I pulled this out of notes currently being prepared regarding a recent spectacular champagne/ red Burgundy luncheon. The wine was so good that it merits a separate thread as well as being an additional tribute to Burt who passed last month and also in this case, to one of his daughters, Katie, who was my guest at the luncheon:
1997 WILLIAMS SELYEM ROCHIOLI VINEYARD RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- to honor Burt and to acknowledge my guest, daughter Katie, I brought this knowing all too well it would hold up against any and all red Burgs and it did although it showed so different from what I had experienced from numerous other bottles I`ve enjoyed over the years; typically this wine has demonstrated the Pinot Noir 3rd tier fruit profile of black cherry and blackberry, but this was at the lighter end with strawberry, red raspberry and red cherry and surprisingly, a strong hit of blueberry; it was embellished with a streak of spice and a hint of cinnamon; it had a super soft texture and passed the true test of time as i went back over an hour later and it gave all of the same nuances as it did initially; it was in perfect balance and most importantly was as good as any of the Burgundy following it.
All previous bottles I’ve had here super rich, powerful and full bodied and loaded with ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit.
William, I do believe he would be proud of it. Most of the ones I’ve had were shared with him, either from my cellar or his, but if they came from his, they were in mags.
He and I would be having a conversation about how this wine has evolved and what were all of the contributing factors to its evolvement. One possibility is it’s a bottle variation and I only have 1 more bottle to test that theory. It can go, who knows, 5-10 more years?
As an aside, the fill was mid neck {see photo}with a bit more ullage than the usual= slightly below the cork. Still, this isn’t an immense amount of air.
Bottle variation is an interesting subject. Drinking old wines that were bottled barrel-by-barrel (though often after fining in barrel, which somewhat homogenizes the wine within the barrel) quite regularly, I am more and more inclined to embrace bottles that are a little bit different (the cork being the other variable in the equation) and appreciate them for what they have to say. From your note, it sounds like this somewhat higher-toned bottle was just as exciting to drink as the darker, lustier examples.
Anyway, I really hope we get to pull some corks and raise a glass to Burt together some time soon!
The subject of the 97 Rochioli reminds me of another wine I see written up from time to time: 75 Clos du Val Zinfandel. Neither wine was especially raved about at the time but each has turned out to be a masterpiece. In Bordeaux there are wines of the vintage/decade/century etc that are acclaimed at release, such as 61 Lafite, 70 Latour, 82 Petrus, 83 Margaux etc. But how often do we remark on wines ignored at release and later found to be wonderful??
The notion of bottle variation reminds of when we used to be able to buy clarets bottled in London, Bristol, Belgium, Holland etc. That ended in the late 60s, as I recall. There were some amazingly different bottlings and we always wondered why. Ridge brought in some '66 clarets that they bottled here. They thought they would be getting newish barrels but were disappointed.
I look forward to that time as well. Let me know in advance of any possible visit to this area and well make it happen. PM me and I’ll give phone and email info.
Burt always favored his 88 and 91 Rochioli as being among his best which also included 91 Summa {Believe I have the vintage right}. Every time I'd open the 97 Rochioli with him, I’d rave about how wonderful it was and Burt would just nod and agree, but after many years, he finally said, “Yes, this has to rank right up there with the best”.
And of all of his wines, I’m a BIG Allen fan as my palate took a huge shift 20 years ago and went more for grace and elegance and for Pinot Noir, the lighter red fruit profile of strawberry, red raspberry and red cherry. Allen always has the cinnamon and spice component that i just adore as well. Even the color is cinnamon red.
And your post triggered me to search my inventory, and aside from the 1 ‘91, I have 1 ‘94, 5 ‘95, and 3 ‘97.
I am happy that a I have them, and I will be sad when they are gone.
And I will toast Burt with each bottle that I open.
Correct. As an example, I had the 86` Sonoma County recently and it was comprised of a lot of Summa with some East Block and Allen. Note the Summa and Allen. Burt did blend many of the SVDs prior to singling them out. Some of that had to do with waiting for the vineyard to mature as well as some of his vineyard management suggestions to be installed.
Dang, the single vineyard designates from that era had been going for about 135 a couple months ago.
Reminds me of the David Bowie “Dark Star” clear vinyl from Barnes and Noble. One day, 29 bucks, then Bowie does and it’s suddenly a 400-500 dollar album.
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