A. Rich Pinot

It's not too often that we have an Oregon wine on hand to sample. I know that I've droned on, in the past, about how I find American wines just get priced out of the Vancouver market once they cross the border into Canada - unless they're bulk producers. For that reason, we thoroughly enjoy the opportunity, every so often, to open one of the few bottles that we manage to bring back across the 49th Parallel on those rare occasions that we adventure South of the border.

702. 2002 Andrew Rich Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley - Oregon)

Since I know so little about specific American wineries, I generally ask someone at one of the bigger stores to suggest a couple wines that they feel are from the area and are particularly special. This was one of the bottles that was suggested while Boo and I were in Seattle a couple years back. We figured there must be something to the tip if a Washington state shop was recommending an Oregon wine on their home turf.

I always think of Pinot as a classic match for duck and this one really fit the bill (no pun intended). It was a bit juicier than we tend to see in BC Pinot Noir but that could have a bit to do with Andrew Rich's background at Boony Doon and his love of big Rhone wines. The '02 vintage was still early enough in his migration from California to Oregon for him to find much in the way of Rhone vines that were producing good fruit. His earlier years saw more of a focus on Oregon's normal star - Pinot.

2002 was supposed to be a good vintage for Oregon. I don't know about that, but we loved the wine and the bottle disappeared far too quickly. Too bad I don't think it's all that available up here. Another trip to the States might be in order.