Carlton Cellars

Brooklyn loves Carlton Cellars!

Winemaker Dave rocked Brooklyn, NY with a tasting at Gnarly Vines on April 12, 2012. Says proprietor Brian Robinson:

Oh, How We Love Oregon!

A Gnarly First: We've got owner/winemaker Dave Grooters from Oregon's Pinot-passionate Carlton Cellars pouring himself! Come on in for this rare opportunity to meet this fantastic, organic Pacific Coast producer.

Dave poured Cape Lookout, Seven Devils, and Cannon Beach.
> Gnarly Vines reviewed them all — here!

Praise from Memphis Cork It magazine

Our friend Harold Steinberg posted the following great note on Facebook:

From the most recent issue of Memphis Cork It magazine regarding Seven Devils 2009:

"Medium garnet nose, really vibrant nose that I could smell as it sat on the table next to me. The nose shows a little black cherry, some earthiness and a touch of oak. Soft elegant texture, the flavors match the aromas but are even more expressive. This is a great example of a wine with a sense of place. Very long silky finish."

— Rusty Prudhon, General Manager, Napa Cafe, as quoted in the magazine's "Tasting Notes - Wines to Watch".

All I can say is "Right on, Rusty!" And I really enjoyed dinner in your outstanding restaurant last Saturday evening.

Thanks for posting, Harold!

TODAY Show picks Cannon Beach in "20 under $20"

TODAY's Leslie Sbrocco features our 2010 Cannon Beach Pinot Gris in the TODAY Food list, "20 under $20: Quality holiday wines that won't break the bank." She writes:

A family-owned operation crafting what I think ranks among Oregon’s best expression of the variety: racy, juicy, and full of peach-scented loveliness. The wine also comes in a high-end bag-in-box format (3 liters equal four bottles), which is a top choice for big gatherings.

Gregory Dal Piaz lists Roads End in Oregon Pinot picks

Snooth Editor in Chief Gregory Dal Piaz recently listed his Oregon Pinot Noir picks in the $35–45 range. Our very own 2009 Roads End made the cut in his "6 wines of finesse and complexity." (It's actually 7 wines, but we're not quibbling.)

"You have to produce mighty fine wine to be a value" in this price range, writes Dal Piaz, "and in Oregon that means finesse and complexity. It also means having a little something extra, which could be blazing aromatics or extra density adding weight to the palate and potential to improve." Of the Roads End specifically, Dal Piaz notes, "There’s something really lovely to the fruit that is here, and the tannins are present but superbly polished."

Praise for our 3 Pinots from Bigger Than Your Head

After selecting our 2010 Cannon Beach Pinot Gris as his Wine of the Week of April 25, 2011 in his Bigger Than Your Head wine blog, Memphis oenophile Fredric Koeppel reviews our three Pinots.

Fredric gives the 2009 Seven Devils a "Very Good+", calling its "immediately appealing fragrance… heady and seductive."

He finds the 2008 Cape Lookout "Excellent." "This is classic stuff," says he, noting its "suppleness and shapeliness." "There’s deep flavor galore here."

Of the also "Excellent" 2008 Roads End Fredric writes:

Boy, you feel the difference… in this wine’s engagement and heft, in its increased level of spice, its fine and rich details of blueberry, cranberry, rhubarb and cola, its veritable darkness of intention and effect.

The Roads End 08 is a lithe and muscular wine, and if ever a pinot noir exemplified the notion of a pent animal awaiting release, brother, this is it.

Thanks, Fredric. Maybe it's time to get some Roads End-branded pith helmets!

> Read the complete review.

Cannon Beach: Bigger Than Your Head » Wine of the Week

In his Bigger Than Your Head wine blog, Memphis oenophile Fredric Koeppel picks our 2010 Cannon Beach Willamette Valley Pinot Gris as the Wine of the Week of April 25, 2011. He writes:

Forgive me for waxing rhapsodic… but the Carlton Cellars Cannon Beach Pinot Gris 2010… falls certainly within the top handful of wines made from that grape in the United States of America.

The seductive bouquet teems with notes of lime peel, apple and pear, with high tones of jasmine and acacia (with its slightly astringent complexity) and deeper whiffs of dusty limestone and flint; give the wine a few moments in the glass, and whimsical hints of dried tarragon and thyme emerge.

We're delighted to have provided the liquid inspiration for such rhapsodic waxing. Thank you, Fredric!

> Read the complete review.

