It would have to rate as one of the most bizarre growing seasons starting with virtually no rain during the prime rainy season (January & February) and enough warmth to stimulate the earliest bud-break in my 20 years of Oregon vintages. This was followed (immediately) by cold weather and rain over the next 3 months. In the Dundee Hills, the resulting bloom was disastrous with sets generally even less than those of the 2004 vintage. In other areas of the Willamette Valley and elsewhere in Oregon, the set was down but not as egregious. The bloom was much later than normal which meant that the harvest for 2005 was going to come in October (and for some varieties even November).

The good news is that the summer was beautiful and warm giving way to gentle ripening weather in September. The very first grapes to come in during the initial days of October were very dark and even slightly dehydrated, giving rise to heavily extracted, high alcohol wines. However, the harvest party came to an abrupt end within a few days of commencing picking as cool October rains descended upon Oregon. Ripening slowed perceptively and, once again (I hate to harp on this) the irrigated vines suffered mightily with dropping sugars and diluted flavors. Meanwhile, the dry-farmed vineyards continued ripening, albeit at a slower rate. Those vineyards with exposed fruit (due to summer leaf removal) dried out between storms and fared perfectly well.

Overall the wines of Cameron will be solid efforts. The Chardonnays should end up quite reminiscent of wines from the region of Chablis while the Pinot noirs will be elegant and food friendly. This means that wine writers will shit on the 2005 vintage. Not to worry, we never send out wine to the pundits for their grace!

Every vintage is different from every other vintage and that certainly was evident in 2004, with a growing season nearly the opposite of 2003. Brilliant weather in March brought on bud-break early (this is when the little buds swell and the young shoots pop out). Continued great weather in April and early May put the vineyards at least 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule. But all good things come to an end and they did with significant rain in late May and early June with resulting infloresence (flowers that don't set a crop). So we carried a small but very pretty crop through a lovely summer. Lovely until late August that is, and then came torrential cold rains out of the North Pacific. The clusters were no longer so pretty though they were still free of discernable disease.

In early September, just before harvest was about to commence, another significant rain event rolled in from the North Pacific. The water percolated down around 3 inches, right where the massive root zone on irrigated vines make their home. Berries swelled, sugar and acid dropped and the perfect grapes for making pink wines appeared! Our non- irrigated vines did not even notice the rain. The root zone is deep and they just kept right on doing their thing...in fact the sugars actually continued to climb during this period. You be the judge when the wines come out but I suggest that you put your money once again where the irrigation is absent. Flavor profiles on all of our vineyards were outstanding, acidities were right where I wanted them and the tannin levels were perfect. Clos Electrique produced less than 0.8 tons per acre; Abbey Ridge produced around 1.8 tons per acre; Gherts Vineyard weighed in at 1.9 tons per acre. In the end, this may be one of the outstanding vintages from Oregon.

This vintage will certainly go down as one of the hottest and driest on record in Oregon. After a very wet March and April saturated the soil, the months of May through August came with barely a hint of rain. Many vines lost their basal leaves by August but with their deep root system they struggled through in decent shape. Still, the wines from the non-irrigated vineyards will express the hot, dry vintage that it was. Tannin levels in the Pinot noirs are high but intensity levels resulting from the small berries are also high. Dry winds in mid-September further intensified the lower vineyards such as Clos Electrique which will show high alcohol levels, significant tannins and deep, rich color. Higher elevation vineyards, such as Abbey Ridge, were not so adversely affected by the winds and produced wines of moderate alcohols and more balance throughout. Irrigated vineyards ironically experienced the worst examples of fruit dehydration because their leaf canopies were so large that they sucked water out of the fruit during the windy period. But with massive quantities of new oak, the washed-out middle palates will be saved with wood tannins (please note the sarcasm here). White wines from the 2003 vintage are gorgeous with abundant acidity due to the cold nights throughout late September and early October when they were harvested. They will most likely be the best overall wines from the vintage.

A sleek new wine in a very sleek new package makes the '03 Giuliano a must buy. The blend is proprietary but this year's offering included Chardonnay, Auxerrois, Pinot grigio, an albino clone of Pinot grigio and a bit of moscato all fermented in stainless steel. Floral notes mix with traces of flint and the mouth is full and rich. The Giuliano is a perfect match for so many food courses from oysters to cassoulet. It is named for the next generation of Cameron, Julian, who conceived of the idea for the wine and had a hand in selecting the blend (all at the heart-throb age of 17). Now he races around Portland on his little Vespa and pitches his product to the best restaurants in town. (204 cases produced)

