Wine & Spirits Riesling Resurgent Article features winemaker Matt Berson

From Wine & Spirits Magazine August 2016

Riesling Resurgent
by David Schildknecht

pg 47. "...That Seestedt’s Sunnyside success isn’t some winemaking tour de force is demonstrated not only by his familiar claim to have done as little “making” as possible, but also by the equally vibrant and infectiously juicy 2014 Sunnyside Riesling crafted by Seestedt protégé and former restaurant manager Matt Berson under his Love & Squalor label. Berson, who also works adeptly with the fruit of Richard Cuddihy’s 1971 planting, ferments and raises multiple tiny lots according to differing protocols, one possible explanation for the satisfying complexity of his results. Another intriguing piece of the Sunnyside puzzle—assuming you’re puzzled that riesling this good comes from a place of which few riesling-lovers have heard—is that the vines are trained with so-called Pendelbogen arches, a method that promotes sap distribution and efficient picking, as well as depresses must weights, which might nowadays be advantageous."

The article can be downloaded here

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

Wine Enthusiast Reviews Are In!

“Fine winemaking is on display here...”

— Paul Gregutt Wine Enthusiast June 2015

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.

link to them here

Thanks Mr. Gregutt

Portland Monthly: "Oregon's 50 Best Wines" 2014

THE GRAPEVINE

Oregon's 50 Best Wines 2014

It takes a village to taste and rank more than a thousand bottles of wine. Luckily, we’ve got lots of friends.

Published Sep 26, 2014, 8:04am

Edited by Allison Jones

Gone are the days of the wine critic’s monopoly on taste. Here in Oregon, nuance is king, oddball wines are winning, and old-school winemakers are defying expectations with lighter, more eclectic styles. For this year’s annual blind tasting of Oregon’s wide world of wine, we rallied 13 of our favorite grape-stained wretches to uncork more than a thousand bottles. The results were clear: great wine is great wine, regardless of hue, price, or region. We were so pleased and surprised with our final ranking that this year we decided not to divide our list by category, but by ranking alone. So in celebration of Oregon’s new era of grape diversity, we raise a glass to 17 varietals from around the state in a single list, allowing the pinot noir to entwine with the pinot blanc, the Riesling with the tempranillo, the merlot with the Melon de Bourgogne. It is a true democracy of wine, and it’s time you added your palate to the chorus

29. Love & Squalor
2011 Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, $24 

97 Food-friendly and easy-drinking, this fresh, vibrant bottle is your go-to for a weeknight dinner with friends.

“What I love about Matt Berson’s wines are their simplicity. He works with the varietals he loves, and he’s consistent. That’s the trick in my book, and that’s what makes his wines so versatile.”—Sarah Egeland (sommelier, Smallwares)