Newsletter Archives > Chehalem Only
In early 2001, we repeated a vertical tasting of all commercially released Chehalem Pinot noirs, first run and reported two years ago. (See Vintage Variability.) Thematically, results were an interesting blend of bold and elegant, some from surprising vintages, highlighted below.
Quality (100 point scale); Chehalem Winemaker Evaluations
See: Detailed Tasting
Notes on all wines
1999 Rion Reserve Pinot noir: potentially a great wine; deeply saturated purple-black anthocyanin-rich young wine, bristling with briery blackberry, Christmas spices, black cherry and fine-spiced tannin; very sweet fruit of a dense, chewy and darkly brooding nature; the acid and tannin structure needs time to resolve, as well as the fruit to become less tightly wound and more aromatic; a beast needing to be tamed.
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Current 90 |
Potential 95 | Peak 2003 | Fade 2020 |
1999 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir:great potential; a big black wine with serious dark fruits of blackberry, black raspberry and Christmas pudding, hung on a broad, fine tannic structure, currently vibrating with an acidity that's almost electric; elegance awaits a calming of acid and tannin, although for all its size it is well integrated and actually showing a bit of its generous fruit aromatics; not much different from Rion, except for a touch less grace.
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Current 90 |
Potential 94 | Peak 2003 | Fade 2020 |
1999 Stoller Vineyards Pinot noir: sweet and juicy is a common theme in our notes; beginning with a lanky mineral, herb and green streak, a flood of juicy crushed red raspberry fruit, black cherry soda and sweet oak overwhelms the palate; a texture and finish that is exceptionally full, broad and sweet is currently oak centered, but will fill-out even more over the next year; this new vineyard is finding its center of great red fruit, soft texture and a delicate structure.
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Current 88 |
Potential 90 | Peak 2002 | Fade 2012 |
1999 3-Vineyard Pinot noir: moderately dark, freshberry and cherry fruited young wine; shows a sweet attack and a firm minerality backed with acid and some tannin; a predominant grilled herb aromatic suffuses normal plum and apple pie spice jamminess; good weight and texture, finishing a little short with slight bitterness; will plump-up and gain additional fruit, rather than herbal notes on nose with an additional year's age.
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Current 87 |
Potential 90 | Peak 2002 | Fade 2010 |
1998 Rion Reserve Pinot noir: incredible density, concentration and length; dried and crushed fruit reminiscent of warm spiced blackberry crumble or compote; sweet wood and spice with a cedar, sweaty, plummy-cherry, date-fig, black licorice and framboise complexity; elegant, balanced, fine-tannin structured, this wine needs more time and will last forever.
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Current 92 |
Potential 95 | Peak 2002 | Fade 2020 |
1998 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: dark, brooding, wonderfully textured with fine, rich tannins and a long finish; earthy and briery, there is concentrated blackberry and plum, minor reductive blue notes and lush black cherry roundness; very long on the palate.
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Current 92 |
Potential 94 | Peak 2002 | Fade 2015 |
1998 Stoller Vineyards Pinot noir: sweet crushed red fruit in a slightly more mature garnet wine; dried strawberry and sweet, smoked, chocolate and cherry lushness over a structured mineral backbone; wood is sweet and balanced, with smoky aspects; a great ager to some, it imparts an English toffee and coffee bean, or coffee ice cream, finish of rich-bitter-sweet; little apparent tannin, good length.
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Current 92 |
Potential 93 | Peak 2001 | Fade 2008 |
1998 Corral Creek Vineyards Pinot noir: red fruits of strawberry, raspberry and cherry in perfect balance, giving sweetness on the palate over a structure of impeccable acid and tannin; gaining some bottle aromatics, tea, aged cheese, dusty mushroom and forest floor add complexity; refined, classic pinot characters with minor white pepper spice.
