TN: 2004 Bethel Heights West Block Reserve Pinot Noir

WINE TALK
1

2004 Bethel heights West Block Reserve Pinot Noir
Jumping right out of the glass from the start. There’s no sign of the sluggishness I found in a recent 04 Seven Springs bottling. Sous bois with loads of minerality. Lively and nimble with midweight briar berry fruit propelled by a balanced black cherry attack. Barely detectable oak. Pleasing acidity and noteworthy mid palate intensity. There’s a long earthy finish edged by some mildly tannic friction. Smooth, seductive and relatively primary. No heat. I very much enjoyed this at the tasting room 3+ years ago. One fine bottle of Oregon Pinot and a welcome outlier in a recent string of mediocre 04s.

RT

2

Thanks for the notes. I haven’t tasted Bethel Heights before, but this certainly sounds just fine, and (again) holds out some hope that '04 OR pinots aren’t entirely for naught.

3

That’s good news Richard. Thanks

4

An excellent producer that makes a very feminine style of Oregon PN, I’ve found. (Not that there’s anything wrong with it…) I’m a fan of the Jesse James SVD.

5

Sounds great, Richard. It does not seem that there are many postings on Bethel Heights. However, the produce some very nice Pinot.

6

I think that this is a newer SVD bottling for BH. I don’t recall it prior to the '06. That being said, the '06 BH Jesse James makes my short list of the better '06 Oregon Pinots that I have tasted.

7

Oh yeah, let Hughes drive 200 miles to your house and serve him that crappy Seven Springs shtuff - then when he’s gone, break out the primo West Block Reserve [stirthepothal.gif] .

Next time, I walk past the shelf with the corked '86 Lafite and I bring the '03 Two Hands Angel’s Share Shiraz in screwcap neener .

8

Thanks for the note and the reminder that I have a couple of the 04 Casteel Reserve hiding around here somewhere, perhaps I need to check in on it.

9

Well, if at first you don’t succeed…

After carefully aging that Shiraz, you certainly deserve to savor it on your own. I won’t tell Scott. [wink.gif]

RT

10

I actually have had a couple of bottles recently (I found them when I was moving shtuff around trying to find some '89 Bordeaux), and they didn’t suck, which I guess it sort of a left-handed compliment. Still, hard to conclude that they weren’t better on release, which is not inconsistent with a lot of the over-the-top, high alcohol wines that Australia was shipping to the U.S. at the height of the boom. I wonder how many I have left (and, of course, it will be interesting to see how they perform in, I don’t know, say a blind “pinot” tasting?) [whistle.gif]

11

I’ve been looking for a way to part with an '03 Elderton Barossa Shiraz, not to mention a '76 Wyndham Estate Show Reserve.

Now if your backup happens to be a 70’s de Vogue Moose… [basic-smile.gif]

RT