Wine Enthusiast Reviews are in... 93pts & Editors Choice

93 points
Editors Choice

L&S 2015 Riesling Willamette Valley 

This utterly delicious dry Riesling has just enough roundness to cut through the acidity. Its lush mix of citrus and stone fruit gathers strength and focus as it roars across the palate. It's instantly accessible yet built for enjoyment over the next decade.

VARIETY Riesling
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 12%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-riesling-willamette-valley/

---

92 points

L&S 2013 'Antsy Pants' Reserve Riesling

This 2013 is the current release. Its lovely floral highlights distinguish the aroma and carry into the flavors. Sourced from 40-year-old vines from the Brooks and Sunnyside vineyards, it was fermented entirely with native yeasts to almost complete dryness.

DESIGNATION Antsy Pants
VARIETY Riesling
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 11%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2013-antsy-pants-riesling-willamette-valley/

---

92 points

L&S 2015 Sunny Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir

This well-balanced wine pushes cherry fruit front and center, underscored by refreshing minerality. The tannins are polished and firmly set on the finish, with a cinnamon kick that resonates long after the last swallow.

DESIGNATION Sunny Mountain Vineyard
VARIETY Pinot Noir
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 14.4%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-sunny-mountain-vineyard-pinot-noir-willamette-valley/

---

92 points

L&S 2015 Temperance Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir

This well-known and widely-admired vineyard doesn't disappoint in this wine, delivering lovely cherry fruit touched with a citrusy edge. The concentration builds gracefully, with tasty highlights of chocolate-covered orange peel and roasted coffee.

DESIGNATION Temperance Hill Vineyard
VARIETY Pinot Noir
APPELLATION Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 14.2%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-temperance-hill-vineyard-pinot-noir-eola-amity-hills/

---

91 points
Editors Choice

L&S 2015 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Lovely cherry lollipop flavors introduce this smooth and tasty effort. Its juicy and irresistible sweet fruit is highlighted with sliced orange and lemon peel notes. A streak of coffee runs through the finish, and the wine is substantial enough to cellar for another half decade or longer.

VARIETY Pinot Noir
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 13.8%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review Online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-pinot-noir-willamette-valley/

---

91 points

Love & Squalor 2015 Sunnyside Vineyard Riesling  

The first-ever vineyard-designated Riesling from Love & Squalor, this is bone dry and as tart as lemon juice. Its green apple fruit shows excellent concentration. For acid lovers, this will be a revelation. If acid isn't your thing, look to the winery's regular Riesling instead.

DESIGNATION Sunnyside Vineyard
VARIETY Riesling
APPELLATION Willamette Valley, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY Love & Squalor
ALCOHOL 13%
DATE PUBLISHED 2/1/2018

Review online: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2015-sunnyside-vineyard-riesling-willamette-valley/

---

Reviews by Paul Gregutt, a Contributing Editor for Wine Enthusiast magazine, a founding member of the magazine’s Tasting Panel, and reviews the wines of Oregon and Canada.

Wonderful review of 2015 Pinot Noir from Great Wines Northwest

Love & Squalor 2015 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
By Great Northwest Wine on January 6, 2018

Portland vintner Matt Berson recently entered his second decade of Love & Squalor, and he named his duo-pronged passion project of Pinot Noir and Riesling as a tribute to iconic author J.D. Salinger. His flagship wine is this Pinot Noir, a melange of eight clones and six vineyards, primarily Sunny Mountain, Temperance Hill, Cherry Grove and Medici that represents about a third of his entire production. His choice of an 18-month program in mature French oak shows up merely as an enticing dusting of cocoa powder that’s behind the purple fruit tones of plum and blueberry. Fine-grained tannins are focused on the midpalate of this otherwise juicy approach.

Rating: Outstanding!

Production: 1,100 cases

Alcohol: 13.8%

http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/2018/01/06/love-squalor-2015-pinot-noir-willamette-valley-28/

OREGON WINE PRESS ORANGE CRUSH

The Oregon Wine Press wrote an article about Orange Wines and our L&S 2016 'A FRAYED KNOT' ROSÉ OF GEWURZTRAMINER gets a shout out (we say Rosé right there on the label, but really it is an 'Orange Wine'). If you want to know more about Orange Wines, read on...

October 1, 2017 - OREGON WINE PRESS

Orange Crush

Skin-contact whites color harvest season and cellar

By Tamara Belgard

Photo by Andrea Johnson

As the leaves turn and pumpkins ripen on the vine, the color orange reigns. Even the Harvest Moon casts a tangerine hue as the autumnal equinox approaches. Unlike the calculated timing of the season, some orange wines are best described as “accidents gone deliciously right.” No surprise for owner Matt Berson of Love & Squalor, who says, “Isn’t that the prevailing thread in the history of wine?”