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Current 92 |
Potential 92 | Peak 2001 | Fade 2008 |
1998 3-Vineyard Pinot noir: complete, balanced, ripe red cherry and berry sweetness; still benefiting from time in glass, a dusty, earth character blooms to a round, sweet and silky preserves or chutney level; nice weight and roundess, this is pretty, although maybe not elegant; soft, red fruits and there are no rough edges.
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Current 92 |
Potential 92 | Peak 2001 | Fade 2008 |
1997 Rion Reserve Pinot noir: finally coming around, an elegant, red-fruited long wine, with a mineral backbone that has gained sizeable fruit weight and depth of color in the last 3-6 months; it shows less black, sweet fruit than is normal from Ridgecrest, but is amazingly elegant, supple, long and balanced; aspects of dried apricot, milk chocolate, hazelnut integrate well in a silky palate that goes long, but finishes with a bit of bitterness; bright acid and good balance; one of our best winemaking efforts, in a challenging vintage.
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Current 90 |
Potential 91 | Peak 2002 | Fade 2010 |
1997 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: earthy and dusty, with slightly fading fruit reminiscent of rhubarb, strawberry, red cherry over a nicely bright acid structure; delicate, Burgundian mouthfeel, more feminine than masculine, more elegant than rustic, which is atypical of Ridgecrest; color on the red-orange end of spectrum; not an ager, but lovely and sweet.
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Current 88 |
Potential 88 | Peak 2001 | Fade 2004 |
1997 Stoller Vineyards Pinot noir: an auspicious beginning for this, the third estate vineyard; still deeply colored red-purple, there is deep fruit, spices and sweet and complex notes of mocha, toffee, toast, coffee, prune and dried fruits; despite a moderately high pH, there is good structure and balance for aging; doing very well and should continue for awhile.
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Current 92 |
Potential 92 | Peak 2000 | Fade 2006 |
1997 3-Vineyard Pinot noir: bricked with aged character; cranberry, earthy, tomato tinged light fruits, corrupted slightly with the Rhone-like gamey and sweat of brett; good structure and balance, but not for holding; a great value that was consumed a couple years ago--if not, do it.
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Current 87 |
Potential 87 | Peak 1998 | Fade 2004 |
1996 Rion Reserve Pinot noir: controversial among us, depending on whether primary fruit or secondary characters are preferred--the same holds for other 96s and 95s; to proponents, a gorgeously complex and textured wine, with great fruit sweetness, Oriental spices and a broad, multi-layered weighty and silky palate; critics would argue for more typical pinot fruit in the red-black rather than red-orange end of the spectrum; cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloved orange aspects; good acidity, low tannin and great length; will not age extremely long, but amazing finesse while it does.
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Current 91 |
Potential 91 | Peak 1999 | Fade 2008 |
1996 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: similar to the Rion, red-orange in color with Oriental spice, sweet cured Parma ham, and clove-spiked orange features; powerful incense, sandalwood, exotic wood or savory elements; a bit less elegance than the Rion, but similar in fruit, texture, length and potential.
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Current 90 |
Potential 90 | Peak 1999 | Fade 2005 |
1996 3-Vineyard Pinot noir: drinking at its peak, this entry-level wine exhibits a mature combination of sour cherry, black tea, tobacco and forest floor, with leafy detritus and humus aspects; moderate weight, alcohol, tannin and length balance the wine; a burnt sugar, rum-like, barbecue sauce sweetness, along with a salty ocean breeze impression adds complexity; to drink now, but should not fall apart immediately.
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Current 88 |
Potential 88 | Peak 1998 | Fade 2005 |
1995 Rion Reserve Pinot noir: controversial, as with the 1996s, a great deal of secondary tobacco, spice box, incense and fruit leather augment the dusty, dried cherry fruit; its accent is an extremely bright acidity that provides balance, good integration, cleanness and elegance on the palate; there is an almost nervy and electric intensity that punches up its silky, though slightly short finish; an impressive, finesse wine in a difficult vintage.
