I go to Littorai a couple times of year. Long-time fans should know he is back to making his “One Acre.” Had it, and it was really good.
I am an unabashed fan of most styles of pinot - from Truchot to Kosta Browne and a lot in between. I was on the Littorai list for many years in the early and mid 2000’s and attended a Littorai dinner in DC at Charlie Palmer that featured some older vintages maybe 10 years out. I liked the wines. The reason I stopped buying was that they never blossomed or gained additional complexity, even with significant time. I was buying them thinking that, as a fan of what Ted and Heidi were shooting for, they would become something special with age. But they never did. At least to my palate. They remained soft and supple with sweet perfume but with less fruit and nothing else. The Charlie Palmer dinner really demonstrated to me that there did not seem to be any particular advantage to aging these wines. I still have a few bottles left from 2004 - 2007, mainly cerise and hirsch and savoy, and each time I have opened them over the last few years has confirmed my decision not to continue to buy them.
I’ve wondered about that, especially recently Greg, but not with nearly enough data points to feel confident in an assessment. Your view on this is much appreciated!
Next time your in DC I will be glad to open a bottle or two to fill in a few data points.
I generally enjoy the Littorai Pinots, with Pivot & Haven vineyards being my personal preference. Don’t sleep on their Chardonnays. I dove into their Pinots when I first heard of them, but might actually prefer the Chards now.