Wine Spectator gives Roads End 90 points

The January 31, 2011 issue of Wine Spectator magazine honored our 2008 Roads End Oregon Pinot Noir with a 90-point rating. This rating qualifies Roads End 2008 as "Outstanding: a wine of superior character and style."

Oregon Wine Press

The Feb 2011 issue (p. 20) pairs great pizzas with great wines. When you're savoring the oak-fired fresh mozzarella, Oregon black truffle and thyme pizza from Portland's Firehouse restaurant, OWP recommends our very own 2009 Carlton Cellars Oregon Dolcetto as the "perfect match for the personality of the truffle." We'll drink to that!

> See the article online here.

Wine Advocate awards Seven Devils 88 points

"The 2008 Pinot Noir Seven Devils spent 10 months in barrel. It offers up a pretty perfume of rose petal, cinnamon, clove, strawberry, and cherry. Forward on the palate with plenty of spicy fruit, a bit of structure, and moderate length, this tasty effort will deliver pleasure over the next 5-7 years. It is a very good value."

— Wine Advocate, November 2010

Avalon Wine honors Seven Devils

— in their four Best 2008 Oregon Pinots Under $25

"The newest and best value Carlton Cellars Pinot. Loads of easy-drinking fruit, from strawberry to black cherry, is complemented by sweet oak and cola spice. The lush fruit hangs on through the silky finish." — Marcus

> See the list here.

Oregon Pinot Noir Club features Cape Lookout 2008

"It’s youthful, and focused. It shows some vivacious wild berry flavors, glows with color, and has an amazing aroma. As compelling as it is to try now, just another few weeks or months in the bottle will yield a broadly-flavored, complex wine with layers of flavor and great length."

> See OPNC owner and wine critic Robert Wolfe's complete review here

Sip With Me! on our Vineyard Lunches: "not-to-be-missed"

> See the whole Sip With Me! blog post (scroll down).

The future of glass pours? Carlton Cellars is there!

The Oregonian did an article March 2, 2010 on ways restaurants are keeping wines fresh for glass pours. Writer Katherine Cole talks to winemaker Dave Grooters about Carlton Cellars' box program in restaurants such as Navarre, Nick's Italian Cafe in McMinnville, and the Waverley Country Club.

> Read the article.

One of the best pinots I’ve ever tasted.

On January 8, 2010, Kevin Coupe reported back on his Christmas Roads End on Morning News Beat:

"I told you before Christmas that this was going to be our holiday wine, and now I’m going to tell you that the Roads End 2007 Pinot Noir from Oregon is one of the best pinots I’ve ever tasted. It was so smooth, so supple, so elegant, so delicious… I was sorry I only had one bottle, because it was hard to find something to follow it. Yumm…"

Looks like you had a very Merry Christmas indeed, Kevin!

Kevin Coupe is pouring Roads End for Christmas

Writer Kevin Coupe posted the following on Morning News Beat, December 23, 2009:

"Our Christmas wine, BTW, is going to be the 2007 Roads End Pinot Noir from Oregon...which I’ve been saving for a special occasion."

Thanks, Kevin — enjoy!

Avalon Wine honors Cape Lookout

— in their list of six Best 2007 Oregon Pinots

Praising Cape Lookout for its "rich complexity and layered, voluptuous finish," Avalon Wine (itself one of Food & Wine Magazine's Ten Best Online Wine Shops) has honored our estate wine as one of its six Best New 2007 Oregon Pinot Noirs.

See Avalon Wine's Best of 2007 list here.

Oregon Pinot Noir Club features Roads End 2007

"Yum! It's ready to drink and is immensely appealing for its fresh, juicy, fruit-driven character and the purity and transparency of the fruit flavors. Another wine that’s hard to put down."

See OPNC owner and wine critic Robert Wolfe's complete review here.

Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator give us 90 points

— both acclaim Roads End as "Outstanding"

Wine Spectator's rating qualifies Roads End 2006 as "Outstanding: a wine of superior character and style." Reviewer Harvey Steiman calls it:

"Smooth and refined, with some power in reserve behind the cherry and dark berry flavors, picking up a black olive note as the finish sails along. Drink now through 2014. 600 cases made." (WS, 12/15/08 p.149)

Wine Advocate's rating identifies Roads End 2006 as "An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines." Dr. Jay Miller writes:

"The 2006 Pinot Noir Roads End spent 10 months in French oak. Medium/dark ruby-colored, it reveals an attractive perfume of cedar, black cherry, and black raspberry. This leads to a layered, smooth-textured wine with plenty of sweet fruit, good balance, and a medium-long finish. Drink it over the next four years." (WA, Oct. 2008)