Oh when oh when will the Bureau of Alcohol finally grant us approval for our Red Hills of Dundee appellation. While it languishes in bureaucracy, however, our village wine from the Red Hills will continue to handle the less exciting appellation of "Willamette Valley." This wine is probably our most consistent offering from vintage to vintage. Since it is all barrel fermented and left on the yeast sediment for 1 year, it is always rich and full-bodied and a long finish. It is the only Chardonnay at Cameron which sees new French oak but, at that, only a small percentage. With the '03 vintage the alcohol is slightly higher than the previous offering but still weighs in at only 13.1%. (425 cases)

The quantity of Pinot bianco fruit in 2003 was a bit smaller than usual and this probably contributed to the extra intensity of stone fruit aromatics. We also picked it a bit earlier so as to be more in line with typical Friulian approaches to this varietal. Consequently the alcohol levels barely reached 12.0% and the wine retained a nice core of acidity. It is the perfect wine for shellfish and is, frankly, damn good all by itself! (425 cases)

The growing season in 2002 was warm and dry with fantastic Fall weather (warm days, cold nights) which allowed us to hang the fruit out there for optimal maturity. In some cases the alcohols are slightly higher than one would prefer but those cold nights allowed the fruit to retain ample acidity. This combination has produced plush wines which pair beautifully with food and the wines will, in most cases, age well. Overall the 2002 vintage is worth the extra effort to obtain.

Over the years we have come to realize that the Draper clone, planted at Abbey Ridge in 1976, produces the superior fruit from the Chardonnay section of the vineyard. In 2002 this was especially true so we have chosen to blend only the three measly but wonderful barrels that we gleaned from this vintage. With a long hang time the sugars were uncharacteristically high even though there was plenty of acidity. This produced respectable alcohol levels to give the wine great mouth feel. The classic Burgundian aging technique (leaving the wine on its sediment for nearly 2 years) contributes an additional layer of yeastiness. (71 cases)

This is the winemaker's favorite wine for 2002. It is also the bookkeeper's favorite wine, the vineyard manager's preferred wine and the absolute creme de la creme for the CEO of Cameron Winery. Confession: this is a really small winery and I wear all of those hats but my wife would do flips over it if she could do flips...she does do pretty cool cartwheels though! Five different clones of Chardonnay (5) and one clone of Pinot blanc were fermented with the ambient yeasts from the vineyard and left to age in older barrels for 21 months. You could easily lose it in a blind tasting of white Cote de Beaunes. (72 cases)

Dear old departed Arley, possibly the only dog on the planet to have a vineyard block named after him, would be wagging his tail over the '02 offering from his vines. This wine offers a highlight of the vintage with wonderful complexity and leanness. It has a smoky exterior due to its secret clonal selection and bright cherry notes on top. But the signature experience is the lingering finish which goes on and on even after the glass has been set down. Because it is drinking extremely well now, it will doubtless appear on wine lists in the few locales where it is available. (290 cases)

With vines approaching 30 years old Abbey Ridge consistently delivers some of the most complex wines from Oregon. Since it is typically ripe late in the harvest season, it shows its best when October weather cooperates (as it did in 2002). Though the '02 Abbey Ridge is already exhibiting its trademark aromas of lavendar, rose petal and rosemary overlaying dark cherry, expect it to continue to improve for several years. We picked only the most stunning barrels for this blend so supplies are limited. (188 cases)

This wine is never for the faint of heart. The 2002 is gnarly and singing with black fruit overlade with bacon fat and any other meat that you can conjure up in your mind. It is not a wine for the masses but if you like classic old Burgundies from places like Nuits Saint-Georges then you will love this offering. It sat in our cave at 57 degrees (Fahrenheit) for nearly 2 years before it offered itself up for bottling. The fleet of foot will be rewarded while everyone else will have to find a friend in the first category. (186 cases)

Spring of 2001 greeted the Red Hills of Dundee with a couple of significant frost events near bud break. Since Chardonnay typically shows itself early, some of the lower elevation vineyards where bud break is earlier suffered damage. Clos Electrique blanc lost nearly half of its potential crop in the course of one night while Abbey Ridge, at a higher elevation, was not damaged at all. Of course, as a result, the Clos Electrique blanc from 2001 will show incredible intensity. It is scheduled to be bottled in early summer of 2003. Overall the white wines from 2001 were excellent with good acidity and wonderfully complex aromas. The red wines from the vintage are more variable depending mostly on yield, which tended to be high. Many vineyards meticulously adjusted their crop down by cutting off green bunches during veraison in early August of that year. These vineyards generally produced to very good wines. For the other vineyards, well...! Since bloom was relatively late the resulting harvest was pushed well into October. However, a warm spell near the end of ripening pushed most vineyards very close together and created a demand for pickers. Fruit was therefore quite ripe in most cases and sometimes overly so.

