Oregon aging rule of thumb

Richard_T_r_i_m_p_i · February 19, 2021, 2:50pm

Marcus,
With your love of burgundy and grower champagne, it would be just plain wrong to drink your wines early! Completely agree on your and Richards lists of makers. In that group, I have my last bottle of 1996 Evesham Wood Cuvée J standing up in my wine cellar waiting for the appropriate moment to enjoy. It is defending the younger makers you list bottles being consumed before their time.

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

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.

Great Cuvee J’s indeed. Russ Raney is missed! '93…is unsung…as is McKinlay. I simply haven’t had enough '96s to make a definitive call but have enjoyed quite a few 99s. 99 ripeness compared to 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016?

RT

Kasey_Dubler · February 19, 2021, 2:58pm

In 2019 we had 1979 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard next to a 1985 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Red Hills Vineyard. The 85 had a bit of a brett issue, but they were both still very much alive at 35 and 40 years old…

David_Patte · February 21, 2021, 1:10am

Marcus, thanks for your input and insights. Now how can I procure back vintages of your PN’s?

We did a small library sale last November, from the limited amount of wines in the early library.

I think we have a few things from that. I also promised another Berserker that I would dig around for some older Whistling Ridge the next time I am in our off-site library storage(harder to do than it sounds).

And last we have a bit of 2011 Souris that we are selling for inquiries on older wines. It’s my favorite cuvee from the vintage and the one that has really been the star of the vintage for us(2011 was the Willamette Valley’s coolest vintage on record). It is at the 10 year mark and just entering the window for drinking, but does still typically need 3-4 hours open. What it does when it blossoms is pretty magical though. Pale and pretty when it’s first opened(and occasionally a bit of bottle funk) a nice wine suddenly starts to darken and fill in with an array of autumnal atomatics and the palate just becomes more dense in a very old world way.

We’ve opened it a bit this last fall, and had one funky bottle, but the test have performed within a reasonable spread of consistency for a 10 year old Pinot Noir under cork.

And I should have added this before, but as important as vineyard, vintage, and producer are, a bottle is only as good as it’s closure…

Maddening. There’s no other way to put it. We opened a bottle of the 2011 Clover Pinot Gris two nights ago, and as I started to pull out the cork I absolutely KNEW it was going to be one of the best bottles of that wine. Arguably the nicest, firmest, most pristine 10 year old cork I have ever pulled out of one of bottles. Looked and felt like it was 6-12 months old at most. And the bottle was absolutely the best bottle of that wine I have ever opened. In the way that Usain Bolt wins races…way out in front and celebrating across the line.

Sadly, that does not happen often enough.

Late to this thread, and agree with much that has been posted. Just want to highlight Marcus’s comment about closures which have only improved in quality over time. Also storage. I have unfortunately seen a few colleagues try to save a bit (of time, effort, and cost of off-site storage) with questionable on-site storage conditions which is really a shame. (If it’s a new producer to you, ask the wine maker or TR manager and make an assessment.)

Marcus_Goodfellow · February 21, 2021, 3:18am

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

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.

Great Cuvee J’s indeed. Russ Raney is missed! '93…is unsung…as is McKinlay. I simply haven’t had enough '96s to make a definitive call but have enjoyed quite a few 99s. 99 ripeness compared to 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016?

RT

99 falls between 2008 and 2010 in my opinion. Late bloom, and modest early temps were balanced by great late season weather. Plenty of hang time in a vintage where you needed it. And modest temps for the end of season so balance was excellent. Great vintage.

Todd_Hamina · February 21, 2021, 4:38am

99 was a year that you wait to come around, then wait some more, and mainly fizzles. Mainly. Certainly a few good wines are out there. Do want to know how to keep a moron in suspense?

mmeyers · February 26, 2021, 5:23pm

Posted this in it’s own thread, but thought I’d add it here too. The Herbfarm restaurant outside of Seattle has a lot of interesting things their cellar available on their web site. Particularly for aged wine from Oregon/Washington, including many mentioned in this thread, there a number of things you just don’t have the opportunity to find that often. They’re not being given away, but several things that I thought were very fairly priced, particularly when accounting for excellent provenance.

https://store.theherbfarm.com/

MattBerto · February 26, 2021, 7:26pm

In 2010 I had an Eyrie Pinot and Chard from the 70’s, want to say 76. Both in fantastic shape.

Brady_Daniels · February 26, 2021, 10:44pm

Do you know if these are also their price on-list? I’m tempted to make the drive for our post-vaccine celebratory dinner, whenever that happens.

mmeyers · February 27, 2021, 1:09am

Hi Brady. I don’t know the answer. I’ve never been to the restaurant. Was slated to go there (and Canlis) on a trip to Seattle last May. Alas. Hope to in the future.

Marcus_Goodfellow · February 27, 2021, 6:08pm

Huh…not my experience. I enjoyed 99s quite a bit on release and mostly through the years.

