off, the results can be impressive indeed.

Oregon pinot noir achieved initial renown back in the 1980s by being crafted deliberately in a Burgundian style, with an emphasis on earthiness and structure, sometimes at the expense of fruit. Though some wines still are fashioned this way, many today are more lush, their complexity coming as much from the interplay of red and black fruit flavors as from any earthy barnyard notes.

Still, good Oregon pinots rarely seem muscular like so many of their California counterparts. They strike a balance between ripeness and elegance, and as a result, they have an appeal all their own.