I attended a dinner at Domaine Serene last night, and thought I'd share the gory details.

This wasn't really the kind of event where note taking was encouraged, but I scribbled down a few thoughts, and compared them with the cork dork friend that invited me. All wines were serve in appropriate glasses.

We started with a tour of the facilities, hosted by Grace Evenstad (the owner), and a glass of their Cote de Sud Chardonnay. The winery is probably one of the most advanced facility for making Pinot Noir in the world (new probably the most expensive as well!). Built on four levels (the bottom three underground), the winery is completely gravity flow from beginning to end. They use special equipment for vacuuming any debris off the fruit, then use a sorting table to discard any imperfect fruit. They ferment most wines in one ton tubs, giving them he flexibility to ferment different blocks of vineyards separately. They use 75% new oak (they're wines don't taste like it IMO), and throw away any barrels that produce bad wine. Every lot is tracked by computer throughout the winemaking process.

The facility is designed so that they can harvest everything in one day and process it all simultaneously.

1999 Cote Sud Chardonnay - Nice intense fruit layers with good length. This wine has a minerality to it that I haven't seen in any other Oregon wine, although it tasted more like the earth you get from a Pinot Noir than the quartz-like flavors you get from a good White Burgundy (I wager this is a soil thing - we don't have any limestone here, just clay). My second favorite wine of the night.

For dinner, Phillipe Boulot from the Heathman in Portland, one of the region's top chefs, was manning the kitchen. All of the food was marvelous.

First Course: Orange crusted sea scallops, pickled tomato compote & grapefruit buerre fondue
2000 Clos du Soleil Chardonnay - A little bit softer than the Cote Sud, less mineral component, good balance, nice finish.

Second Course: Quail stuffed with wild mushrooms, fregula pasta & sauce bordelaise
1996 Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir - Slight bricking on the edges, nice black cherry nose followed by cherry and blackberry flavors, medium intensity, nice long finish. After an hour in the glass this wine started to dry out and turn bitter. I'd recommend drinking up.

Third Course: Applewood bacon wrapped fallow venison leg, Bourbon glazed acorn squash, forest mushrooms & huckleberry sauce
1998 Mark Bradford Pinot Noir - Deep garnet color, fat cherry nose followed by cherries, blackberries, blueberries, and a little mineral. A very rich, intense wine, but a shorter finish than above. This wine tended to improve as it sat in the glass, gaining complexity and becoming more balanced.

Fourth Course: Individually plated assortment of French cheeses
1999 Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir - Deep garnet color, black cherries and blackberries in the nose that continue in layers on the palate. Very intense and concentrated, great mid-palate, well balanced, and a long rich finish. This was my (and our table's) wine of the night.

Fifth Course: Assorted chocolate truffles
2000 RockBlock Del Rio Syrah - It was interesting to look at the color difference between this and the Pinots. This was much darker. I didn't get a lot out of this wine (sixth wine, no spitting). Rich plum nose, continuing on the palate with chocolate notes, some tannins on the back side, very smooth and balanced.

Several times during the dinner, Tony Rynders (winemaker) and Grace Evenstad got up and made comments about the wine and the winery. It was interesting to note that in 13 vintages, they have had to chaptalize once, and they've never acidulated.

We had a great time, and it was very interesting to see what they're doing with their wines, and get a peek at the most state of the art facility in Oregon. We also had the chance to buy these wines, and their current releases. At the prices they wanted (Chardonnays were $38, the Pinots were more) I passed.