Subject: Good News Comes in Threes!

We are very happy to announce three exciting developments in the life of Dominio IV!

  First, we have learned that our Three Sleeps Vineyard in Mosier has officially received Demeter® Biodynamic® certification.  According to Demeter® USA,  Biodynamic wines are intimately connected to the estate. The primary distinction between Biodynamic and conventionally grown wines is that Biodynamic grape growing develops the vineyard’s greatest potential—allowing the vineyard to be the best it can be—and then captures that distinctiveness in the bottle.  In practice, Biodynamic farming meets the organic standard including the prohibition of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, but goes much further. The integration of animals and animal feeds, perennial plants, flowers and trees, water features, and composting is emphasized.  Three Sleeps Vineyard becomes one of a handful of Oregon sites to attain Biodynamic® certification.

Second, construction of our tasting room in downtown McMinnville is proceeding on schedule for a Memorial Day weekend opening, May 29^th & 30th.  Located at 888 NE 7th , next to the new McMinnville Farmers’ Market Building, the Dominio IV Tasting Room will be open Saturday and Sunday afternoons only – closed on Monday.   We look forward to welcoming friends old and new to our distinctly Oregonian new home, originally built in the 1950’s and walled with stacked Douglas fir planks.  The effect is at once rustic and modern.  In addition to several wines for tasting, we will have Cheeses, fruits, nuts, and bread to complement your selections for a $5 entry fee. Our regular tasting room schedule will be afternoon, Friday through Sunday.

  And finally, we’re thrilled to announce the release of our 2009 Viognier, dubbed “Dragonfly Rising”.  This wine has a lush aromatic expression of tropical flowers, orange blossom and chamomile, along with apricot and white peach flavors on the palate, all supported by a long, graceful thread of acidity.  Priced at $22, only 302 cases were produced, so be advised, this wine is highly allocated.

We’re excited to present this new wine to you in our new home!

Warmest Wishes,

Leigh and Patrick

Based in Oregon, Dominio IV is not a creation or marketing strategy – they are not concerned with EBITDA, making numbers or selling units. What they are concerned with is 100% biodynamic/organic cultivation and natural vinification of odd-ball vineyards and varietals from parcels that are not what I would call “on the beaten path”. This is a grass-roots Northwest entrant, the way Quilceda Creek was circa 1988 before they decided to print comparison scores on their mailer trying to prove they were as worthy as Latour.

Patrick of Dominio IV says it best – the passion and motivation (non-monetary) are obvious:

“Sometimes the only reason to do something is to see its beauty in the end. When you are done, you walk away feeling better than if you had not done that something. That is why we started farming Biodynamically in 2001. It was a beautiful proposition that lead us to further understandings about our farm and our selves. Like our every changing moods, we present four wines for your pleasure. Each one entangles you in its own character. Tempranillo is often like the mathematician who sits in his forest lair, contemplative, complicated, and rich in conjecture. Syrah is the spice; she is the dance, and an evening of dangerous possibilities. Viognier is the evangelist announcing the benefits of a diet based solely on fruit and flower. And Pinot Noir is the amazement of a card trick, it is the feeling of a bath, it is magic at the ends of the fingertips.”

This set is not only well-priced, it is built to age in an honest, unmanipulated way.  Each wine has a story to tell (thus the esoteric names) and the story is expressed in each wine - you will see what I mean when you read the bottles. Not meant to be “oh just yum” from the get-go, all three of the wines require another 2-3 years in bottle to round their structures and true colors (even the Pinot Noir). With even-keeled but still exotic flavor profiles at their core, each is filled with a dimension of earth, cinnamon, lavender and sage that are not the norm for Oregon or Washington. While certainly interesting to drink today, your patience should be rewarded with something not found everyday – originality:

2005 Dominio IV “Midnight Skies” (Tempranillo)

This wine has gone from tannic beast to medium weight, silken heavyweight all while doing so in an unforced, cool-toned way.  Sultry and full on the palate (without obtuse heaviness), this interesting entrant combines many elements that should prove to be very popular: sifted rock, dark berry fruit and an earthen/smoke element that sets it apart.  Very fairly priced for what they are attempting, the Midnight Skies is still tannic enough to warrant another 2-3 years in bottle but most of you will enjoy it now for its masculine/feminine demeanor.  Extra points for their hands-off approach – one that allows the Tempranillo to be its own master with no road or trend to follow.

2005 Dominio IV “Old Man Looking East” (Syrah) -

The most talked about Dominio IV wine, some would say this has an even greater sense of terroir than many from the Northern Rhone (although not in a varietal way – in a sense of place way). After 2-3 hours open, the signature Old Man sage element begins to emerge and it is quite distinctive. Full of cracked pepper and dark fruit as well, this wine is in an angular stage that requires additional bottle age but they are definitely on to something layered and engaging – it’s just not fully developed. Although perfectly nice to drink now (the tannins dominate but it is not an over-the-top domestic style), for $19+, I would lay it away to see what happens. The Old Man is a medium weight, ambitious wine that is ultimately polarizing for its expression of place that is not typical for Syrah. A wine that reminds me (in theory, not in impact) of the original 1999 Three Hills Shiraz and the pine resin that was its calling card.  

2006 Dominio IV “Rain on Leaves” (Pinot Noir) -
A true vin de garde (not in the French sense, but in an Oregon soil and site sense), this wine was simply released too early to enjoy (April 2008). The additional year and a half in bottle have served to integrate the whole and another 2-3 years is still warranted. Full of swagger and cinnamon with bright red earth-wrapped fruit, the Rain on Leaves reminds me of an Oregon Savigny-les-Beaune and Narbantons in specific. Somewhat rugged (but still silken), this is a wine not afraid to show its imperfect sentiments only to unfold before your eyes into something that speaks to a picture much larger than itself.  Over 6-8 hours, of all three wines, this was the one I kept going back to the most.