Hope my palate doesn’t change to mirror yours anytime soon…except for the champagne 
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2x+ more cases of OR Pinot and approx 5 cases of OR Chard.
RT
Just wait, you’re still a youngster!
I really, really hope 20 years is reasonable for quality Oregon Pinot. I’ve got 86 cases of it, plus Walter Scott futures, Patricia Green library releases and Berserker Day purchases pending shipment.
I don’t enter purchases until arrival because it’s not a problem if I don’t see the number…
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It’s funny, but after Rick’s comment I had to check CT to see where I stood - I have (with the caveat that my CT inventory is not 100% accurate and almost definitely understates the Chardonnay) twice as much Oregon Pinot as Chardonnay. That’s because my consumption of Oregon wines is 60% Chardonnay, so I buy it and drink it - for some wines like Walter Scott’s Le Combe Verte, I don’t even bother entering them into inventory, assuming I’ll blow through the case in relatively short order ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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I have a similar issue with champagne…
Low representation in the cellar for many years, almost completely because we drink it routinely. It took a semi-Herculean effort to get ahead of the depletion…
Based on the fantastic bottle of '94 Eyrie South Block I had on Saturday night (and several others from the 80s/90s), I’d say some great OR Pinots can age for 30 years and still be drinking extraordinarily well.
-4-8 years is like a no look pass. Can’t go wrong. Some will be more interesting later, but by volume not all ORPN, and by producer there’s about 40 that you’ll love later.
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- own rooted vines are usually from the 80’s and early 90’s. So the difference is vine age. Most folk do not plant own rooted vines anymore, unless they are broke and we don’t see that newcomer too much either.
Late to this thread, but I can echo the general advice. The ability of Oregon Pinot Noir to age has only grown over the years. That said, I’ve had a bunch of '80s and '90s wines at 20+ years old and many were fully alive and worthy, so perhaps our old estimates were too conservative. At this point, 2005 was 16 years ago and the wines from that vintage - just as an example - should be holding well from many producers. I generally figure wines need a few years in bottle to relax and truly show themselves, then 10-20 years past vintage is an ideal zone to get mature but still fully intact and fresh wines. Beyond that it’s more variable but if I saw a 1999 Pinot even at 22 years old I’d expect it to be in its prime generally. Hard to believe '99s are that old already but here we are.
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Perhaps this will help:
Last year, I went through a ‘93-‘06 vertical of McKinlay, many of which were special selection or svd, and let me tell you they were fantastic! Big fan of Oregon pinots and think their aging ability is up there with the best of them.
We have a few 2010 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve bottles left and opened one for Valentine’s dinner at the house on Sunday. I can guarantee you it was perfect and showed no signs of a decline in the near future. Excellent representation of what Oregon pinot should be.
One exception that comes to mind was literally one of my favorite wine drinking experiences ever.
A few years ago when a friend, now a head winemaker in the valley, was living with his wife in the house at Seven Springs Vineyard, we went rummaging through the old cellar below the stairs during a get together. The new owners had previously given the all clear to raid the cellar, so this was with permission. We saw a shiner of Pinot that had a piece of masking tape on it which read, in full, “1983 AV SSV No Oak.” We interpreted this as meaning it was a bottle of 1983 Pinot from SSV that Adelsheim had fermented and raised in stainless. It probably hadn’t been moved since 83, which was, coincidentally, when the WV AVA was created and a pretty good vintage, to boot.
Did we feel a little guilty about opening this small piece of history?
Nope.
It was delicious, ethereal wine. Pristine. Didn’t taste any older than 5 years. Silky smooth, bright fruited and zippy acidity. One of the best WV Pinots I’ve ever had. The setting didn’t hurt.
All this to say, WV wines can definitely age if stored well.
Edit: I have the year wrong. I looked back through my pics and the year was 87.
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If that '87 was good, you have the exception that proves the rule. It was a pretty bad vintage.
I’ve certainly had over-the-hill bottles from older Oregon vintages, but I consider that par for the course with older wines in general. If the winemaking and vintage support it, Oregon can and does produce wines that “go the distance” at least as far back as Oregon has history.
Cheers,
fred
I recall that was all Temperance Hill fruit (and the label does state that). It was unusual for Temperance to be the core source for Cuvee J in that era and it is an interesting exercise to taste the '96 with other vintages from the '90s if you have them. '96 is my favorite Oregon vintage from the '90s, with maybe the '99 next. There are some great Cuvee J’s from that era.
