This past Spring, I made a trip out to the West Coast to visit prospective colleges with our younger son, of Sunday fame. Since a few of the colleges were in the Portland/Willamette Valley area, I decided to head out a few days in advance and do a little wine tasting.

My days of hitting 5-6 (or more) wineries in a day are long gone; I consider it a “win” if I actually make it to two since most tastings are several-hour affairs at this point. So I did not overload my schedule. In fact, after visiting Brooks and Stoller, there were only a few new (at least to me) spots I wanted to hit. The first was Lange Estate.

The next two involved bubbles.

While California still dwarfs Oregon in total sparkling wine production, I have little doubt that should the top-end wines from the two states square off, the Beaver State would more than hold its own.

It was with this in mind that I headed to the Lytle-Barnett tasting room, an outpost in downtown Dundee that it shares with its sister winery, Aubaine. I saddled up to the bar and got to work. While the Lytle-Barnett wines are certainly pricey, the list of “better” Willamette sparklers that I have tried is really short.

2019 Lytle-Barnett Blanc de Blancs, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $75. 100% Chardonnay. 5g/l dosage. Four years sur lie. 488 cases produced. Lovely green apple and fresh peach on the nose of this brilliant straw wine. Quite tart and fervent on the palate with really nice Granny Smith apple and quite zingy. Really nice. Outstanding. 94 Points. 

2017 Lytle-Barnett Brut, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $75. 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. Dosage: 6.0 g/l. Five years sur lie. 270 cases produced. Closer to a yellow or even a light gold in the glass. More of a red apple vibe here on the nose with more of the autolytic aspect than the Blanc de Blancs. On the palate, much more mineral and I’d even say a tad austere. But it works and works well. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2017 Lytle-Barnett Brut Rosé, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $75. 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. Five years sur lie. Dosage: 2.0 g/l . Right off the bat, this has the best nose thus far, with plenty of wild strawberry, red delicious caramel apple, just a splash of yeast, and a healthy dose of verve. The palate is rich and structured but the fruit is really the star, particularly up to the mid-palate when the zesty, yeasty tartness breaks through, leading to a lasting finish. Yowza. Wonderful. Maybe the best Oregon sparkling rosé I have tried? Outstanding. 95 Points. 

2018 Lytle-Barnett Brut Rosé Saignée, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $90. 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. Inaugural vintage. Five years sur lie. 125 cases produced. Dosage: 4.0 g/l. A bit shy on the nose with hints of red fruit, mostly cherry, but also some ripe strawberry, as well as a red rose floral aspect. Shy on the palate as well, so I took a step back (figuratively), and held the glass in my hands a bit to allow the wine to warm slightly. After a few moments? Both the nose and the palate were much more vibrant, revealing perhaps the most complete wine in this lineup with intense fruit and impeccable balance, and an incredibly lengthy finish. A Yowza and a Whoa. The assertion I made at the end of the previous note about the best Oregon sparkling rosé I have tried did not last all that long. Outstanding Plus. 97 Points. 

2019 Lytle-Barnett Blanc de Noirs, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $75. 100% Pinot Noir. Estate only fruit. Five years sur lie. Dosage: 0.5 g/l. A bit golden in the glass with lovely toasted notes of a golden apple fruit tart along with some red berry fruit, but more on the darker side (black cherry, blackberry). Yeasty and slightly oxidized on the palate with just an incredible mouthfeel. Another stellar wine that really shines with a finish that lasts forever. Outstanding. 96 Points. 

My other unannounced stop I made was in downtown Newberg, but I was short on time. I had to pick up my son at the airport and he is perhaps the least patient person I know; he starts calling as soon as I am a minute late and calls every subsequent minute until I arrive.

Yeah.

But I really wanted to try their still rosé as a few people suggested that I should try to include it in my annual Blind Tasting of American True Rosé (that didn’t end up happening, but that is the back story).

Even though it is a relatively tiny producer, the owner-winemaker, Jessica Mozeico, was not there, which was fine, since, as I mentioned, I was really short on time. In addition to the still rosé, I couldn’t help myself and had to try the pink sparkling wine, too. Both were stellar.

2021 Et Fille Sparkling Brut Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $70. 36 months sur lie. 66% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay (which doesn’t add up to 100%, but it’s close). Dosage: 8g/l. Only available in tasting room. Quite pale in the glass for a rosé and rather shy on the nose with a bit of nuttiness and some peach eventually peeking through. Quite tart on the palate, with plenty of red berry and tree fruit, particularly on the mid-palate. Wonderfully balanced with a slightly nutty and incredibly long finish. Lovely. Outstanding. 93 Points. 

2023 Et Fille Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $32. 113 cases produced. From Palmer Creek Vineyard. True Rosé. Intense strawberry with a touch of smoke on the nose. Rich and bold on the palate with just a burst of fruit and intensity all the way through. This is a big one. Even a really big rosé. If you like your rosés intense and rich (and I do), this is fantastic. Outstanding. 94 Points.