Your message is easily read loud and clear Anton and I appreciate it immensely.
Wish I had more experience with WS wines…but I do totally remember an amazing 96 Allen you brought to Rutherford Grille Doc, and we met Roy Piper and I think Aaron Pott? THE wine that sent me into the elegant translucent redded fruits spectrum on wines! Amazing stuff you made there Burt…may you RIP! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I shall have to seek out one of Burt’s vintages on Winebid. Was his last vintage 1999?
I think 1997.
That was a great bottle of Allen indeed. I have never seen the vineyard but man, so many fine glasses from that fruit and Burt’s gentle hand.
RIP to a true legend.
Blake, thanks for the great stories.
A year ago Anton D generously brought both '95 and '97 WS Allen pinots to my house and they were sensational and amazingly youthful. It was hard to pick a favorite. Anton is right that '97 was his last vintage at WS. I’ve had some of the Morning Dew wines (he only made it himself for a couple years IIRC) and one in particular was mind boggling (maybe the '98). What a magical hand the man had with Pinot Noir.
I never met him, but Burt certainly helped me connect with people who I value knowing through our common experience with his wine.
I still have some of Burt’s wines in my cellar from 91, 94, 95, and 97 (including my favorite Rochioli Vineyard bottlings) and I am always amazed at how his wines have aged so well and are still going strong! I fondly remember my one visit to the winery many years ago and meeting him before he sold…a great visit. What a master.
I am not sure if you have ever written about just what approaches and techniques Burt used to craft such consistently beautiful and long aging Pinot Noirs, particularly given the time period when these wines were being made and what a pioneer he was. If not, and in light of the time you spent discussing wine and wine-making with him, it would be fascinating to hear. Many of us have read about how he was just making wine he liked to drink, but that really doesn’t say much about how he created these very special wines from vineyard to bottle. I can’t imagine there are any proprietary secrets at this point.
Rob, You have stated a bit more succinctly the same sentiment I was trying to convey with my story. But agree 100 %
Although my wine discovery started with Mondavi Reserve with To Kalon Fruit, the first personal connection and truly emotional experience with wine was with Williams and Selyem. I felt almost like a infant who had learned well how to crawl, but was now taking his first real steps.
I was going to mention folks should do dual offlines on each coast to honor the man and his glorious wines. I see someone has already stepped up on the West Coast and for that I am thrilled. As generally there are less folks arranging offlines on the east coast I will put one together either in Ct my homestate or NYC wherever I can assemble a nice little group.
Thank you Burt for all the wonderful wines over the past few decades. You will never be forgotten.
- The sale was in March 1998, so the wines from 97
which were already in barrel were finished by Bob Cabral. Burt stayed in the background and could not get involved, but thankfully, the product was pretty much in place and the 97s showed and still show beautifully. The Rochioli was the star of the vintage, but all shined to one high degree or another.
RIP.
I was just introduced to his Pinot Noirs a couple months ago. And went back to buy more.
I had one of the lesser 97s a decade or so ago and the clarity and freshness were really exhilarating. It was a SV wine and I can’t recall which.
Talk about your exit songs.
Burt made 2 vintages of Morning Dew Ranch, 08 and 09. The 08 was inundated with smoke from the lighting strike induced fires nearby and there was and still is a huge amount of smoke taint. The 09 was superlative and also a very different wine then from the earlier days in that it was a huge extract and offered the dark end of the Pinot Noir fruit profile, black cherry/ berry. It’s still not ready and probably will go 30 + years at least.
Robert, I can contribute a lot to your request, but first suggest you read the link provided above in the post from William Kelly. It really provides a lot of Burt`s commitment to excellence as he personally discovered it on his own and mastered it by just paying attention, working with the growers and wanting to do the right thing. How cool is that?
I`m so very grateful to all of you who have expressed sympathies. Upon first notice, I felt a huge loss, but it did not take too much time to realize there really isn’t any loss but all gain. I have gained so much joy and happiness from having a dear friend and sharing fun times, as well as challenging ones, to forge a treasured relationship that will survive all forms of physical transition. I have gained an extended family that I shall revere forever. I have gained an immense amount of fond memories of special occasions, many that have been captured in photo albums and all in my heart. I have gained a cellar full of a legacy that each bottle will remind and honor all of this. Cheers
Blake, I meant to type '08, not '98, but upon your response it was likely the '09 that blew me away. This was about 2 years ago.
I have a transcript of my interview with Burt that goes into a lot more technical details, too, which I’d be happy to post if there is interest.
Got it and you’re right, it had to be the 09or you would know the smoke issue of 08 which shall be there until days end.
Please do William. I also have some and a whole lot more history, but it’s so lengthy, I hesitate to include it in this thread. Perhaps I can initiate another one just for that purpose. Probably need to talk to one of the adminstartora as to how to best do that.
I’ll follow your lead!