Originally published in Oregon Wine Press November 2006

Tasting 20-Year-Old Pinots for Classic Auction

BY FRED ARMSTRONG

Old age, they say, is only a state of mind. But they, whoever they are, must agree that old age in wine is a reality. How many times have you opened an older bottle of wine only to find that what you once regarded as a treasure now resembles something you would put on a salad? On the flip side, how many times have you opened an older wine to find that the once vibrant fresh fruit had evolved into a harmonious and complex masterpiece? Recently I experienced a bit of both.

The Classic Wines Auction, held annually in March at the Oregon Convention Center, is one of the largest charity wine auction events not only in Oregon, but in the United States. Since 1982, the Classic Wines Auction has helped raise $13.6 million dollars for children and family charities.

I was recently honored to be one of five wine professionals invited to evaluate 11 older Oregon Pinot Noirs donated to the Classic Wines Auction. I, along with Lisa Shara Hall, Ken Collura, Cameron Nagel and Jeff Groh, met at The London Grill to taste these Oregon Pinot Noirs dating from 1982 to 1985.

The common perception among many consumers is that Oregon Pinot Noirs are best from youth to maybe seven or eight years. After all, Pinot Noir as a varietal is a thin-skinned grape and does not produce as much tannin as, say, Cabernet Sauvignon.  However, Pinot Noir usually has a higher acid level than Cabernet and acid acts as a preservative much like tannin.

Of course, for any wine to reach its optimum point of ageability, proper storage is crucial. It was obvious by the condition of these wines that they were stored in a good cellar, and that was confirmed by the staff from the
Classic Wines Auction.

The tasting began with a 1982 Amity Winemaker’s Reserve Pinot Noir. Amity’s Myron Redford has been making Oregon Pinot Noirs since 1974 in a light, elegant and ageable style. For a wine 24 years of age, this Pinot Noir showed a vibrant color with a fruit focus on the nose. The lean, developed fruit held its own ground with the earth-like notes to make a balanced wine that had a good acid structure. While some may say this wine is a little past its peak, it certainly is not yet over the hill.

We then tasted a series of five wines from the 1983 vintage, beginning with the Ponzi Reserve. This Pinot Noir displayed a more developed brick orange color than the wine from the previous vintage. The nose also displayed less intensity and the fruit was a little more fragile. There was, however, a nice spicy streak in the wine with lively acid and a touch of tannin remaining.

The most youthful wine of the tasting was the 1983 Rex Hill Archibald Vineyard Pinot Noir. Several years ago the Archibald Vineyard was purchased by Archery Summit and is now known as Arcus Vineyard. While there was a hint of a brick color at the rim of the glass, the wine was still dark at the core.

The notes of dark fruit were fairly subtle on the medium-bodied wine that shone with cola, fennel and well-balanced spice. A few of us were surprised at some of the younger characteristics of  such a mature wine and felt many modern Pinot drinkers would appreciate this bottling.

Unfortunately, the remaining three wines from 1983 did not fare quite as well. While the Peter F. Adams and Forgeron (not to be confused with the Forgeron winery from Walla Walla) had pretty much faded, the 1983 Knudsen-Erath Pinot Noir displayed a tomato juice-like odor of volatile acidity.

Known for being the father of Oregon Pinot Noir, David Lett makes elegant structured wines that are built to stand the test of time, and his 1984 Eyrie Reserve is no exception. My favorite wine of the tasting, the nose was very subtle but there was a full intensity of bright fruit and acid on this rather lean style wine. My only complaint is that the finish fell off a little earlier than I would have liked, but the acid component lingered on.

The final four wines were from the 1985 vintage. Unfortunately, the 1985 Knudsen-Erath Vintage Select Pinot Noir shared a similar fate as its 1983 predecessor. Also not faring well was the now defunct Veritas Pinot Noir. The 1985 still had firm tannins, but the fruit had all but faded away. Only the 1985 Adelsheim and Eyrie showed some signs of liveliness.

The Adelsheim was a bit disjointed with brambly notes, sharp acid and chunky tannins, but still had some characteristics that many people would find enjoyable. More polished was the 1985 Eyrie Pinot Noir. This wine had developed notes of earth and truffles with a core of black cherry and a surprising tannic grip.

Much of the conversation revolved around how some of the wines would show better if they were paired with certain types of food. While the test of time had been kinder to some than to others, it was certainly a pleasure to experience every one of these wines. After all, it is not everyday that one gets to taste a series of 20-plus-year-old Oregon Pinot Noirs.

For more information about the Classic Wines Auction and the opportunity to bid on these 20-plus-year-old Oregon Pinot Noirs, please contact http://oregonwinepress.com/index.php?pr=November_Edit_6 or http://oregonwinepress.com/index.php?pr=November_Edit_6.

Fred Armstrong is the wine director at In Good Taste in downtown Portland.