Although this was one of many wines tasted on NYE {notes forthcoming}, it merits getting a solo post as it was stupendous:
2009 MORNING DEW RANCH JANS CUVEE ANDERSON VALLEY PINOT NOIR- 13.6% abv; this is the 2nd and last vintage of Burt Williams MDR Pinots and is the only wine named after his first wife who passed after it had been labeled but before it was released; she loved it in barrel; 12 of the 40 areas of the ranch were planted to cuttings from the Rochioli Vineyard, “DRC” suitcase selections from adjacent vineyards, clone 23 (a clone Burt’s deceased son Fred favored), and Dijon clones 115, 777 and 828; it was made in Burt`s classic style for Pinot Noir: 5-day cold soak, ferment with 15-30 percent whole clusters using Williams Selyem’s proprietary yeast strain (isolated from the Martinelli Vineyard in 1984); punch downs are performed every six hours once fermentation starts; the wine is pressed off the skins gently and aged in new and used Francois Fréres oak barrels before being bottled unfiltered.
I`ve drunk about half of the 3 cases I bought from Burt and can say this is a very unique Pinot, unlike any other he made IMHO; most of the SVDs had a fruit profile that either represented either the lighter red fruit inclusion of strawberry and red raspberry or the mid range red cherry fruit; this covers the 3rd tier, black cherry and blackberry and does so in spades.
My notes: the color was a youthful rich and vibrant dark red purple; the nose offered a huge invitation with violets and black cherry most evident; the taste profile had generous amounts of blackberry, black cherry and black raspberry with accents of spice and fennel; it’s very complex and has layers upon layers unfolding throughout; this is serious stuff and again, IMHO, the “biggest” wine Burt made and yet it has so much finesse and charm to balance it out; this bottle was as good as any I’ve had of the stash and was absolutely fabulous. Decanted 2+ hours.
Cheers,
Blake
