Cameron Winery -- sustainably farmed, non-irrigated, Oregon pinot noir and chardonnay

It is a well known phenomenon in the world of wine that old vines tend to produce superior wine. This can be attributed to several underlying factors including a more extensive root system with a well-developed aura of micro-organisms assisting in the assimilation of nutrients, very long taproots normalizing vagaries of precipitation and heat, a diminished crop size which allows for better concentration of assimilated nutrients and finally a more established ecosystem of covercrops, microorganisms, insects and vines.

And so, one of the advantages of being an “old-timer” in the world of enology and viticulture is that our vines have aged along with me, giving me a somewhat inflated view of my increasing abilities as a winemaker when, in fact, it is the vines that deserve all of the credit! And inherent in all of this is that the number of vintages trailing behind me keeps increasing giving rise to the possibility of extended vertical tastings of our vineyards.

We have now bottled wines going back nearly 40 years!  And as such, our ability to express the terroir from Abbey Ridge and Clos Electrique has improved. And truthfully it took around 10 years for me to learn how to unlock the potential in these vineyards while they were establishing themselves.

Our first vintage was 1984, but I think that 1993 is the beginning of the best wines from Cameron. But even since 1993, bad or mediocre vintages have occasionally vied with decent vintages. When our vineyards hit 20-25 years of age, a combination vine resilience and better winemaking (based partly on years of experience to draw upon) began to smooth out the low points. The result of this (which we learned from vertical tastings) is that while vintages from 1993 to 2005 show almost as many uninspiring wines as great wines, from around 2006 on, the wines are uniformly better. There are still differences between vintages, where some years tower above the rest, but all in all there are fewer “dogs” along the way.

And so went a 18 year vertical of Clos Electrique Blanc magnums that we recently completed with 50 representatives from local restaurants, retail shops, wine distribution and the media.  We started in 2005 and culminated with the 2021 vintage. There was not a bad wine in the lot! Overall, the consensus was that 8-14 years of aging seems to be the absolute “sweet spot” for this magnificent vineyard.

We now have a wine library that includes 750 ml bottles from most of the wines in this “sweet spot” and plan to re-release them in bits and pieces for you, the discerning Clos Blanc affecionado!  Keep your eyes peeled for their release!