Which specific wine was the best is not easy to decide, but the wine came either from Rhys or Littorai.
1983 Eyrie South Block Reserve, and I’ve tasted all of Eyrie’s South Block Reserves (3 would make my top five list).
Best wine = aged wine imo , when they are young , they promise to be great sometime .
Here in Belgium , we do not have access to aged Pinot from most parts of the world. No doubt there must be great ones from Oregon , Washington , New Zealand etc.
But I once went to the 3-star restaurant German Swartzwaldstube where they served a (for me) totally unknown Pinot from the seventies . It was mindboglingly good . Likie a Chambertin : pure finesse with lot’s of power . Unfortunately , I forgot the name . The restaurant , btw , was fantastic too .
2001 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir
I have to agree with some of the Eyrie wines. I would also add 91 Panther Creek Beaux Freres (I think that was the last year Beaux Freres sold fruit to other people), some of the older Ponzi wines, and likely the 92 DDO Laurene. I tasted most of these about 10 years ago, but they all stuck with me.
1980 Chalone at about 22 yrs old. Next would be the '93 Williams Selyem Allen Vd at about 13 yrs old.
For now it’s Rochioli, but I hope in a few years years it’s going to be Ryhs
Rachel, as I’m sure your aware that is a picture of me, I would appreciate if you either took it down or at least gave me credit for “being a good boy”
I’m also biased to NZ Pinots, when young. That said i’ve had very few that have matured into a thing of beauty (and I’ve had many aged examples of the top producers).
I’m going to go with a 1991 Williams Selyem Summa Vineyard, bought from the wineries library stock and opened earlier this year at 23 years of age. Just beautiful, and not attempting to be anything but the best possible expression of Sonoma Coast Pinot that it could be. I woulg give a tie top second to some 1980s (wish i had noted the vintage) Hanzell and Eyrie.
This.
Williams Selyem Rochioli from the late 1980s
Craig, sorry, I should give credit where credit’s due. But I also think I need to change my avatar to something new. Working on some ideas right now.
For me, no pinot noir I’ve ever had–from outside of Burgundy-- beats the Alsace pinot noir from Barmer-Buecher in Alsace labeled “Vielles Vignes” (they make a “reserve”, too). In Alsace, even if made from a grand cru vineyard (this one is from the grand cru Hengst) it cannot be labeled “grand cru”. Their holding started from cuttings from Dom. D’angerville of Volnay, in the 1950s. It is not a copy of Burgundy, per se…but has the same level of class in most vintages. (I’ve had many).
I served a 2001 at Thanksgiving 2014. My note, FWIW, ’
11/14: Thanksgiving. Delicious ,succulent pinot noir…Burgundian? maybe not, but…not that far away. Good core of black fruits on the palate Very clean and long and plump. At age 13, it will still last and maybe develop complexity for another 7-8 years. Tannins evident, so…give it some time to show its durability. (a little suflphur on the tart, lively finish, too)
I was very impressed by Muré PN during a visit there a few years ago.
pinot noir vorbourg grand cru clos st landelin
Old = Eyrie Vineyards (OR)
Young = Bell Hill (NZ)
Honorable mention for value = Hamilton Russell (South Africa)
Holy cow! That’s right about what I was going to say. Maybe a couple years earlier.
At Solano Cellars in ~1990, they tasted an Eyrie and a Ponzi Reserve that filled my brain with scent and wowed my palate. It was jaw dropping.
1980 Chalone Pinot Noir.
Holy crap Rachel! You’re a girl of diverse tastes for sure. You went from an avatar of classic beauty to . . . this! ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
It’s completely disgusting. I hope you keep it for a while. One of the funniest things I’ve seen on this board.
Even made a thread about Pinot Noir entertaining!
As for me, I guess the best PNs I’ve had are from Austria/Hungary. But then again I’ve only had a single Burgundy that would rank among the most memorable wines I’ve ever had, so it’s not such a big deal.
Easy: Williams-Selyem Rochiolo Vineyard 1996. I’ll never forget it.
Hanzell, Chalone, and Eyrie from the '70s and early '80s