Melissa and Jeff Lawson, wine writers and reviewers at Drink the Bottles. All photos courtesy of drinkthebottles.com
In our previous post, we shared how Melissa and Jeff Lawson—married wine reviewers who curate the Drink the Bottles website—shared six of our wines with friends during a virtual tasting with Dave.
They’ve sampled our wines before, writing some very nice reviews of the 2020 Jupiter Pinot Noir, the 2021 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, and the 2021 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc. So we sent them six new wines this past spring. To our delight, they liked these too, noting:
Bells Up Winery checks off all of the boxes for us: delectable and memorable wines, incredibly friendly and down-to-earth people, affordable, low production, and a place we will visit in person one day.
Here are their reviews and scores.
2023 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc
Named for George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, this wine actually renews our hope in white wines. We tend to view many (most?) white wines as esophageal demons that produce heartburn and a bad aftertaste. In fact, most of the wines that our tasting crew gravitate to are medium to full bodied reds. Everyone (E V E R Y O N E) of us were very pleased how this wine tasted from start to finish. The lack of oak was surprising, but the 6 months of lees stirring helped create a full bodied white wine with citrus fruits, spring rain, wet rock minerality and spice. It was surprisingly mouth coating and left a very crisp but not overbearing finish. Drink The Bottles score: 93/100
2022 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir
The 2022 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir was another pleasing stunner. Luckily for us Rosé of Pinot Noir usually hits on all cylinders with us and this one was extremely inviting! Baking spice, fruit basket and sweet cherries on the nose and palate. This one is very fruit forward and a wine that loves the company of salty cheeses. Presents a lighter finish with acidity that is in check. Drink The Bottles score: 91/100
2021 Titan Pinot Noir
Dave started our first of four Pinot Noir selections with the 2021 Titan. We feel like we jumped in with both feet first with this bold and smoky Pinot, presenting scorched earth and asphalt on the nose, dark fruits, cherry, and spice cabinet on the palate. Our group actually noted about eleven different flavor profiles and agreed that this felt more pronounced than expected for a Pinot Noir. You would almost swear there was a bit of Petite Syrah in here. Drink The Bottles score: 93/100
2021 Jupiter Estate Pinot Noir
The 2021 Jupiter Estate Pinot Noir was yin and yang to the Titan. This one had more fresh red fruits, strawberry preserves, floral notes and less smoke than our first Pinot Noir. It starts off softer and then really becomes more powerful and full of black cherry and spice cake flavors that trail off to a very satisfying and lightly spicy finish. This one is drinking beautifully! Drink The Bottles score: 94/100
2021 Maestro Estate Reserve Pinot Noir
When we asked Dave about picking his favorite Bells Up wine, he wouldn’t do it. We compared that akin to picking your favorite child. But for our team collectively, the 2021 Maestro Estate Reserve Pinot Noir was the northern light for us during this tasting. Beautiful, haunting, deep dark red color with soul-reaching aromas of black cherry, hibiscus, dried flower petals, and country gravel road in the spring. The flavors of elegant red fruits, nutmeg, cherry tobacco and cocoa powder challenged each other for dominance, all while dancing on the tongue. This wine did not jump out at you, but rather pulled you in slowly and methodically, similar to the Jurassic Park theme song by John Williams. This wine is named in honor of Williams and to us, it is an exquisite fit. This is one of those wines that instinctively makes you throw your hands to the side of your face and simply exclaim, “Wow!”. Drink this now or cellar it for 5+ years. Drink The Bottles score: 97/100
2021 Candide Estate Reserve Pinot Noir
Our final wine of the evening (insert crying emoji here) was the 2021 Candide Estate Reserve Pinot Noir. It was the highest alcohol content of the selections we enjoyed, but still well within a respectable check of only 13.6%. This wine had more of that mouth-watering smokiness that you generally expect from Oregon Pinot, also with dried rose petals, plum and damp earth. It was also the “spicy” wine of the evening presenting a full complement of baking spices, book leather and baked berry pie. The finish was similar to the 2021 Maestro, lingering for moments after the last sip and drawing you back for more. It’s quite amazing! Drink The Bottles score: 94/100
Book Your Own Winemaker Dave Experience
YES! We still offer virtual tasting appointments for buyers of 1 or more cases of wine. Contact us or call the winery at 503.537.1328 to learn more and book your private tasting with Winemaker Dave, either in person or online.
