Holloran Vineyards is a little-known name at present, but I suspect we'll be hearing more than a bit from them in the next few years. Le Pavillon is a vineyard in the Red Hills of Dundee, and I believe it is part owned by Holloran and part by Jay Somers, winemaker for Holloran and for his own J Christopher label. I had occasion to visit over Thanksgiving weekend and am very glad I did. The winery is a relatively new facility wedged into an odd corner of West Linn, somewhat removed from wine central in Dundee. Mr. Holloran appears to be intent on making his label a notable presence in the Oregon scene, and this entry is a great showing. I'm a sucker for Red Hills wines anyway, but this - and its stablemate from J Christopher - would show well to anyone. It's neither a fruit bomb nor a crunchy and thin skeleton, just richly complex and flavorful, with lots of dark cherry, smoke, spice, acidity, and hints of cinnamon. I went in looking for J Christopher wines - and got a good dose - but I'm glad I walked out with some of these. I'll be looking at more in the future.

Thanks for the TN - I loved the '99 Pinot (though it seems shut down about 6 months ago) and the '00s are available around here right now. They do need a little air to show their best, IMO.

Have you tried their Riesling - it is a fantastic value at $18. Their second lable Stafford Hill also makes a pretty good Chardonnay for $15.

Kramer mentioned their Riesling in the local paper about a month ago. I haven't had it, but I'm going to look for it.

I did not try the Riesling - I don't drink enough white wine to make it worth my while. But I did purchase two bottles of the truly sumptuous 2002 Holloran Chardonnay, which my wife will happily consume. I'ts a quite big Chardonnay for Oregon. Very rich and attractive.