During a recent visit to Anderson Valley for the Anderson Valley Pinot Festival, we spent 5 glorious days with dear friends and ate and drank quite well. We explored this beautiful valley graced with the stately coastal redwood trees, dined twice at the fine Coq au Vin in Philo and just before entering Mendocino for an afternoon walk through, lunched in Little River at Wild Fish which has magnificent oceans views to match the quality of properly prepared and served fresh [same day] caught fish and local organic produce.
The wine highlights included many of Burt Williams wines from 97 and older and his Morning Dew Ranch wines from 08 and 09 as well as wines made by his son [Seven Lions Winery] and daughter [Brogan Cellars]. There were other gems and along with the Festival itself [previously posted], this was a stellar trip.
The crème de la crème of the wines:
1992 WILLIAMS SELYEM ALLEN VINEYARD CHARDONNAY- 15.4% alc.; 100 cases made; absolutely outstanding; golden yellow in color, the glycerin like texture and lemon zest cream notes glide across the palate with such a tactile satisfaction, it made for a consummate experience; it was mentioned the 93 and 95 are even better at this stage; when I first purchased WS wines in the 80s, I only opted for the Pinot Noirs and passed on the Chardonnays and Zinfandels; little did I know of the quality and magnificence these wines had and in most cases, still have as Ive enjoyed many in the last few years; Im a little slow and I got it, the producer is all important year in, year out, varietal after varietal which has been my doctrine for many years when buying Burgundy; now, I`m on the hunt.
2009 MORNING DEW RANCH ESTATE PINOT NOIR- from Burts fabulous vineyard and the last of 2 wines he made after his 10 year non compete contract expired after he sold in 98, this was sourced from the 9 blocks and 6 clonal selections in the vineyard [Rochioli, Dijon 115 and 777, DRC, La Tache and the Swiss 23 Mariafeld]; having had a lot of this since release, it was great to find it is integrating beautifully and gaining in complexity and balance offering an abundance of spicy black cherry and berry in this full bodied beauty.
2008 MORNING DEW RANCE ESTATE PINOT NOIR- the first of 2 vintages Burt Williams made before officially retiring; the area suffered a severe electrical storm and the smoke inundated the local vineyards which picked up and expressed the smokiness that is strongly evident in this wine, especially In the nose; there`s some nice concentrated cranberry and black cherry flavors with a touch of fennel and tobacco that come together by mid palate in this medium bodied wine; early on when first tasted, I questioned how this would evolve and whether the smoke would dominate or integrate and become less significant; the answer is starting to be revealed as the smoke is much less a factor; the wine is a perfect match for anything smoked on the grill and on this day, smoked salmon.
2006 BROGAN CELLARS MY FATHERS VINEYARD SHULAS POND PINOT NOIR- 14.7% alc., made from the La Tache clone situated near the pond which is just visible from the outside upper deck of the ranch house, this was such a treat and an classic example of a Margis expertise in crafting her own wines on her own after paying keen attention for all of the years of her upbringing by her iconic father; theres no foreplay here as the aromatics jump out of the glass fully loaded with chocolate, smoke, red currant and strawberry and continue on into the mid palate and all the way through the long climatic finish.
2000 SEVEN LIONS WINERY BUENA TIERRA VINEYARD HELIO DORO BLOCK RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- 1.5L; vineyard planted in 1978; the block consists of 2.5 acres; from Burt`s son Fred, now deceased, this is a superb Pinot sourced from a vineyard Fred discovered in 1999 and Margi and Nik Stez of Woodenhead have made great wines from as well; this winner exemplifies all the good things with still youthful fresh red fruit, wood spice, mild white pepper and a touch of cola; silky smooth, with depth and complexity, it pleased all the way through to the back end with great length.
2010 WOODENHEAD VINTNERS WILEY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- theres some serious goodness here that shines throughout; it is more full bodied and complex; I not only got to taste this at the festival, but later on in the day when some of us met at Burts for a very enjoyable continuation of the Pinot Noir experience; the layers and layers of ripe, rich dark fruit abound and by mid palate, come together and explode into a new discovery that continues on to a grand finish.
2009 WOODENHEAD VINTNERS WILEY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- balance is the key word here; it has bright acidity, and may be best described as class and elegance; there`s an abundance of concentrated red and black fruit and its fine structure supports long term cellaring for the peak of maturation many years down the road; this also was tasted later on and with equally consistent notes and gratification.
1995 WILLIAMS SELYEM RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- 13.7% alc.; what a treat; this is the epitome of so many of the fine Pinots Burt made; with a light red color, but more complexity than the color would suggest, this is replete with the wonderful lightly spiced strawberry/ raspberry fruit style in the primary stage, but continue on with age and many seemingly do not disappear or move into a darker fruit profile; IMHO, this is the kind and as I remember it many years ago; I`m constantly amazed at the longevity of these wines as some say look for Pinot Noir to be consumed in 5-7 years after release; how about 18-19 years and going strong?
1997 WILLAIMS SELYEM FERRINGTON VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- 13.2% alc.; having had a lot of this wine, Im constantly pleased with the consistent quality and youthfulness this still expresses; it had a lot of rose petal perfume aromatics and more of the lighter red fruit profile, but now joined by some darker cherry and berry notes; its absolutely delicious and pure pleasure.
1992 WILLIAMS SELYEM FERRINGTON VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- from the first vintage using this fruit, this had a much darker color and fruit profile on the black cherry, black currant side with a touch of spice and sandalwood; steady, even and balanced; another amazing example of a Pinot Noir with staying power, in this case, 22 years.
We drank many fine Champagnes and other Pinot Noir and wines as well. This is my kind of trip and the journey back to Santa Barbara was done with a smile on my face which might be still apparent.
Cheers,
Blake