Cheers,
fred
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Hi Fred, in your experience is there something common in ageworthy vintages? Are they the highly rated, generally warm ones?
No, the opposite for my tastes. I look for vintages that have good acidities to carry them. Those typically aren’t the ripest vintages. Acids give structure and also tend to keep the berry fruit in the wine as the autumnal notes fill in. At this point, I will start to digress into green notes (ripeness problems), stem (and seed) ripeness, rot, mildew, and all of the other things that can screw up a specific harvest to vinification in an otherwise “good” year but that’s the basic thing I look for in a vintage.
I think of '99 in Oregon as a riper '96. Time will tell whether I ultimately prefer the '99s but my best experiences thus far have been with the '96s (out of the '90s).
Cheers,
fred
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Agree with comments above that rules of thumb are hard to establish. I’ve had only a few aged Oregon wine experiences that may or may not be relevant. But here they are:
1- 1998 Chehalem Stoller Vineyard Pinot Noir (consumed in 2020)- a spectacular bottle in wonderful shape: Community Tasting Note - 1998 Chehalem Pinot Noir Stoller Vineyard - CellarTracker
2- 1989 Eyrie Vinyards Estate Chardonnay (consumed in 2020)- library release purchased from SommSelect. Very unusual, definitely for those who appreciate older wines, but really fantastic; 1989 The Eyrie Vineyards Chardonnay, USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills - CellarTracker
3- 1999 St Innocent Pinot Noir (unknown single vineyard, consumed in 1999)- the St. Innocent assistant winemaker did a tasting at a local wine shop here in Connecticut and brought along a 1999 Pinot in magnum, unfortunately I don’t remember the vineyard. Unfortunately, the wine was almost completely gone, very vinegar-y, not tasty at all. I really have loved some St. Innocent wines (especially Chards), but this bottle was completely gone.
Fun thread. A couple of recent wines for data points:
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1994 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (2/18/2021)
Great cork and fill. This was an old wine. Brownish color. Cedar and cinnamon notes dominate, with some dried tertiary fruit notes. Some tea and earth notes mixed in. No off putting flavors—but best years clearly behind. Got a bit better with air then faded quickly. (88 pts.) -
1995 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Brickhouse Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (1/27/2021)
This was much more youthful and vibrant than expected. Clearly well stored, perfect fill and cork. Minimal bricking with dark crimson color. Energetic nose with some cedar and earthy spice notes. Dark cherry on the palate, still with rather youthful fruit profile. Lengthy finish of cherry, underbrush and cinnamon. Wow. Stunning wine, was not expecting anything this vibrant and youthful. Quite elegant and seamless at this stage but will continue to evolve. (94 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Very interesting contrast. I think the '94 was a much “riper” forward vintage? Clearly didn’t age as well.
The '95 was discussed in its own thread: TN: 1995 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Brickhouse Vineyard -- Wow! Stunning wine! - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
I opened a 1993 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve last summer, and still have one bottle left. Here’s my note from June:
Poured in a Grassl Cru glass and followed over the course of the afternoon. Bottle was standing for a month prior to let fine sediment settle, did not decant.
Ruby and translucent in color with minimal bricking. There is so much going on in this wine. It starts with a seductive and complex nose of dried rose petals, dried raspberries and cherries, iron, beef blood, espresso powder, potting soil, and touch of mushroom. Concentrated and intense dried raspberries, cherries, plum, and sous bois dominate on the palate, held in focus by vibrant acidity and well-integrated supple tannins.
This wine is fully mature and probably drinking at peak now. Everything is in harmony and I’m impressed how well the fruit has kept all these years. I believe this has at least a decade of life left before starting to fade.
Great to see the note on the 95 Brickhouse. 94 kind of put the Willamette Valley on the map, but it was a riper vintage. Late spring, small crop, beautiful fall.
95 was the first of three “off” vintages. I’ve had beautiful wines from each of the vintages but conditions were tough. Especially in 95 and 97.
Also, Brickhouse uses quite a bit of whole cluster today. I don’t know whether Doug did in 1995, but some of your descriptors seem like perhaps he did.
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Hi Fred,
Always good to see your posts. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in Mac.
I’m with on 96, and probably on 99 for second. There were a group of dynamite 93s as well. Cristom Reserve, Drouhin Laurene, Cameron Abbey Ridge, and Bethel Heights SE Block.
Some really great wines were made in the 90s though. McKinlay Special Select from 91 and 99 were special bottles, and it was a 91 Adelsheim Seven Springs that turned me on to how much I liked the local wines.