2006 Ken Wright Canary Hill Vineyards

[dananne]

From my experience, half-bottles usually seem to open up sooner, and they seem to bottle age faster, so I don't think that was it. The thing that I find befuddling isn't that it opened up and became a nice wine, but that it wasn't more approachable at first crack. Wright wines usually age well, but they are usually nice and balanced juice coming out of the gate. I'm wondering if it was just something particular to the vineyard or vintage for '06. Canary Hill is in the southern Eola hills, beyond McMinnville (closer to Salem), so the profile may in fact be different than his bottlings from sites in the northern WIllamette. Also, Canary Hill are known for their structure and ability to age, so maybe that's it.

As for the upcoming trip, I'd be happy to give my suggestions based on our experiences in '05 and '06.