1999 Pinot Noirs

This is a placeholder in order to group all of the 1999 pinots that we're hoping to taste over the next few weeks. Lots of Ken Wrights, a few Siduri's, a Littorai, a Flowers, a couple of Talley's, all of those wines that I was buying 4 years ago! (And some of which I still do purchase...)

• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir McCrone Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  (1/16/2006)

  (from 375) Sweet! This wine had nice, sweet aromas of fruits and earth, with redder (cherry) notes on the palate. Has that characteristic McCrone metallic note that I always seem to have strong feelings about - sometimes good, sometimes bad - today okay. Good acidity, but still a bit tannic-ly fuzzy - should clear up given a year or two, I think. (Note afterwards: did clear up a bit after half an hour...) I liked this wine "above average" for a Ken Wright McCrone.

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Canary Hill Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (1/17/2006)

  Higher pitched fruit (clean cherries and strawberries) than the McCrone from last night, as well as a tiny bit of smoky earth; relatively simple (also compared to the McCrone) and still slightly unresolved w.r.t. it's tannins. I have always appreciated the subtlety and sincerity of this wine, but at 6.5 years past the vintage, I'm wondering if it's got the stuffing to last as does the more resolved McCrone. Is this one "enough of a wine to make it *and* improve? Don't get me wrong - it's a good drink now and it's not going to go bad or anything like that - but I'm a bit doubtful that it's trajectory is anything other than level. Next time, I'll decant for an hour prior to drinking.

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Arcus 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (1/18/2006)

  Opens with an immediate, spicy dark red fruit sense that rivals the McCrone from 2 nights ago, but with the tannin and acidity of the Canary Hill.
  
  After 45 monutes, there's a more pronounced bing cherry taste, as well as a larger sense of pinot earth.
  
  That said, the wine doesn't seem to have the personality of either the Canary Hill or the McCrone. It's hard to think that the sum of the parts doesn't add up to the whole, but there's something that's less together about this wine than about the other two.

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• 1999 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Beaux Frères Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Yamhill County

  (1/19/2006)

  Opens nicely, but quickly closes down for about half an hour. After that, a nice nose of earth and stewed red fruits, with tastes of the same, particularly cherries. Good mid-palate, but the length seems shorter than the taste would seem to warrant.
  
  This is my favorite of the 3 BF that I've tasted in the past few weeks (the '97, '98, and '99) and it makes an interesting contrast to the 3 '99 Ken Wright's that we've had over the past 3 nights, which were much more ethereal in their experiences, but (remarkably) no less concentrated. That said, I can't say that I prefer any of the BF to the Ken Wright's, and at almost twice the price, it seems out of whack.

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• 1999 Siduri Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (1/20/2006)

  (Note added 2 days late) The acid is present, the tannins are resolved, and the wine, while clearly pinot, is red fruit simple rather than complex. It shows no sign of decline, which surprised me a bit, but has (from memory) cleared out and settled down a bit from a previous bottle, probably a year or so ago.
  
  This wine was an interesting switch from the '99 Ken Wrights of the past few days. This wine is more straightforward, more "up front" about it's ambitions, and quite good tasting, and yet I found that I was less protective of my final sips than I would have been with any of the Ken Wright wines. (In retrospect, that's a bit surprising given the "score", but perhaps this wine should have had 2 scores - a "91" for the first glass, and an "87" - out of disinterest - for the last glass...)

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• 1999 Littorai Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (1/22/2006)

  An interesting counterpoint from the '99 Siduri Hirsch a few days ago. Whereas that one is clear as a bell and resolved, this one is still a bit diffuse. (It was a lot diffuse upon opening, but settled after 45 minutes...) Whereas that one was fruity and simple (in a good but simple way) this one is earthy and complex, and there is some sort of roasted coffee/earthy thing going on. Whereas the Siduri had a relatively short finish to pair with it's clear fruit, this one is quite viscous and has a finish that lingers for 30 seconds.
  
  This one reminds me of the Ken Wright Canary Hill, but pumped up a notch, with more of everything. I really liked this wine, and it's my favorite of the 1999 pinots - so far.

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  (1/23/2006)

  Relatively thin and tart, unlike the other '99 Ken Wright's that we've had over the past weeks. Judgement reserved until the next bottle.

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Nysa Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (1/24/2006)

  I liked this one more than either the '99 Canary Hill (which seemed a bit more unresolved) or the '99 Carter (from yesterday, which was faulty, and hence probably not relevant...) This wine was open for business, if a bit unfocused, with riich tastes and aromas of flowers and red fruit, something that I found lacking in the Canary Hill. This wine also had a better length than all of the other KW's from the past few weeks, and a palate-lingering quality - not quite length, but lingering. I liked it now, and would probaly liek it more in another year. This one does have the stuffing to persist.

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• 1999 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosemary's Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley

  (1/27/2006)

  Initial response: It's amazing how much different this 1999 pinot tastes (from when it was released) than the other 1999 pinots have tasted. Whereas the Ken Wright's and rest of them have aged somewhat, they still taste relatively similiar to what they tasted like when they were released, just "less so". I doubt that they've added complexity, though they are (in a very real sense, mind you) better.
  
