2004 Estate Pinot Noir  "Snap this one up quickly, it's the best Wilamette Valley Estate from Van Duzer ever. In our opinion, it's a better wine than the 91 point rated (WS) 2003 vintage. Oregon's 2004 vintage was more balanced than 2003, and Jim works his magic here to get every bit of ooomph out of Van Duzer's Estate Vineyard. The wine has a distinct hint of rose petals and violets in the nose, along with dominant black cherry, black currant, and a hint of spicy scent Flavors are first of rich black cherry and blackberry, with hints of boysenberry, black raspberry, currants, cinnamon, graham, white pepper, and lavender following on the long finish."
Jean Yates
AvalonWine.com
January 10, 2006 90 Dark ruby-red. Deep, concentrated nose exudes pungent scents of cherry, damson plum, tobacco, dark chocolate, dry-aged beef and violet. Distinctly wild and gamey, with intense cherry, dark berry, anise and iron flavors supported by serious structure. This attention-grabbing, earthy, sweet wine demands full-flavored, fatty dishes. Scrape off the tripe and invite the in-laws!
Josh Raynolds
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
May/June 2006 2005 Estate Pinot Noir 88 Ruby-red. Ripe, gamey dark berry scents, with hints of aged beef, licorice and lavender. Rich cassis and cherry flavors show very good sweetness and are deepened by candied licorice and sweet mocha. Impressively lush and creamy on the finish, which features a bright raspberry note.
Josh Raynolds
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
May/June 2007 2005 Estate Pinot Gris Refreshment in a bottle. Light, crisp, with bright peach, juicy green apple and honeyed citrus fruit. Come on 80 degree days!
AvalonWine.com
March2006  EXCELLENT "This wine is as alluring as the artist's rendering of Zephyra, a tribute to the westerly breezes that sail through the Van Duzer corridor. Jim Kakecek's release has Riesling-like floral notes and is heavy with orchard fruit. Stone fruit flavors with nice lime and tangerine citrus are joined by great acidity and a delicious finish of pears and pear peel bitterness."
Wine Press Northwest
Summer 2006  From one of Oregon's rising stars, this is pretty and dynamic, with slightly opulent aromas acacia and orange blossom. It's a wine with stuffing, pillow-soft on the tongue but with a precise definition and a juicy, clean finish.
Jon Bonne
MSNBC Today Wine News and Views with Jon Bonne
August 09, 2006 2006 Estate Pinot Gris 3 Stars - Excellent - Top-rated Oregon Pinot Gris Van Duzer's estate vineyard has the same average high daily temperatures as all of northern Willamette Valley, but its average lows are 13 degrees lower. Grapes there ripen later, developing more flavor while maintaining their natural acidity. That plays out in this wine, which features bright pineapple and green apple fruit and keeps evolving in the glass.
W. Blake Gris
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco, California
May 18, 2007 Top 100 Wines - The Best in the West Quite simply, our favorite American Pinot Gris this year, from two blocks in a cool-climate estate vineyard west of Salem, Ore. It takes a moment to open up, but then there's layers of bright lime and green apple offering a sharp-edged profile atop a dense texture on the palate. The finish is snappy and perfectly tuned.
Jon Bonné with Lynne Char Bennett
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco, California
November 28, 2007 2006 Pinot Noir Rosé  A dusky salmon pink rosé from Willamette Valley keeps all those strawberry/cranberry/limestone notes in check with finely structured balance. Pour this one after an afternoon spent on the sidelines of a hot and windy soccer game.
Lauren Chapin
Kansas City Star
Kansas City, Missouri
May 10, 2007 THREE STARS Rather than making the pink wine with a random selection of grapes, winemaker Jim Kakacek chose a particular block of Pommard clone Pinot Noir for its fruit intensity and floral character. The flowers are subtle; what we liked was the wild strawberry and watermelon fruit, along with the soft mouthfeel and citrusy finish.
