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BY ANDY PERDUE
If you want the wines made by our Oregon Winery to Watch, you might want to hurry.
Privé Vineyard near Newberg is perhaps Oregon's smallest winery at 250 cases, and it's quickly becoming one of the state's most exclusive. Under the direction of wife-husband team winemaker Tina Hammond and viticulturists Mark Hammond, Privé Pinot Noir is gaining high acclaim.
At last year's Northwest Wine Summit, the largest judging of Northwest wines, the Privé 2001 Le Nord Pinot Noir earned Best Oregon Wine. And that was the Hammonds' first release.
Word of the wines traveled fast. The first vintage sold out in six months, the second in two weeks. Now, everything goes quickly on futures, and there isn't even enough for wine shops. Just three restaurants get Privé for their lists: The Dundee Bistro, Joel Palmer House in nearby Dayton and The Herbfarm in Woodinville, Wash.
While it seems success has happened almost immediately for the Hammonds, it's actually been a long time coming.
Their two one-acre vineyards contain Pommard clone Pinot Noir vines that are nearly a quarter-century old. The Hammonds bought the place nine years ago and sold their grapes to top yamhill county producers.
"We knew the potential of our vineyard because we had been growers for several years," Tina said.
In 2001, they took the plunge and launched Privé.
Their house and winery sit in the midst of the vineyards, which are called Le Nord (North) and Le Sud (South).
Le Nord is about 75 feet higher in elevation and results in 170 cases of wine by the same name. It sees 100% French Oak - 30% new - and sells for $37 per bottle.
"It's got an unusual personality," Tina said, "It's an elegant Pinot Noir with nice layers and complexity. It's our crowd-pleaser."
The lower vineyard, Le Sud ripens a bit earlier, but the grapes are allowed to get ever-so-slightly riper, and the wine sees 100% new French oak.
"This wine was an experiment to see if these old vines could hold up to so much new oak," Tina said. "I felt the intensity of the wine would do well and would give it a little better aging."
The wine shows well in its youth but also should age beautifully. The 85 cases retail for $45 per bottle.
Privé (French for "private") isn't expected to grow in case production. The Hammonds are hands-on and want to keep it that way. They carry every cluster from the vineyard to the winery and inspect each before it is crushed.
"We can't buy grapes like we're growing," Tina said. "Unless I stumble upon some, we don't plan to expand."
Now, Mark has built a Burgundian-style winery with stucco walls and a red-tiled roof that feels Old World and might well remind visitors of a stroll through Côte de Nuits. The Hammonds even planted a lavender field around the winery to further that feeling.
For now, the winery is open during Yamhill county's big Memorial Day weekend event and by appointment. With so little wine available, the Hammonds have decided to stay closed during the Thanksgiving weekend event. Instead, they will focus on special events. Mark is building an outdoor wood-fired brick oven, and the winery will have vineyard luncheons for mailing list customers.
The good news is the mailing list is still open, so if you love hand-crafted Oregon Pinot Noir, your opportunity to enjoy Privé is now.
Privé Vineyards, 28155 N.E. Bell Road, Newberg, OR, 503-554-0464, www.privevineyard.com
ANDY PERDUE is editor of Wine Press Northwest.
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