Wine Tasting - Cathedral Ridge Holiday Celebration

CATHEDRAL RIDGE WINERY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION - The Governor Hotel, Portland, OR (12/4/2008)

I attended the Cathedral Ridge Winery annual holiday celebration party at The Governor Hotel Ballroom on Thursday night, with Kristina and Trish.

White Wine Station
A collection of current release white wines. The 2006 Dry Riesling was gone by the time I arrived.

• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Pinot Gris - USA, Oregon, Columbia Gorge
  Very crisp, with granny smith apples on the nose and palate. Some hazelnut on the finish that is surprising. (85 pts.)


• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Chardonnay - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  Very buttery and smooth. I really enjoy CR's chardonnays. Nice minerality with great body. (88 pts.)


• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Rosé - USA, Oregon, Columbia Gorge
  Very tasty. I think this included some merlot and/or syrah grapes in it...Quite tasty, with flavors of peaches and a short, sweet finish redolent of flowers. (87 pts.)


• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Riesling - USA, Oregon, Columbia Gorge
  Quite sweet, with a solid backbone of mineral and apples. Good, but I've had better Rieslings. (84 pts.)

Pinot Noir Station
A collection of current release Pinot Noir wines.

• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Columbia Gorge
  Much thinner than I like...spicy and fruity, but lacking body and structure. Cherry fruit, but a forgettable wine. (82 pts.)


• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Pinot Noir Huber Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Columbia Gorge
  Much tastier than the regular Pinot bottling, this had much more prominent cherry fruit, with a nice acidty to integrate everything together. Finish is short, but with a nice spicy 'zing'. (87 pts.)


• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Necessity Red - USA, Oregon, Columbia Gorge
  A blend of Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. Interesting blend, but not my style. Some fruitiness from the Zin, and some earth from the Piniot, but this wine doesn't really come together properly. (84 pts.)

Red Wine Station
A collection of current release red wines. I did not taste the 2006 Zinfandel, since the wine club saw fit to send me THREE bottles of this wine in club shipments over the last year, and I already know that I don't like it.

• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Merlot - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  Nice and fruity, I was surprised this was drinking so well this soon. Big plum fruit, with some spicy vanilla oak on the finish. This has some potential! (88 pts.)


• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Cabernet-Merlot - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  This one seems to be a tad young yet. I still have a bottle of the 2006, and it's just starting to drink very well, so I think this could use another year. Raspberry fruit, with light tannins on the finish. (88 pts.)


• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Bordheauxd Red - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  While I was very impressed with the 2005 vintage of this wine, this one is somewhat of a letdown. Spicy raspberry fruit and earth, reminding me of (surprise) a Bordeaux. More time required! (88 pts.)


• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  Nice fruit, blackberry and cherry. Fairly intense right now, with tight tannins that dry the mouth out. Needs more time for sure. (90 pts.)


• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Syrah - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  Very nice nose of blackberry, pepper and violets, following to the palate. Finish has some nice pepper in it, and light tannins. Tasty stuff! (91 pts.)

Reserve/Specialty Wine Station
A collection of current release reserve wines.

• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Pinot Noir Reserve Bangsund Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Columbia Gorge
  Very much in the style of Pinot Noir I like. Lots of cherry fruit, earth, tobacco leaf, with a smooth finish of spicy chocolate. Tasted blind, I would not have called this one a Pinot. (90 pts.)


• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  Quite bold in style, reminding me of a Cali Cabernet. Pretty big tannins at the moment, so I'd lay this one down for another couple years. Tasty blackberry fruit and a lot of oak on the finish. (91 pts.)


• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Syrah Reserve - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  Blackberry fruit for days, with spicy black pepper and tobacco. Just like the regular Syrah, plus one. (92 pts.)


• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Rock Star Red - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley
  Wine of the Night for me. Take all of the best things about the Reserve Cabernet and the Reserve Syrah (50% of each) and put them together, you will have this wine. Very complex, with well-integrated tannins, big fruit and pepper flavors, and a touch of earth and flowers to make it interesting. Delicious! (93 pts.)

Tasting notes posted from CellarTracker