The 2006 Pinot Noir Tuenge Vineyard has a medium garnet color and mature nose of dried cherries and red currants, mushrooms, dried tobacco, toasted coconut, pencil shavings and an earthy undercurrent. The palate is chocolaty and savory with dried fruit character and good freshness. This could hold up a little longer in bottle, but it's about time to drink up.

The 2006 Pinot Noir Tuenge Vineyard from a Chehalem Mountain locale is a bit herbaceous and high in acidity, traits not typical of this vintage. On the palate the wine is silky textured, ripe, and elegant. This wine is a single-vineyard selection aged for 14 months in 40% new French oak. A bit more flesh would have made for a higher score. Erath Winery is one of Oregon’s pioneers with its first vintage occurring in 1972. Dick Erath sold the winery to Ste. Michelle Wine Estates recently but remains the largest grower for the winery (which owns no vineyards). Current production is at 125,000 cases with the Oregon Pinot Noir bottling accounting for almost two-thirds of that total.www.erath.com