The 2005 Pinot Noir Athena is dark ruby colored with a nose of spice box and dark fruits, It is a bit more robust than the Stewart cuvee with good depth, concentration, and plenty of succulent fruit. Give it 1-2 years of cellaring and drink it through 2017. Boedecker Cellars is the winery of husband and wife team, Stewart Boedecker and Athena Pappas. They started in 2003 and are currently producing 2500 cases. The wines have been made at the Carlton Winemakers Studio but there will soon be a new winery in Portland. The wines are all made from contracted fruit and bottled in Stelvin screw caps. They also hold their wines back for an additional year so the above wines (with one exception) are from the 2005 vintage. The 2005 vintage in Willamette Valley was challenging with more misses than hits. Apparently Boedecker Cellars figured it out because these are some of the finest wines of the vintage in a style that will have appeal to dyed-in-the-wool fans of Burgundy. www.boedeckercellars.com

Lithe and appealing for its grace and suppleness, showing cherry and tobacco flavors and hinting at hot stone as the finish lingers against silky tannins. Drink now through 2013. 575 cases made. -HS

Aromatic and floral, this lovely bottle has a tangy, nicely defined core of raspberry, cranberry and pomegranate. The tannins are crisp, the acids bracing, the fruit etched in minerals, and the balance poised and appropriate to the lightness of the wine.——P.G.(4/1/2008)—— 88