  This wine, on the other hand is just different. Perhaps it's that the Talley wines always taste like this, just more so, such that when the primary fruit flavors diminish, one's left wth floral, herbal, earthy notes of dried fruits and violets - at least this one tastes like that. It has an excellent floral, ethereal nose, a good (but not great midpalate) and a very good, 20 second length.
  
  It's hard to imagine that this wine is going to get better because it's already "better" in a floraly, aged pinot type of way. Go figure.

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  (2/3/2006)

  It's surprising to me, the way that this wine tastes, having tasted through a bunch of 1999 Ken Wright's over the course of the past few weeks. I vaguely remember, being jaded (of couse) with what "Shea" "does" taste like, that this wine is should be, a substantially darker wine than most of the rest of the Ken Wrights, and how different it is than the strawberry flavored Canary Hill. Instead, it tastes like an only slightly darker, slightly more intense version of Canary Hill. Good nose, good attack, slightly hollow midpalate, decent length. Tart red cherries, strawberries, a bit of black fruit, and underbrush. Still a bit unresolved, but less so than I remember the Canary Hill as being a few weeks ago. I'd like it to have more body, and a bit less acid, but that's quibbling. This one is drinking well now.

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• 1999 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 70 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  (2/4/2006)

  This is exactly what I deserve for not watching this wine - it might have been palateable, acidity and all, three years ago when it still had some fruit, but now, it (or rather, this bottle) was just an acid and tannic monster, devoid of any personality. I've got 4 bottles left, and don't know what I'm going to do...

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• 1999 Siduri Pinot Noir Archery Summit Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (2/5/2006)

  Having had the '99 Siduri Hirsch a few days or weeks ago, and having found it enjoyable but simple, I'm surprised by this wine. More tart than the Hirsch, with a slightly hollow midpalate and a short length, it nonetheless has a quite enjoyable taste profile, much more Oregonian than Californian - earth, cola, and tart red fruit.
  
  NA: I found that this wine starts to fall apart after about an hour - the fruit starts to age and fade. Drink sooner rather than later.

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Wahle 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (2/9/2006)

  I remember, about 2 or 3 years ago, really liking this wine. I remember liking the structure, both tannic and acidic, that matched wits with the fruit, both sides showing well. I remember thinking that I liked this wine more than most of the rest of the Ken Wright lineup.
  
  Fast forward a few years. The tannins have mellowed a tiny bit, but the acid is still there, and the fruit has faded some. There's still some tangy cherry and strawberry flavors, with some earth and some lemon (not particularly nice, that lemon), but the wine now seems to be out of balance. Drink up.

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• 1999 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Rincon Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley

  (2/10/2006)

  I loved this wine - maybe not in the same way that I loved the 1999 Rosemary's that we had last week (or the week before) but loved nonetheless. Once again, I'm struck by how different this wine tastes from a "new release" wine, and once again, how the Ken Wright's seem to get better, but not *this*much*better*.
  
  This wine has the same aged, spicy, earthy notes going on as the Rosemary's did, but with more of a fruity, black cherry backbone. Kevin says that he liked the "juicy fruit" (and that's not perjorative at all) backbone that the Rosemary's had as opposed to the more sour backbone that this one has, but I think that this one just isn't as overtly sweet as the Rosemary's, in spite of the fact that I find (and I'm pretty sure that he finds) that this one has more fruit! That one (the Rosemary's) was much more dried than this one, which is much fresher, if less advanced.
  
  The perils of rating that one first is that I have to give this one a higher score - or at least, I "feel like" I have to. So, I give this one a 94, versus that one's 93, even though I think that maybe this one is, in fact, the 93. Go figure!

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Guadalupe Vineyard 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  (2/18/2006)

  Woody, acidic, tannic, and tight. That said, not a terribly poor wine, but I found is disappointing compared to the other '99 Ken Wright's that we've had over the past few weeks, as I was expecting better, especially from this vineyard.

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (4/30/2006)

  Surprisingly (to me) one of my favorites of the 1999 Ken Wrights tasted recently, and clearly the one that was built to last. Still viscous and full, mostly black fruit flavors (black cherries, boysenberries) that sit atop a subdued core of earth and wood. Excellent mouth coating feeling, and a very persistent length in a nice, full, round wine.

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  (6/3/2006)

  My second bottle of this in the past few months, and a far sight better than the first, fortunately. While still primary, this one shows good fruit and mellow acid, with little tannin remaining and passible bordering on good mouthfeel. It still shows its age (in a negative fashion) and will probably only become more tart, but the fruit flavors (cherries and stewed cherries, white and black pepper, and coffee) still make this a good drink. Still not up to the level of the other 1999's that we've tasted, but this bottle is worth drinking!!

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• 1999 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Abbey Heights Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  (6/8/2006)

  Nice, elegant red fruit pinot nose. Tastes of tangy red fruit (cranberries, candied cherries) anda bit of dried orange peel with a slightly spicy, cola element to the package. The tannins are almost resolved and the wine has a bit of a pleasant bite to it that keeps it lively. I liked tis wine, and think that this might be one of the few 1999 KW's that has remained true to its intial offering *and* still has a bit left to give. Nce.

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