Claims of 1994 OR Pinots Death is Premature

[Bucko]

Determined that the claim that 94 OR Pinots being declared dead is premature, Bruce Douglas opened a horizontal of these wines. All were drinkable, some still needing time. We warmed up with the first two wines, the Ridge being the only non-Pinot Noir.

1996 Ridge Zinfandel, Sonoma Station - Black fruit nose, jammy black fruit on the palate, medium tannins, with a long, pleasant
aftertaste.

1992 Eyrie, Special Selection - Beautiful Red Cheery and vanilla nose, youthful color, very soft on the palate, delicate Pinot fruit,
short finish. Drink up.

1994 Thomas - Tea and black cherry aromas, with flavors of tea, strawberries, cherries, mild vanilla oak, moderate tannins and
finish. Holding well. Nice wine.

1994 Adelsheim - Black fruit and earthy aromas that carry over to the palate, with added currants and moderate tannins. Holding okay. Nice wine.

1994 Autumn Wind, Reserve - Has a wierd, funky nose, lots of spicy oak and cinnamon. Not for me.

1994 St. Innocent, Seven Springs - Iodine on the nose, unidimensional, very tight, tannic. Needs 3-4 years to blossom.

1994 Bethel Heights, SE Block Reserve - Sulfur on the nose that blew off leaving luscious, rich, sweet cherry fruit. Very forward. Mild tannins. I would drink over the next year.

1994 Eola Hills, Reserve - Another rich black fruit wine, very luscious but delicate, medium tannins, long finish. Nice wine.
Holding well.

1994 Rex Hill, Reserve - Is there residual sugar in this? Very sweet with thin fruit. Pass!

We finished off the evening with a bottle of 1970 Taylor Port. Stunning way to wind down after day two of football, football, football.

Bucko

[Kcwhippet]

We had the 94 Adelsheim a year ago at Caprials Bistro. We are fairly unschooled on the OR Pinot Noirs, but I recall everyone at the table was quite pleased at the selection. More so, that it went very well with all our menu choices - mushroom risotto, salmon and pork.

Bob

[Bucko]

Good choice with the risotto......

Bucko

[David1953]

I had a chance to try some of the 94 Pinots while in OR for business just before Christmas 99. The 94's I tasted were Adelsheim, Sokol-Blosser and Erath.

I found them all to be quite good, nice cherry fruit, maybe a hint of that Burgundian barnyard on the nose.

I tried quite a few other Pinots also and left Oregon convinced that the state is years ahead of California in the production of Pinot Noir.

[Randy Caparoso]

Who was it that declared the '94 Oregon Pinot Noirs "dead?" Is the world not full of enough charlatans?

David, I agree. Heah, heah!

[Bucko]

RC, two separate tasting groups met about a year ago in Portland and in Seattle, 12-18 people, opening 20+ 94 Pinots. Notes were posted, with a general consensus that the 94s were too fat and forward in their youth and were now dead. These were all knowledgeable tasters. I thought that the wines were shedding their baby fat and hung on to several good examples. They are drinking just fine for me, and I have not even touched my St. Innocent wines yet.

Bucko