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1995 Rion Reserve Pinot Noir

(updated 5/9/00)

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The Wine

This is our reserve Pinot noir, named for our friend and advisor Patrice Rion from Domaine Daniel Rion, Nuits Ste Georges, Burgundy; all our Pinot noirs are made with equal care and then select barrels are chosen which provide those characteristics we want in a reserve: complexity, weight on the palate, length and breadth on the palate, and balance; in a word, we look for our reserves to be elegant; this wine will not necessarily be the "biggest dog" in our yard, but will be the most interesting, longest lived, and most refined; despite 1995 providing rain at harvest, all our 1995's are deep and full in color and fruit; the reserve is full of blackberry and black cherry fruit, integrated nicely with French oak, and balanced with a firm acid and tannin backbone; it reflects the large component of Ridgecrest fruit (86%) in elegance and sweet fruit and a strong wood statement from 60% new oak; in an excellent, but underestimated vintage, coming on the heels of 1994, this wine is strong, refined and delicious.

Stats

Selected barrels from 4 fermentation lots, 86% Ridgecrest, harvested from 10/2-10/7/95 @23.5-24.0 brix, 3.30-3.63 pH, 5.5-6.5 g/l acid; the remaining 14% Corral Creek, harvested 10/5/95; approx 15-17 days total fermentation with 5-6 days pre and 1-3 day post maceration; finished with RC212, 254, RA17; 10 months in barrel without racking, in 60% new French oak barrels from 5 coopers and several forests; Bottled 12/18/96 with filtration @ 13.9% alcohol, 3.56 pH, 6.0 g/l acid, 0.01 residual sugar. 690 cases made.

Quotes

Sunset (California), The Wine Guide, September 1998 (Karen MacNeil): There are so many great producers in Oregon-Adelsheim, Amity, Beaux Freres, Broadley, Chehalem, Cristom, Domaine Drouhin, Eyrie, Ken Wright, Ponzi, and many more-that it is nearly impossible to narrow the field to a few favorites: [7 listed] Chehalem Pinot Noir "Rion Reserve" 1995. Rich pomegranate, cherry spice, and earth flavors.

Willamette Week (Portland, OR), June 10, 1998 (Giraud & McQuillen): If we hadn't seen the date, we probably would never have guessed this pleasant wine hailed from the rainy '95 vintage. Showing good color, it offers a delightful nose of black cherry, tea and orange blossom, and seductive, spicy black cherry and raspberry flavors. It's still a little tannic on the edges, but this silky and elegant wine is easily one of the best '95s we've tasted.

Wine Enthusiast, March 1998 BTI (Beverage Testing Institute) World Wine Championships, 89 Points.

Toronto Globe and Mail, On Wine, January 31, 1998 (David Lawrason): [In] a tasting of about 30 Oregon pinots shown this week.Chehalem 1995 Rion Reserve (91) with Burgundy's Patrice Rion as consulting oenologist, was the highlight with billowing, complex fruit and spice flavours.

The International Wine Cellar (Stephen Tanzer): 88. Good medium red. Slightly roasted aromas of smoky cherry, spice and tar. Boasts nice sweetness and supple texture, but sound acids give the wine good balance; has an enticing red fruit tang. Finishes firm, but with rather light tannins. Attractive and easy to drink-and an admirable effort for the vintage.

The Vine, December, 1997 (Clive Coates, Master of Wine): I recommend the following [8 wines of the 1995 vintage]: Chehalem, Rion Reserve, Optimum Drinking 1999-2005, 16.5 [Out of 20]; Medium color. Good structure here on the nose. Some new wood. Quite closed. But fresh and ripe. On the palate it lacks grip but the fruit is quite fresh and certainly does not lack interest. Will still improve. Very good plus.

Northwest Palate, Nov-Dec, 1997: Recommended. Aromas of cherry, talc, vanilla, and mint. Mount-filling plum fruit, cedar, and spice with a sweet-and-sour quality. Toast and spice follow in the finish.

Wine Spectator, October 15, 1997-86: A little more tightly packed than most '95s with ripe blackberry and currant flavors poking through the layer of hard-edged tannin on the surface. Best from 1999 or 2000.

The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR) August 10, 1997 (Matt Kramer ): One of the best '95 Oregon pinot noirs yet. Due to be released this fall, it has superb concentration, freshness and color. This is one of the few '95s that could fool you into thinking it was a classic (rich) '94.

A Customer. I had never gone in too much for Pinot Noirs because, while I love French Burgundies, California pinots just never had the bang the French did ... then .... I bought a bottle of your 1995 pinot. Wow! What a wine. had every bit of the bang I had been looking for and then some. You have produced a wine that can rival Burgundy.