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Current 90 |
Potential 90 | Peak 1998 | Fade 2006 |
1995 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: controversial in the same way, this is not much different from the Rion, except that one or two liked it better; red spiced crab apples, incense, cigar box and potpourri came to mind, with rose petals, earth, tea, smoke and bitter chocolate showing up in aromas and flavors; supple and sweet on the palate, fruit is beginning to dry out slightly; the balance and emollience is good; the silkiness and long, fine tannin structure is very nice and appropriate for the age; the ageability may fool us.
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Current 90 |
Potential 90 | Peak 1998 | Fade 2004 |
1995 3-Vineyard Pinot noir: a wine at its prime, especially for entry-level pinot; a good integration of red fruit, mild spice and sweet wood, there is a hint of wintergreen, wet stones, hibiscus, cranberries, currants and pepper; mature in aroma, there is little primary fruit remaining and the structure is soft; the wine is a little short and not much longer-lived.
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Current 88 |
Potential 88 | Peak 1997 | Fade 2004 |
1994 Rion Reserve Pinot noir: a big aged wine still showing fruit and structure, but with integration; raspberry, currant, licorice, 5-spice fruit components meld with tarry, tobacco, and smoke accents, under sweetly dominant heavy scents of cut flowers like roses and perhaps violet; there is a loss of purity as these elements stew, but the complexity is worth it; still carries firm tannin and good acidity; general impression on the palate is one of subtlety, silkiness and a lovely weight.
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Current 91 |
Potential 93 | Peak 2002 | Fade 2010 |
1994 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: big and briery pinot still, with ripe black cherry liqueur or cassis, chocolate dipped blackberry and spicy aspects; brambly, extracted, almost portish and raisined; good acid and sweet wood on palate, with supple, fine tannins; balance and length very good; rich and ripe.
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Current 91 |
Potential 93 | Peak 2002 | Fade 2010 |
1993 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: perfectly aged pinot; bright red cherry fruit with spice, chocolate, sweetness and length; not blockbuster in size, but elegant with sexy structure; complex flavors and concentration orchestrated by great acid, fruit and wood balance make this a very pretty wine that should last longer.
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Current 91 |
Potential 91 | Peak 1999 | Fade 2006 |
1993 Ridgecrest Vineyards Wadenswil Clone Pinot noir: faded and less than it has been; reddish orange color with strawberry or dusty red cherry fruits; little sweetness and considerable acid, with a slight mustiness; getting a little coarse and short.
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Current 87 |
Potential 87 | Peak 1998 | Fade 2000 |
1992 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: well preserved; a big wine with lovely vibrant black cherry and blackberry, and great sweetness and intensity up-front; spicy with hints of cloves, nutmeg, and ginger, and firmly structured with adequate acid and tannin; some leather and sweaty corruption at the start and a little hot from alcohol on the end; a core of intense, sweet fruit that, with good length and balance, could show well for awhile longer.
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Current 90 |
Potential 92 | Peak 2005 | Fade 2010 |
1991 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: never one of my favorites; dusty and drying, with a core of sweet fruit remaining, but lots of pepper and tar or creosote aspects; an interesting melange of dill, broccoli, violets, celery salt, sauerkraut, and hay on nose and palate; OK, but shows classic effect of great fruit compromised by a mildew attack.
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Current 87 |
Potential 87 | Peak 1998 | Fade 2005 |
1990 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot noir: first commercial release from Chehalem off 6th harvest fruit; a very good example of pinot noir advanced to secondary aromas and flavors, with earth, tobacco, leather, blackberry, sour cherry and a little reduction; a very sweet, silky mouthfeel, with great balance, weight and length, "nicely tapered on palate from attack to finish;" finely layered, finesseful "Burgundian".
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Current 90 |
Potential 90 | Peak 2001 | Fade 2008 |
See: Detailed Tasting Notes on all wines.
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