2005 Ken Wright Abbott Claim Vineyard Pinot Noir

[dananne]

From magnum.

Ten days ago, Anne and I bought a farm in central Missouri. It wasn't the one I previously mentioned on some thread in July -- that one fell through, but everything happens for a reason, and we ended up with a far nicer place. It's in Saline County, about 45 minutes NW of Columbia, nestled in some hills above a bend of the Missouri River. The house is a 75 +/- year old, 1 and 1/2 story farmhouse, meticulously maintained by an elderly couple who lived there for 54 years before recently moving into town due to their advancing age. It sits above a 1-ac pond with a nice floating dock (for swimming and fishing, as it's stocked with bass, crappie, bluegill, and channel catfish -- some of which are between 30-50 lbs, which we saw with our own eyes, or we wouldn't have believed it). The land is 35 acres, split between rolling pastureland and timber. We'll use it as a second house prior to our moving up there for good in a few years.

Anyway, we moved some things up there over Labor Day weekend, and we took this wine up there to celebrate our becoming "farmers."

The wine is a newer addition to Wright's stable of single-vineyard offerings, and it's located just E of Carlton in the Willamette Valley. It was darkly hued, and it offered darker fruit flavor profiles of black cherry and black currant. Plums and red spices on the nose. Despite the color and flavor profile, it did have a lighter texture appropriate for a Pinot, and it felt very lush in the mouth. Really nice wine. As we've said before, Ken Wright is our favorite winery, and his Pinots tend to range from excellent to exceptional. This falls in the first category, if not the latter. 13.5% alc. It ran about $150 in magnum. Some fine tannins could have used another two years to soften out, but I'm guessing the 750s will age just a slight tick faster than the magnum.

[Innkeeper]

Dan you sound enthusiatic about the stocked pond. Do you eat fish, or is it all for Anne? Anyway, congratulations.

[dananne]

Thank you, IK. No, I don't eat them anymore, but if I do say so myself, I still do a darned good job cooking them for Anne [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

[winoweenie]

Know the area well Dan'l as I graduated from M.U. Will gladly help trim the population of that-there pond. Love the sound of the Bass and the Catfish "roasting on an open fire". Oh well. Tis' really nice country and unless it's changed dramatically it is truly Mid-America. WW

[TheEngineer]

Congrats on the purchase there Dan and Anne!! Sounds like a lovely place and a bit of work ahead of you as well. Projects are always a good thing!

Congrats again!

[wondersofwine]

Congrats.
My brother-in-law's brother is/was (may be retired now) a professor at U of Missouri-Columbia and he and his wife have a farm with animals including goats and llamas I believe. I haven't ever visited there but it sounds nice.

[dananne]

Thanks, all. Yes, Wonders, Anne has her mind on some Nubian goats also, as well as some chickens. She's also looked at perhaps a guard llama (they're supposedly good at protecting the goats against coyotes, which are extremely common in the area). Of course, I've got my mind on a few rows of Norton, Chambourcin, and perhaps Vidal grapevines, and I'm interested to see if I can make any drinkable wine (just for fun, not profit). There is at least one major winery in the area, Les Bourgeois, and a few other vineyards and orchards amidst mostly corn and soybean country.

As Eng said, it'll be a fun project for the next few years as we extricate ourselves from our Atlanta lives, but it's something we're really looking forward to.

WW, you are more than welcome to help manage the pond if you're ever in the area, and I'm sure I could keep you refreshed from our cellar to help you pass the time [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Again, thanks all, and I'll post some pics soon!

[dananne]

As promised, here are a few pics of our new farm:

http://flickr.com/photos/annemj/

WW -- I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it's because the forum's HTML is set to "off." Copying/pasting in your browser's URL box should work. Sorry! Not sure how to make it blue myself!



[This message has been edited by dananne (edited 09-14-2008).]

[winoweenie]

How come the thingie 'aint in blue sos' it comes up wif a click???? WW

[VouvrayHead]

very nice!

[wondersofwine]

Very attractive house and setting!

WW,

Highlight the URL address. While it is highlighted, click on "edit," then "copy."
Take your cursor to the address line near the top of the screen and click on "edit" again and then click "paste." That should put the highlighted address in your address line. Then just hit the "enter" button to bring up the photos. Afterwards try the Back button to go back to wines.com.

[Kcwhippet]

Dan (and Anne) - That is so cool!! Many, many, MANY years ago I almost bought a similar property, but passed when I took an overseas assignment instead. We're very happy for you and wish you both so much happiness.