Produced from white wine grapes using the red technique of fermenting fruit along with skin and seeds — the source of a wine’s color — orange wine represents a category all its own, with texture, weight and a broad palate of character as its trademarks. Not to be confused with rosé, traditionally crafted from red varietals such Pinot Noir, Grenache and Tempranillo, orange wine is most commonly made from Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer, whose grapes are actually pink in color.

Back to the scene of the “accident.”

“We began experimenting with skin-contact wine somewhat accidentally when we made our first Pinot Gris in 2013,” said Jenny Mosbacher of Fossil & Fawn. “We were making wine at two facilities, and time got away from us, as it tends to do. The juice spent 36 hours on the skins and when we pressed it off, it was the color of electric watermelon Jolly Ranchers. We rolled with it, and it turned out to be a hit. The following years we approached it with much more intention.”

This purposeful strategy is growing throughout Oregon as winemakers experiment with Pinot Gris production, treating it more like the red grape it is. In fact, Pinot Noir and Gris share similar genes. And yet, the two varietals couldn’t be treated more distinctively.

Mosbacher sees a lot of Pinot Gris in Oregon cropped for higher yields, rushed through the production process, released in late winter or early spring and priced to move. Practically speaking, it’s treated as a cash-flow wine, while Pinot Noir sells at a far more prestigious price point.

Does Pinot Gris warrant more time in the cellar?

Enter orange wine.

In making rosé, the juice undergoes only brief contact with the grape skins during the fermentation process — often around 24 hours — imparting the recognizable pretty pink hue. The juice is then pressed off and finished like a white. With orange wine, the juice macerates with skins and seeds — and stems, too, when working with whole clusters — for days, weeks or even months, just as a red wine would.

Skin contact imbues orange wine its gorgeous color, ranging from golden to salmon, from coral to amber, even a bright pink — like the striking colors of a fall sunset. The skin also contributes tannic backbone, intense richness and grippy texture, compelling complexities making it irresistible to wine connoisseurs.

Nate Ready of Hiyu Wine Farm explains, “Skin contact amplifies everything about a wine, like increasing the contrast in a photograph. A little bit can be wonderful, but for each wine, there is probably a place where you’ve taken it too far.”

Like the range of color and styles of orange wines, opinions of the style run the gamut, as well. Wine buyers struggle with its position on their lists, while critics and consumers often disagree on its merit. Either they’re revered — think cult following — or despised, presumed faddish and trendy, a novelty that won’t last.

Considering orange wine is ancient — estimated origins trace it to Georgia in Eastern Europe some 5,000-8,000 years ago — it can hardly be considered novel.

Savvy wine consumers approach wine with fewer preconceptions than professionals; they’re true wine adventurers, accepting both new techniques as much as a return to the past.

Rudy Marchesi of Montinore agrees, “I’m very excited consumers are embracing orange wines because I think they provide a nice combination of weight, texture, and fresh fruit that pairs so well with dishes difficult to find the right wine to serve with.”

Expanding on the theory of consumer acceptance, Tyler Bradley of Bradley Vineyards says, “Food, wine, beer lovers — and Oregonians in particular — have a more evolved palate than the average bear. I’ve found that experienced wine drinkers love the L’Orange because it has so much power, aroma and flavor. The less experienced may find it a tad overwhelming, but I’m fine having a more ‘expert-level’ wine.”

Mosbacher discovered clarity in orange wine. “The longer we make Pinot Gris with skin-contact, we coax out flavors that I would never have imagined associated with the grape. I often wonder aloud if this is maybe how it was always meant to be made.”

Taste one of the featured Oregon oranges, and see if you agree.

Tamara Belgard is a freelance writer who explores the Oregon wine scene from her home in S.W. Portland.

-----------------------------------

Love & Squalor 2016 A Frayed Knot Rosé of Gewürztraminer

Pure aromatics and a lithe palate with plenty of acid keep the whole show poppin’. Lychee candy, orange blossom, honey and fresh peach pie on the nose, with strawberry, peach, pink grapefruit, tangerine and stony minerality on the palate. This one keeps unfolding forever. $20; 150 cases

Read the whole article here: https://www.oregonwinepress.com/orange-crush

Portland Monthly Magazine Picks Love & Squalor

Portland Monthly Magazine Fall issue listed Love & Squalor Riesling Willamette Valley as one of the "50 wines you need to drink RIGHT NOW!"

WINE PICKS

The 50 Oregon Wines You Need to Drink Right Now
Eight local wine experts give their top bottle picks for every activity, from stormwatching to drinking while you cook.

