Wine Notes > Pinot Noir > Previous Releases

Reserve Pinot Noir

(Prior to 2002 this wine was named Rion Reserve)

2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

Vertical Tasting Notes: 1994 to 2003

1994: still alive, but is showing its aged characters, with a slightly brickish deep color and slight menthol wisps in the nose; rich, ripe fruit, great spices and complex melding of fruit and secondary flavors; flavors of fresh peach, plum, dried leaves and aged cheese; some drying tannin-pretty nice and young for 10+ years of age, likely remaining sound another five plus years.

1995: very nice wine from a challenging vintage, with vibrant, spice-box and forest floor aromatics; sweet fruit aromas and flavors, with slight camphor, coffee bean and complex secondary characteristics; bricking colors, firmness and chewiness on palate; has not faded much from last tasting two years ago when orange, tea, Christmas spicy, oriental box, sweet, sandalwood, dried leaf characterized the wine; should be drunk in the next two or three years (but then we said that two years ago!).

1996: characters of orange peel, tobacco, dried cherry, citrus, tea, oriental spices, and dried leaves with a sweetness; orange tinges, great clarity bordering on transparency, visually; sweetness of fruit and silkiness on palate; very nice length and structure; will continue to hold well for a few years, as a poster-child for not being able to judge the book by the cover-lightly colored, amazing complexity.

1997: the most rain affected vintage, although pleasant and sound, beginning to fade, with thin fruit and slightly tannic structure; delicate and with some silkiness, fruit is light, with rose characters; will not improve past this point, so drink up.

1998: deep color with a slight amber rim; big, red/black fruited nose and flavors, with lots of black cherry, a dustiness and black earth backdrop, liqueur-like nose of sweet very ripe fruit and alcohol; structure is full, with fine tannin, balance and great extraction; very complex and still somewhat young; intense and big wine with balance and finesse beginning; should age well another 5-10 years.

1999: continues to be my favorite, with deep color and extract, briary black fruit of blackberry/currant/plum nature; dusty notes and very fine tannin structure, but with large fruit rounding the edges; three-dimensional density-almost cubic-with earthy and slight herb on palate; will age very well for a long time, possibly another 10 years.

2000: pretty, bright, red/black fruited pinot noir, with slight stable characteristics on nose to go along with floral notes; silky and feminine, with very fine tannin; slight spritz with leather and earthiness may indicate slight brett, which to me is appealing at this level; balanced and elegant wine with good length-should be sound for some years, but is best drunk now.

2001: an elegant, bright, silky and complex pinot noir, with dark coffee and chocolate aromatics, lifted by brown spices; great balance, with a firmness, good acid and well-defined fruit elements of raspberry and cherry; a delicate, complex wine with lots of aging potential.

2002: quintessential pinot noir from a cool climate, with effusive ripe black-red fruit, a density that is three-dimensional, and a silky, long palate that is texturally exciting; pure black cherry, plum and blackberry, with floral accents of lavender; great length and palate weight; very well balanced; very, very nice, in the character of 1994 and 1998, so this is the one to collect right now.

2003: cool climate, no; warmth and bigness apparent in this larger-than-life pinot noir; considering the vintage, surprisingly balanced and "cool" in nature; deep, rich, round and sweet black characters; dense, dusty, wood showing at this point, with fruit needing to plump some more with time in the bottle; blue fruit notes of plum and huckleberry; emollient and firmly structured with fine tannins; a flashy wine that will likely age like our last "hot" vintage, 1992, a wine that is still vibrant today. A very surprising wine to me being as balanced as it is.