But you are describing my opinions on 1998 pretty well.

Marcus_Goodfellow · February 27, 2021, 6:28pm

Thanks for posting that…$2000 later my wine budget is blown, but there are some tremendous options on wines I don’t think you’ll see anywhere else.

Some wines are a bit pricey but there are some smoking deals too.

1993 Bethel Heights Southeast Block and Flat Block were monstrously good wines. For well stored bottles to be under $100 is a find.

mmeyers · February 27, 2021, 6:50pm

Thanks for posting that…$2000 later my wine budget is blown, but there are some tremendous options on wines I don’t think you’ll see anywhere else.

Some wines are a bit pricey but there are some smoking deals too.

1993 Bethel Heights Southeast Block and Flat Block were monstrously good wines. For well stored bottles to be under $100 is a find.

That $$ number sounds familiar! Grabbed some of those Bethel Heights myself. Had a few Evesham Wood cuvée J in the $70-100 range when I purchased too. Mid 2000s Matello in the $60-70 range also a noticeably good price. Add a case discount and there are some very good prices for what you’re getting.

Marcus_Goodfellow · February 27, 2021, 7:02pm

I wish we had seen a few more of those old Evesham Wood Cuvvee J, we grabbed the 91 at just over $100.

We also hit the Brickhouse wines pretty hard, and I was really excited to get a few 2001s. It was an under rated vintage, but I haven’t had any in a few years and looking forward to seeing how the wines are holding up.

The 2005 Matello Whistling Ridge and Souris are both very good wines. The 2007, 2008, and 2012 are also a great deal, with plenty of life left to cellar longer but also both beginning to be available.

The 2012 Hommage is a steal, and a great example of my wines in 2012.

The 2004 and 2005 Hommage, are from younger vines but were quite vibrant last time I opened one.

Brady_Daniels · February 27, 2021, 8:04pm

Hi Marcus,

Never mind.

Please ignore, answered earlier in the thread.

When buying older OR pinots, are there certain vintages you’d focus on, and others you’d avoid? Or is it a wine-by-wine thing, with CellarTracker as a guide?

Brian_S_t_o_t_t_e_r · February 27, 2021, 8:10pm

I should’ve not looked at that site. Haven’t pressed checkout…yet…

David_Bu3ker · February 27, 2021, 8:17pm

Did you spot the Fritz Haag Kabinetts?

Brian_S_t_o_t_t_e_r · February 27, 2021, 8:21pm

I do now. I was just looking at the Oregon selection before. I’ll pass.

Marcus_Goodfellow · February 27, 2021, 8:36pm

Just blew the “recreational” budget at Vinopolis last week. Justifying the OR wines as research, but not looking at Austria and Germany.

Marcus_Goodfellow · February 27, 2021, 9:32pm

I wish we had seen a few more of those old Evesham Wood Cuvvee J, we grabbed the 91 at just over $100.

We also hit the Brickhouse wines pretty hard, and I was really excited to get a few 2001s. It was an under rated vintage, but I haven’t had any in a few years and looking forward to seeing how the wines are holding up.

The 2005 Matello Whistling Ridge and Souris are both very good wines. The 2007, 2008, and 2012 are also a great deal, with plenty of life left to cellar longer but also both beginning to be available.

The 2012 Hommage is a steal, and a great example of my wines in 2012.

The 2004 and 2005 Hommage, are from younger vines but were quite vibrant last time I opened one.

Hi Marcus,

Never mind.

Please ignore, answered earlier in the thread.

When buying older OR pinots, are there certain vintages you’d focus on, and others you’d avoid? Or is it a wine-by-wine thing, v with CellarTracker as a guide?

Hi Brady,

For older:

Shot in the dark but very, very good vintages: 1989, 1990, 1991 (but note that the Adelsheim Elizabeth’s often had a fair amount of Brett back then)

Select producers and wines, but among the best older Oregon wines: 1993, 1994, 1996

Not my favorite but not over the hill at all: 1998 (short crop+hot vintage=Bigger, clunkier wines with a long life and maybe a good window to come)

Unlike Todd, I like 1999s quite a bit.

Undersung: 2000 and 2001. I haven’t had these in a while but 01s were fabulous around the 7-12 year mark.

2004 and 2005: small vintages, intense wines. I like 2005 more, but the best 2004s are very, very good. 2004 was not cellared much either, so this is a rare opportunity.

Hot: 1998, 2003, 2006, and 2009

Wet: 1995, 1997, 2007, 2013

And also, there was some 2005 Matello Whistling Ridge Pinot Noir earlier. That was the first vineyard designate bottling for me ever.

Todd_Hamina · February 27, 2021, 10:44pm

Well, we do prefer different aspects to the grape.

98’s were fun on release and it seemed pointless to long haul them. 99 was heralded as a beautiful, age worthy vintage which, in my opinion, only underperformed given its accolades.

93, 10 and 17 are the shit, brother.