W. Blake Gray
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco, California
May 25, 2007 Top 100 Wines - The Best of the West Rare is the vintner who devotes vineyard blocks to rosé, but Jim Kakacek set aside a specific portion of Pommard clone grapes and gave them just five hours of skin contact. The result is gorgeous: subtle white flowers, sachet and wild strawberries on the nose, followed by a radiant sweet fruit overtone in this fully dry wine, and an enveloping texture that balances the high-toned acidity.
Jon Bonné with Lynne Char Bennett
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco, California
November 28, 2007 2003 Flagpole Block Pinot Noir 90 Firm, with a sweet undercurrent of nicely focused blueberry, currant, and vanilla spice aromas and flavors that persists appealingly against the fine tannins. Best from 2007 through 2012.
Wine Spectator
December 15, 2005 2004 Flagpole Block Pinot Noir  All of the three Van Duzer Pinot Noirs tasted were darker-colored and richer in style than any of the other Pinot Noirs in the lineup. I liked this one for its floral notes in the nose and on the palate. Nicely balanced, with a tangy finish featuring a citrus edge. Also worth a look: 2004 Van Duzer Homestead Block Pinot Noir and 2004 Van Duzer Blagpole Block Pinot Noir.
- -PinotFile
Dr. Rusty Gaffney
PinotFile
February 12, 2007 90 Dark red. Deep blackberry and cassis aromas are distinctly ripe, with exotic Asian spice notes adding complexity. Darker, liqueur-like kirsch and bitter chocolate flavors on the palate, with supple tannins and an earthy tobacco quality carrying through the finish. More weighty and serious than the Dijon Blocks; this will pair nicely with grilled lamb or aged beef.
Josh Raynolds
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
May/June 2007 2003 Homestead Block Pinot Noir 89 Big and rawboned for a Pinot Noir, with plum and berry flavors against an alcoholic feel, picking up savory meaty notes as the finish persists. Best after 2007.
Wine Spectator
December 15, 2005 2004 Homestead Block Pinot Noir Recommended. Always a big wine, made from juicy, silky lush old vine (24 year) Pommard vines, less than 300 cases of this big wine were made. The original farm house was built on this plot, ths the "Homested" designation.
Note that 12.6% alcohol, quite low for an Oregon Pinot noir, and makes this wine about flavor, not "kick."
Big, weighty, this wine takes its time opening up but rewards with big flavors. Scents of rose, hibiscus, and violet mingle wiht hints of black cherry, cedar, barrel toast and mint. Flavors restate the sentents, and add off-the-charts intense juicy dark cherry, with cedar, sweet oak and creamy pie spices adding to a classic Pinot "meaty" quality. The meaty, savory, massive quality steps into the background with age and aeration, opening up to those rich red and black cherry flavors we love in a Pommard.
This is a big, weighty wine. It's tight and young, needs cellaring or, if you must, lengthy decanting to show itself at its best right now. There are very finegrained, silky tannins in the creamy finish.
The balance and layered flavors make this wine our favorite of the last three vintages, especially for cellaring. Drink from 2008 - 2014 - comparable to much more expensive Pinots with aging.
AvalonWine.com
October 01, 2006 2003 Dijon Blocks Pinot Noir 92 A seductive style, very ripe and rich in flavor, with polished texture to carry the smoky, spicy black cherry and dark berry flavors through the long generous finish. Drink now through 2013.
Wine Spectator
December 15, 2005 2004 Dijon Blocks Pinot Noir Perfumed with floral and cherry notes, this wine draws you in from the start. . . . An elegant Pinot lover's Pinot.--PinotFile
Dr. Rusty Gaffney
PinotFile
http://www.princeofpinot.com
August 14, 2006 90 Bright red. Expressive, perfumed bouquet of blackberry, blueberry and cherry preserves, with an exotic suggestion of Asian spices. Lush and silky, with sweet red and dark berry flavors, a deeper note of cured tobacco, and gentle tannins. The sweet finish features a light hint of cured meat and excellent length. This is really vibrant and delicious.
Josh Raynolds
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
May/June 2007
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