10.21 2004 Cameron Dundee Hills Pinot Noir

For dinner on Saturday, I made an attempt to create a chicken and dumpling dish from this month's Savour. The recipe called for 5.5 CUPS of butter for the batter, with only 2 cups flour. I thought it must have been a typo, so substituted only 5 tbsp. It worked out OK, but the dumplings didn't fully form and just made the chicken and vegetables thicker. I compared it to a chicken pot pie without the pie!

To compliment an American Classic, I chose a 2004 Cameron Dundee Hills Pinot Noir from Oregon, that I have been saving for a little over a year. This is a wine we have caried at the restaurant for many years (as well as other Cameron wines) and the quanities have steadily declined - thus last year we only had 12 bottles allocated(one for each of us, 1 to drink together, 9 to sell). And we should have waited for this beauty.

Austere is a good description, with minimal fruit, a little char, and notes of oak and pine. Another fantastic wine that was perfect with the meal, and was great on its own.