LOVE & SQUALOR
2014 Sunnyside Vineyard Riesling
Willamette Valley
$48 at Avalon Wine Inc
“ACID! And not the ‘I woke up after a rave’ kind—the lean, mouthwatering, steely, brace-yourself kind. There is a bit of weight and power behind it to balance the austerity.”
Kurt Heilemann

See the whole article here

By Benjamin Tepler  9/13/2017 at 5:28pm  
Published in the October 2017 issue of Portland Monthly

90 pts for L&S SINGLE VINEYARD 2014 Temperance Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir

Just a single barrel of this designate was bottled—too bad, as it's a tasty wine with bold fruit flavors of cranberry and cherry. Baking spices and a streak of cola come through also, and this should drink nicely into the mid-2020s.

PRICE $52,  Buy Now
DESIGNATION Temperance Hill Vineyard
VARIETY Pinot Noir
APPELLATION Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon, US
WINERY love & squalor
Print a Shelf Talker Label
ALCOHOL 13.5%
BOTTLE SIZE 750 ml
CATEGORY Red
DATE PUBLISHED 4/1/2017

source: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2014-temperance-hill-vineyard-pinot-noir-eola-amity-hills

Interview with the winemaker Matt Berson talking about the single vineyards wines can be seen here

WINE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS #334 New L&S Single Vineyard Wines

click on the photo to watch the video

Episode 334: New Love & Squalor Single Vineyard Wines Pinot Noir, Riesling, and a Field Blend

Published on March 21, 2017

Matt Berson of Love & Squalor wines reached out to us to do a show about some new wines he made, and we’re happy that we were able to find a time to make it happen. He’s loved blending every wine he’s released in the past, but with these wines, he was inspired to bottle a tiny amount of single vineyard wines. There are only 25 cases of these single vineyard wines, and we’re thrilled to have their release coincide with this show. Matt has agreed to offer a 15% discount code to folks who watch the show, and you can get the discount code near the end of the episode. We taste the 2014 Sunnyside Vineyard Riesling, the 2014 Wings of Desire, the 2014 Temperance Hill Pinot Noir, and the 2014 Sunny Mountain Pinot Noir. We hope you get a chance to order a few of these before they disappear!

http://www.wineisseriousbusiness.com/?p=950

Wine Enthusiast gave Love & Squalor 2014 Temperance Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir wine 90pts read more here
 

The wines are now for sale here until we run out! 

90 pts in Vinous Review of Oregon Wines

Vinous Review

Josh Raynolds, of Vinous (WIne Reviews and Ratings) gave the 2013 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 90 points in his roundup of Oregon Wine.

We only have a few cases left of our top rated wine and are only selling direct from our site.

buy it here

Best 100 wines of 2016 says Wine Enthusiast. Guess who’s #53?!

#53

Love & Squalor 2013 Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley)

93 Points Editors’ Choice

A sensational value, this is a Pinot lover's wine, beginning with the gorgeous color of a deep red/orange sunset. Cherries, chocolate, and a light touch of orange peel elevate the aromatics and inform the well-integrated midpalate. The wine lingers gracefully through an immaculate finish.

You can buy the wine online here (click)

The article can be seen here: http://www.winemag.com/toplists/top-100-wines-2016/

WHAT?! A Rosé of Gewürztraminer? Here's a nice review...

Great Northwest Wines review of Love & Squalor 2015 A Frayed Knot Rosé of Gewürztraminer, Willamette Valley

One of the leaders of Portland’s urban wine scene, Matt Berson, finally has answered the pleas of his peeps and given them a rosé — and he chose 30-year-old Gewürztraminer from prized Sunnyside Vineyard near Oregon’s state capital. Foot-pressed fruit grown by Lucille Wisniewski and Tom Owens produces an intriguing pink that could at first look be mistaken for a Pinot Gris rosé where it not for the tropical nose of lychee, rosewater and kiwi with peach pie and honey. That exotic blend of fruit makes it way to the palate with a dry approach, picking up hints of strawberry and peach skin with a lingering finish that blends pink grapefruit with tangerine. That he tagged this #orangeisthenewrosé bodes well for a 2016 version.

Rating: Excellent
Production: 110 cases
Alcohol: 13%

By Great Northwest Wine on October 1, 201 

Great Northwest Wines Review Says We Are "Outstanding"

Great Northwest Wines latest review on our Love & Squalor 2012 Ansty Pants Riesling, Willamette Valley

You can see it here: http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/2016/10/18/love-squalor-2012-antsy-pants-riesling-willamette-valley-28/

The Portland Wine Company’s reserve-style dry Riesling continues to focus on four-decade-old Brooks Vineyard in the cooler Eola-Amity Hills, but this vintage debuts an inclusion from Sunnyside Vineyard, an even older site planted in 1971. Matt Berson’s expression from the 2012 vintage continues with the residual sugar at (0.6%), and here there’s a great presentation of acidity. Rich aromas of baked pear with cinnamon, peach pie, apricot glacéed and jasmine lead to luscious flavors of ripe white peach and dried pineapple. It’s fruity, yet capped with a touch of slate for a food-friendly finish.

Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 59 cases
Alcohol: 11%

By Great Northwest Wine on October 18, 2016  

Portland Monthly Magazine's top 50 wines

Guess who is in the top 50 wines chosen by Portland Monthly Magazine—Check out #33!
hint: Love & Squalor Riesling

http://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2016/9/13/oregon-s-50-best-wines

33. Love & Squalor

2013 Riesling. 
Willamette Valley, $20
Grapefruit zest and crabapple. Mouth-watering acidity that makes your mouth pop. Earthy. Textural and aggressive. Pair with: choucroute garnie

Here's what Great Northwest Wines says...

Great Northwest Wines gave our Love & Squalor 2013 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley a wonderful review.

You can see it here: http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/2016/09/08/love-squalor-2013-pinot-noir-willamette-valley-28/

"This vintage marks the 10th anniversary of Matt Berson’s introduction to winemaking, and his flagship wine from this rain-interrupted season illustrates a blend of nearly equal contributions from eight vineyards – led by Dundee Hills sites Winter’s Hill and Vista Hills. The choice of essentially all neutral French oak at his McMinnville winery allows for a Pinot Noir to reveal itself as a cherry bomb with secondary aromas of strawberry, plum juice and fresh fig with a pinch of herbs and shaving of dark chocolate. As a drink, it’s eminently approachable with Bing cherry and raspberry flavors that offer ripeness rather than sweetness. That feeds into a smooth and round structure capped by orange zest, Earl Grey tea and cocoa."
Rating: Excellent
Production: 1,100 cases
Alcohol: 12.9% 

By Great Northwest Wine on September 8, 2016  

Eugene Weekly reviewed us recently

LANCE SPARKS from the Eugene Weekly recently had nice things to say about our Love & Squalor 2015 Rosé of Gewurztraminer.

"...I was poking in the rosies at Sundance Wines, spotted this label, Love and Squalor picture of a string of ladies’ slips on a clothesline, thought, ‘Well, that’s me,’ grabbed up the bottle, ‘n, wow! Love and Squalor 2015 Rosé of Gewurztraminer ($17.50), very pale, almost transparent but tinted — how? I bought it — too weird not to try it ’n couldn’t get the name outta my head, took it home, yanked the cork, sipped, went online, found the Love and Squalor homepage, called, spoke directly with Matt Berson, owner-winemaker, asked him how he got any color outta green grapes. ‘It was tricky,’ he admitted. 'Gewurztraminer, when it’s ripe, has a rosey color.’ So he waited for ripeness, de-stemmed, crushed, cold-soaked the grapes for 14 days, fermented in old barrels, got some color and lots of flavor. No sugar added, bone-dry. ‘I’m pretty happy with it,’ he said. Easy to see why: got some grapefruit, flowers, acute balance, ready for food. Berson suggested pairing with paella, saying the wine brings out the saffron in the dish. Don’t know yet, but it’s sure special, even unique.”

Wine Enthusiast Reviews are in again – 93 points!

Fine winemaking is on display here...

— Paul Gregutt Wine Enthusiast June 2016

love & squalor WV Riesling 2013 - 93 Points - Editor's Choice
This packs tremendous flavor into a low-alcohol wine with moderate residual sugar. Peach pit and juice, green apple and citrusy acids start it off. The flavors keep going through a long, complex finish, adding subtle notes of herb and cut grass.

love & squalor Antsy Pants Riesling 2011 - 92 Points
Ignore the silly name and focus on the important particulars—old vine (planted 1976), wild yeast, biodynamic farming. Absolutely bone-dry yet bursting with complex minerality, citrus rind, and penetrating acidity, it has phenolics that give length, breadth and detail.

love & squalor WV Pinot Noir 2012 - 91 Points - Editor's Choice
Fine winemaking is on display here, as the blend includes grapes from six far-flung vineyards. It’s artfully melded, with brambly berries, Bing cherries, cola, cocoa and red licorice notes. Seamless and buttressed with natural acids, it’s not at all reliant on barrel flavors, having seen just 6% once-filled oak, with the rest neutral.

love & squalor Antsy Pants Pinot Noir 2011 - 91 Points
The proprietary name indicates that this is the winemaker’s reserve cuvée, a three-barrel selection mixing equal proportions of grapes from the Eola Hills, Dundee Hills and Ribbon Ridge AVAs. It’s austere, tight and yet authoritative, showing compact wild berry fruit, Mediterranean herbs and a slight saltiness. It’s best to cellar it until 2020, or give it a good long decant.

Thanks Mr. Gregut 

source: http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/love-squalor-2013-pinot-noir-willamette-valley