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TN's: 2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Diversite and Côté Est

VM Vino MeMember
My wife and I met up for dinner with Tom Mortimer and his wife at a tapas restaurant the weekend he was in Chicago for Pinot Days. He brought two of his 2007 Pinots and I brought a German Pinot to drink alongside them. Both of these wines will show better with a little bottle age. As stated below, both were only recently bottled. I preferred the Diversite. Here are my notes:

2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Diversite - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (11/27/2008)
We drank it alongside the 2007 Cote Est and a German Pinot. Made by Cheryl and Sam Francis-Tannahill. Like the Cote Est, this was only recently bottled. This wine was darker in color and had more body than the Cote Est (as expected). It was also slightly more dry in my opinion. Moderate tannins. Notes of leather and ripe berry. A fine wine but I rated it below the stunning 2004 Diversite but just ahead of the 2005. This wine was very young and will undoubtedly round out as it settles in the bottle. Give it time. 90+ points.

2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Côté Est - USA, Oregon (11/27/2008)
Only recently bottled. This was the first year that Steve Ryan of Mendocino Farms took over the winemaking for this bottle. Because the grapes were sent down to Steve at his Mendocino facility in California for vinification, the wine could not be labelled Willamette Valley (simple Oregon). This was a soft easy drinking wine which in my opinion is representative of what the Cote Est offers in relation to Toms other wines. Elegant profile and feminine in character. Notes of cherry and some smoke. Bright and fresh on the palate with some wet earth on the finish. Tom thought this bottle might be slightly off but I still enjoyed it. 88+ points.

VM
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VM Vino MeMember
When we went to dinner with Tom and his wife, Tom mentioned that he did not think the bottle of Cote Est THAT HE BROUGHT was showing well. A couple weeks later Tom sends me a new bottle of Cote Est in the mail wanting me to try it to get a true estimation of the wine. Has anyone heard of a winery replacing a bottle that you did not even buy? Don't know if this falls into the great customer service category or just friendship.

Anyway, I opened the bottle over the holidays and it was showing better. Similar fruit notes as before but they were much clearer and more precise. I'd put the wine in the 89-90 point category.

VM
B bhvineyardMember
Seaquam,

You are way too kind, but thank you nonetheless. Any chance we might see you in Oregon this summer? You're about due for a visit.

VM,

To some extent it is about friendship, but for me it is also about "authenticity". I don't expect everyone to like my wines all the time... especially with a fickle wine like Pinot Noir. But at least as much as possible I want everyone to experience the real / true wine. Also, I respect your palate and experience, so in part I wanted to see if your views of the wine, and your TNs, track with mine.

I'm glad that you enjoyed this bottle a bit more. I've had the wine from barrel, and have also tried it right before it was bottled. It's a more elegant Cote Est, but it has some lovely and interesting flavors in it that may not emerge for another 6, 12, or 18 months. The wine is very young right now; I'm looking forward to watching it develop over the years ahead.
B bhvineyardMember
RV,

The '04 Le Cadeau Cote Est has surprised me over the last 6-months or so. I always liked the wine, but it didn't seem to have the character and personality that I feel that some of our other wines often have.

Last summer we had one group of folks visiting us at the vineyard. I had opened a number of newer release wines, but as an afterthought pulled the cork on an '04CE and dropped it on the table without trying it. A few minutes later everyone got excited and started looking at the bottle and asking if I had any more available. I tried a glass myself (having not had it in awhile) and was very pleasantly surprised. This one has evolved into a very tasty wine... I love it when that happens Smile. Glad you are enjoying it too.
merenguemerengueMember
  • 2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Diversite - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (10/10/2014)
    Popped and poured. Beautiful bright and shiny tones. Subtle nose, red and black cherries, damp earth, not very expressive. On the palate the same, this is elegant, refined, not voluptous but has just enough to grab your attention and enjoy it. It not very long nor very deep but it its mighty good and smooth. I am enjoying 07s of Le Cadeau despite the weak vintage. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker
B bhvineyardMember
Merengue,

We've always felt that our '07s are some of our nicest wines-- good structure, "true PN"... not over-the-top ripe. The '07 Cote Est was a favorite of Eric Asimov's.

Regarding Jolete, from your post on the other thread: We have 3-brands-- Le Cadeau, Aubichon, Jolete. Le Cadeau is 100% estate vineyard fruit. Aubichon is mostly from top-tier purchased fruit, often with some Le Cadeau fruit in the mix. All Aubichon wines are made by Jim Sanders; Jim makes Le Cadeau Equinoxe and Merci, and Jim also makes the Jolete PN.

Jolete is our 3rd-tier wine. Our goal is to make a high quality wine for under $30. Depending on the vintage, we sometimes will blend wines sourced from our friends to make the Jolete wines, but the 2011 and 2013 Jolete PN wines are primarily barrel selections from the Aubichon barrels.

With the 2012 vintage we also introduced a Jolete Dry Creek Cabernet that is made entirely by Steve Ryan, the Cote Est winemaker. Its produced from fruit sourced from his home / living location, Olson Vineyard, and he oversees the vineyard management too.

Feel free to email me at Tom@LeCadeauVineyard.com if you have any other questions.

Thanks for your support!
B bhvineyardMember
VM,
My memory is a bit fuzzy, as I'm thinking it was about 6 or 7 years ago... but I'm pretty sure we shared a bottle of the Cote Est '07 at the Italian restaurant near you.

At the time, it was very young (just recently bottled), and I recall that you were underwhelmed. It seems the wine has picked up 2 or 3 VM-points since then. We're heading in the right direction!

Best,
merenguemerengueMember
  • 2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Côte Est - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (3/5/2017)
    My last bottle out of eight. Few wines inspire me to write tasting notes, this is one of them. Ruby red with the slightest bricking but not all the way to the core; This is just singing, beautiful aged pinot showing some smoky and spice notes, clove, nutmeg, vanilla bean; on the palate this is fresh yet mature, dark cherries. Elegant and mouthfilling with a medium finish. Beautiful from a weak vintage. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker
VM Vino MeMember

2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Côte Est

Fourth time I have had this wine and the best yet. This was a surprise bottle since I did not have it in Cellartracker. Paired with beef borguegnon. Solid crimson color. A well rounded wine with cranberry, cherry and earthy notes. Interesting rustic finish. This has aged wonderfully. Well done Tom. 92 points.

VM

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