After having talked to Burt and daughter Margi, I went for a lot of the 08. Margis comment was this was the best of all of the 08` that was smoke affected and it is lessened by decanting the wine in advance and dissipates more in time allowing for the beauty of the wine to take over. I trusted this to purchase a few cases.
BTW, he will only be doing 2 vintages and then out. The 09 will be his last offering and as stated above, those who purchase the 08 will have a priority for the it… Most of the fruit from his vineyard will go to Williams Selyem.
Based solely on the 1993 Williams Selyem “Sonoma Coast” Pinot I had tonight (no fruit left but very interesting aromatics and riveting texture…just sublime and a dead ringer for Burgundy…and 13.3%) this could well be one to covet.
I ran across a 2005 Whitcraft Morning Dew Ranch Pinot in Santa Barbara last fall (no idea why such an relatively old wine was on the shelf) for $25 so I took a shot at it. It was simple but had some allure.
Im constantly amazed and delighted at the longevity, depth and balance Burts older wines are still showing even from 750s. He opens up mags of these wines and they are unbelievably youthful and vibrant. Waiting to open up a 94` Allen probably on my special birthday next year.
The 05` Whitcraft was from the early sourcing from this vineyard and very young vines.
This is a tough pass for me. I have always loved Burt’s wines and admired his skill. I was so excited to hear he was back and even more excited to receive his mailed offering yesterday. I have no doubt he has pared down the '08 wine being offered to only those bottles that will show the least smoke taint. And I am sure the wines are exactly as described following aeration, etc. Yet Burt’s skill is in allowing the pinot fruit to show through with minimalist intervention, which I think is the antithesis of even mild smoke taint. Ordinarily I would still have purchased a few bottles of such out-of-character (for Burt) wine, knowing what would be coming in the future. But with only one vintage ('09) in that future, I am going to have to pass. I am really saddened by this, and by the report that Burt is done as a winemaker after the release of his '09. What a huge loss for all lovers of his wine.
This mostly sums up my thought process on the offer as well. If, however, for some reason I am still offered the 09’s then I would likely be a buyer if only for sentimental reasons.
When tasting at Williams Selyem last month, Mark mentioned they are doing a collaboration with Burt on Morning Dew fruit … I think this may just be a one-off. But it will be a special bottling of some kind. A real shame the separate Morning Dew bottling will be two vintages. Some really nice wines from that vineyard. I’ve really dug what Woodenhead has made from them.
Really? He is only making 2 vintages? Is this for sure?
Do you know why he would return to wine making after his non-compete expires, and then give it up after 2 vintages?
I have been waiting for Burt’s return to wine making for several years, so this is disappointing, and i would be less interesting in buying 08 wines that I would have to work with to “lessen” their smoke taint just to get first access to his 09’s when he is not planning to make any more wine after that.
I would love to know more about what the story is.
Evidently, Burt had a lot of issues with the harvest and the finishing of the wines and felt it was too demanding to continue on, plus the stellar offer from WS to purchase a majority of his fruit. I would have to think that the passing of his wonderful wife Jan earlier this year had some influence on his decision as well.
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