Oregon and Washington Tasting

This took place yesterday at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Despite majestic views across St James' Park to the Houses of Parliament, the grey drizzly weather was appropriate for a tasting which completely failed to excite.

As is usual at trade tastings, the wines were classified into retail price brackets, of which the cheapest (A) was £5 - £7 and the most expensive (E) was £20+. Flicking through my notes, the only wines which impressed at all were in category E (apart from a couple of dessert wines, but they came in half bottles). If money is no object, Oregon and Washington are undoubtedly capable of making some lovely wines, but the rank and file were too often bland and predictable, and at worst were overly alcoholic and/or downright horrible.

It is always interesting to see where the crushes of tasters form at these events, as - like Land Rovers on safari - they act as beacons for the best action. Here, the tasting density was highest around the category E (i.e. most expensive) Pinot Noirs.

For the record, my favourites were:

DeLille Semillon Sauvignon - crisp, with mild petrolly aroma

K Vintners Viognier - one of only 2 Viogniers on show, impressive

Domaine Serene Coeur Blanc - white Pinot Noir, in an enormous bottle, gorgeous viscous stone-fruit

Alder Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon - Bordeaux-ish old world, delicate but good tannins

One final observation is that the alcohol levels were in general too high for my liking and many wines felt 'hot', leaving an uncomfortable alcohol burn in the back of the throat. This is a global phenomenon (see my notes of last week's New Zealand tasting), which some say is a result of global warming (hotter, sunnier ripening periods leading to more sugar in the grape and higher alcohol content), whilst others blame it on the increasing Robert Parker-isation of the global palate. While there may be some truth in the former, I suspect the influence of the Parker empire may well extend up the US west coast to these two regions.