Sorry to say I’m bad at writing tasting notes - I have a hard time doing it even for the Zenith wines. Last Saturday night we had the 3rd annual Zenith winemaker dinner where the ten winemakers who source fruit from our vineyard get together to taste their 2010 barrel samples and their 2009 wines.
At dinner I presented a vertical I had been saving for 20 years, Ponzi Reserve Pinots from 1990 to 96. The Ponzi 20th Anniversary wine from 1990 was my Oregon wine epiphany back in the day. In 1991, we went to a winemaker dinner at Crabtree Kittle House in Chappaqua, NY where Dick Ponzi, wearing a tweed jacket and hush puppies, presented the 20th anniversary Ponzi Pinot. It was an eye-opener then and started me on a path that ultimately resulted in the purchase of the O’Connor vineyard and the creation of the Zenith wines. Thus, it was and remains an important wine for me.
All of the wines were purchased on release and held in my temperature controlled cellar since release. We popped and poured, with no decanting. All were wonderful with the exception of the 1991 which seemed bretty to me. The 1990 is still singing and to my palate showing no signs of being over the hill. It’s a good thing when your wine epiphany wine doesn’t actually suck.
My favorite was the 1993 which was massive and impressive. According to Luisa Ponzi who was there, 1993 was the first vintage she produced. It just reinforces my view that great Pinot Noir from Oregon certainly has a payoff for cellaring for extended times. Sadly, all of the other 11 bottles of these seven cases are long gone. Wish I had saved (or purchased) more.
Some of you board members who were there, Todd, Vincent, Mark; would appreciate you doing the tasting notes more justice than I did.
Tim, how was the 25th Anniversary Ponzi Reserve from '95 holding up? I bought some of that (long gone, unfortunately) and was roundly ridiculed by a friend because of the dilute vintage. I thought it was lovely in its youth.
Hey Bob, the 1995 was one of the stars. It was surprisingly dark for that vintage and some said it was their favorite. Mark Vlossak contributed a 1995 Seven Springs which was also terrific. I remember writing off 1995 early on but the vintage put on weight and I now find it quite impressive (including a 1995 Beaux Freres I had not long ago).
The Ponzi 20th Anniversary was, I believe, mostly from the first crop of Beaux Freres vineyard. A few years ago I lucked into a purchase of several cases of '90-'94 Oregon pinot, and it included six bottles of this wine. I’ve opened five of the six, and all have been fantastic. In an attempt to combine two topics, I wonder if the '90 Ponzi 20th Anniversary represents the style we would have seen from Beaux Freres had Mike Etzel’s brother-in-law not been involved…
The '93 Reserve is my all-time favorite Ponzi pinot. But then again, 1993 is my all-time favorite vintage for Oregon pinot, so no surprise there!
Tim, thanks for the recap. I didn’t take notes and a week out, shouldn’t pretend otherwise. But I always have thoughts.
The 1990 was incredible. Perfumed, rich, lovely with room to age further. The 1991 was old to my senses. The 1992 was from a hot vintage and as I was sitting between Luisa Ponzi and Mark Vlossak, I heard lots about how that was the earliest vintage on record. Picking apparently started in late August. How was this hot vintage wine holding up? Tremendously. Warm and a bit roasted, sure, but younger than its years would suggest. The 1993 and 1996 don’t stick out in my mind, though I remember liking the '93. The 1994 seemed a bit old and dull, like many '94s have been a decade and more past the vintage. The 1995 I had a few years back and it was good then and really good still. Lighter, lacking concentration but that’s kind of a good thing. Nice length, everything in its place, just turned down in volume. A wine people might overlook next to heavier hitters. I found it delightful.
Tim, thanks again for generously opening these wines. Especially since the winemaker for many of them was right there. Great, great night.
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