1978 Hanzell Pinot Noir

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 91 points

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  6/26/2022 - jt wrote:

  I love old wines when they are lively, and this bottle was more than just lively. I probably should have opened ahead, and slow oxidized, but I would have missed its development from an oxygen starved wine. It was closed, and on the bitter side, at first, I assume from the sediment because I had not stood the bottle up for more than 15 minutes. The color, on opening, was on the brown side. Still, it showed its potential with some vigorous swirling. After 30, maybe 45 minutes of air, it blossomed into a dark red, delicious wine. Cherries, red berries, a bit of leather. In a word, delicious.

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  12/31/2008 - cmerlot wrote: 91 Points

  Decanted 1.5 hours on Xmas 2008. What a gem! I was amazed at how dark this wine was. It had classic Pinot aroma. Nice cherry and vanilla nose as well as that wonderful earthy nose that inhibites aged wines. On the palat it was a Burgundian finish. Not a fruit bomb but a classical balance of fruit and minerals and a finish that lingered with a touch of a leather/tobacco finish. Before this we drank a 98 Flowers Pisoni. Both were outstanding.

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  4/15/2007 - AndrewSGHall wrote:

  Hanzell Vertical (Union Restaurant, Seattle.): Touch balsamic with cherry wood oil. Very sauvage and rough trade comes across in a very un-tamed, un-precise way. Fougere dominant as well. Hang on for the ride.

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  4/15/2007 - Eric wrote:

  Hanzell Vertical (Seattle, WA): A very reticent nose with a whiff of sandalwood. You have to really swirl and beat it up to get something out of this bottle. A nice texture and really nice inner-mouth perfume again with balsa/sandalwood notes. Dry and a bit rough on the finish but with rustic charm. Actually, this gets more and more rough and savage, rather over the top in terms of tannins, more rustic than the other vintages.

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  6/29/2005 - Eric wrote: 90 Points

  2003 Porto cask samples with Roy Hersh (Sammamish, WA): Double blind. Very light, the color of dark iced tea. The nose is lovely, peat and charcoal, hmm maybe an older Hermitage? On the palate this is silky smooth, very mature, yet hanging together with fresh acidity and a bit of a citric quality. It really still seemed Rhone-ish to me, but the weight wasn't right. Then Roy dropped me a BIG hint when he suggested "one varietal" in dropping a comment. Hold everything, it's not a blend? Well it CAN'T be Syrah or Grenache. At last it comes to me, it must be an older Burgundy. I don't have much experience here, but the acidity is right, the palate is right, and the peaty characteristic is something I have seen and loved in older Burgs. Then Roy pulled off the bag to show me an older Pinot Noir ... from California! Wow, this was impeccable, a lovely wine that I would have loved to spend more time with before needing to dash out the door. Thanks for sharing such a pristine example Roy, very eye opening!

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