Another of Oregon's great vintages, and finally the 2008 wines are really beginning to show what the hype was about. The 2008 Hommage is a wonderful expression of purple flowers, purple fruits, subtle earth tones, and lots of stem spice. The 2008 Whistling Ridge is stunningly Burgundian. The Souris bottling is dense but shows excellent texture and fruit. and in a lovely window of maturity without age. All still show the weight and intensity of the vintage, but are beautiful wines in their prime and will live for at least another 5-10 years.
The 2008 Carey Creek Riesling is also really lovely, and just getting going. Drink now, or hold for up to another 10 years.
I am completely fascinated by the 2008 Fool's Journey Syrah, after 17 years it is still in the window. Compelling and complex, it opens with tar, underbrush, and black flavors, then slowly becomes more elegant ranging through an outstanding array of flavors floral, fruit, and herbaceous in nature. Its weighty and chewy in the mouth but not in a "new world" way. Most of all, at 17 years old, it is still growing and evolving.
*Under natural cork there is always a distinct amount of bottle variation. As the wines age, this variation becomes more distinct. Regarding the notes here, all wines have been tasted recently, but for all bottles YMMV.*
**This post covers Matello wines**