The fruit for this wine comes entirely from Abbey Ridge and Clos Electrique Vineyards. We anticipate that in the near future a new appellation for the Red Hills of Dundee will be approved and will be applicable to this label. 100% of the juice was fermented in small French oak cooperage of various ages. Approximately half was fermented using the ambient native yeasts present on the skins of the grapes. All wines were left with the yeast sediment for nearly one year before being carefully racked and bottled in September of 2002. The wine is fairly viscous for something with less than 13% alcohol (and you can also get up and walk away from the table after drinking... an unlikely experience after drinking a Chardonnay from California!). The long residency with the yeast lends a light bready aroma commingling with perfumes of pears and vanilla.

The blend for this splendid offering from Cameron comes from three precious vineyards: Abbey Ridge, Brickhouse and Clos Electrique. The aromas are complex with black cherry, coffee and lavender overlaid with a smokey exterior. Of course, as is typical of Pinot noir, these aromas will likely move on to even more exotic nuances but will remain captivating to the olfactory center. This wine has a wonderful mid-palate which lingers for some time and will therefore do a wonderful job making many meals even more meaningful! It spent approximately 18 months in barrique with ages from new to 6 years old so if you like wines swimming in oak, look elsewhere. This wine also has great acidity and should age incredibly well.

This is the best Chardonnay that I have ever made off of this vineyard. Should I repeat that? OK, the 2001 vintage Abbey Ridge Chardonnay is my best effort ever for Chardonnay from Abbey Ridge Vineyard. The current offering is composed entirely of fruit from the 28 year-old Draper clones. This section is less than an acre and it yielded only 3 barrels (75 cases). The juice was fermented with wild yeasts from the vineyard and then sat on the yeast sediment for nearly 2 years before being gently pushed from the barrels into bottles without filtration. How is it possible that it is not swimming in oak flavors? That's easy: you follow the teachings of old Burgundian masters and ignore the glitzy marketers masquerading as winemakers in Arnold's state. There wasn't a barrel newer than 2 years old when I began this exercise. In the land south of here they might well burn me at the stake (with oak chips thrown in) for such blasphemy but in little Burgundian towns such as Meursault, they would likely just smile and nod knowingly. This wine will most likely be gone before most people read my little diatribe here. Oh well!

Blanc you say? What is this! where's the varietal name on the bottle? I can't find it. Not there? But! It's not there. No, it's not there, isn't necessary. Relax, let me explain. You see long before we became obsessed with varietal names on bottles there was just wine. If it came from the Côte d'Or and was red then most likely the wine was Pinot noir perhaps with a bit of a white varietal added at the fermenter to increase acidity in some years. If it came from the Côte d'Or and it was white then chances are it was mostly Chardonnay but usually with a bit of Pinot blanc and perhaps a bit of Pinot Gris thrown in as well. These latter wines are called White Burgundies and they are, as a group, the most expensive wines in the world today. So that brings us to Clos Electrique, a warm site in the Dundee Hills with 1.5 acres planted to 7 different clones of Chardonnay and a bit of Pinot blanc, fermented with the ambient yeast in old barrique and left on the sediment for nearly 2 years. It's not White Burgundy but you sure as hell could mistake it for the real thing. (96 cases produced)

Plant 10 different clones of Pinot noir on 1.75 acres at a warm site, don't irrigate, ever, pull leaves around the fruit to expose each little cluster to the sun and think good thoughts while in the vineyard. This is the recipe for one of the finest red wines produced in the state of Oregon. For Pinot noir the wine is big and bold and bursting with flavor and yet nothing extreme had to be done in the cellar to make it that way. It is the vineyard, it is the 2001 vintage, it is the beautiful Claude Gillet barrels in which it sat for 2 years, nothing heroic, nothing artificial. It is also about patience. I waited for 2 years before I deemed it ready for the bottle and you should be prepared to wait a bit as well for it to gain some maturity in the bottle. If you do, you will be amazed at the resulting wine and you might even thank me! This is my best wine for 2001, period. (190 cases produced)

At some point in the near future the varietal names will disappear from this vineyard's red and white offerings as well. But for now we are slowly making them smaller and smaller. 2001 was an exceptional vintage for Abbey Ridge partly because we worked our tails off dropping crop in mid-August so that the intensity would be there in the fruit. And for all that work, wow, what a reward. Beautiful aromatics redolent of bergamot and roses lead to a mouth bursting with flavor and seamless texture from front to back. Give me some risotto and chantarelles with this wine and I will surely think I am in heaven. After nearly 2 years in barrel (nothing new because Abbey Ridge is too elegant for new wood) this wine was gently pushed out of the barrels with nitrogen and bottled. (196 cases produced)

We planted pedigree grape vines (some of the marvelous clones from Clos Electrique) on a pedigree site (just above the old vines at Abbey Ridge) and named it after Bill Wayne's dear old departed pal, Arley. The vines are now 12 years old, too young for the Abbey Ridge designation, but capable of making one hell of a wine. It embodies some of the characteristics of Clos Electrique with the finesse of Abbey Ridge and, well, it's Bill's favorite wine. Here's to Arley! (290 cases produced)