The 1981 Elizabeth's Reserve Pinot noir
Let me say, at the outset, the 1981 Pinot noir, Elizabeth’s Reserve is 40 years old! Forty. Years. Old.
Before we get started, let me be candid about this wine. Pinot noir, particularly New World Pinot noir doesn’t typically age this long, and in general, 1981 is not considered a great vintage in the Willamette Valley. There was rain toward the end of the harvest, and our only vineyard at the time, what we now call the Quarter Mile Lane Vineyard, is pretty high in elevation at 650 feet. It ripens late, near the end of the season. So, we picked the grapes for this wine while it was pouring, and processed them outdoors in that rain. It was the first wet vintage for our inexperienced Winemaker (yes, that would be me)… my first vintage was 1978. So, I had no idea what I needed to do to make these very wet grapes into acceptable wine.
Another thing to note about this wine is that the 1981 was never meant to be a commercial wine. It was a special wine I produced for our family, using just the grapes from Block 1 of our vineyard. The resultant wine was kept separate throughout the winemaking process and bottled separately, without fining or filtration. Only about 80 cases were produced. Since it wasn’t meant as a commercial wine, the bottles remained unlabeled for years. It wasn’t until 1988 that we finally decided to use a version of the label designed for the 1986 Elizabeth’s Reserve.
We never actually sold this wine. Rather, we’ve opened it at the winery or in our home to show to special guests. And as the wine aged, the experience of showing – and tasting – a very old Willamette Valley wine became almost more important than what the wine actually tasted like.
That said, it is a fascinating experience in and of itself. Over the years, I’ve tasted many, many bottles of this wine. While, the 1981 Elizabeth’s Reserve has been kept at optimal temperature and humidity conditions at the winery for its entire 40-year life, there will always be a little bottle variation. This is probably because, like all our neighbors at the time, we could not afford top-of-the-line corks. Old corks break down and absorb wine rather than resisting it. Only the top 3/8 inch is actually still functioning as a seal. That is one reason, now is truly the time to experience this wine.
With so much working against this wine, on paper at least, it’s fair to say Eugenia and I wanted to give it every chance to shine when we were asked to write our tasting notes for you.
At a minimum, each bottle should stand upright for 3 days. The bottle we tried has stood upright forever – months – so that all the sediment (tannins and other material) would settle to the bottom. I decanted it super carefully. The wine in the decanter was completely clear. I immediately poured each of us a couple ounces to taste. (A wine this old will rapidly change as it is exposed to air. I wanted us to catch the entire evolution to the wine.)
Immediately – The wine was a lightish red/brown in color – pretty dark, actually, for a 40-year-old wine. In the nose, there was some red fruit, though it was dried red fruit.. We found dried or raked leaves and dried floral components (potpourri) – a very earthy and autumnal nose. Eugenia thought of her grandfather’s study. The fruit was obviously a bit oxidized with hints of dried figs and apricots. It was very leafy – intriguingly so – but there was no hint of mushrooms or forest floor. Though the primary fruit was mostly gone (though hints of cherry jam do remain,) the tertiary fruit was intense.
In the mouth, the wine was immediately smooth. The astringent tannins of the young wine have chained themselves together to create this amazingly silky texture in the aged version of itself. In spite of its smoothness, this wine is very light on its feet due to its bright, lively acidity. The Winemaker should be complimented on the incredible balance of this wine in the mouth – acid, tannin, alcohol, body and flavors all mingle. It’s hard to tell where one ends and the next starts. (OK, let’s be clear, that Winemaker – me – had no idea what he was doing. This balance comes from the grapes, the growing season, even the rain. That I didn’t screw up the winemaking was pretty much blind luck.)
Twenty minutes later – The wine seems darker in color, more saddle colored. It’s still red but the brown hues are intensifying. The nose now emphasizes straw or hay. It reminded Eugenia of the smell of a well-used old saddle. There was still a lot of depth and warmth in the nose, with brown spices coming out. The spices and remaining dried fruit are not roasted but seem deep in flavor. In the mouth, the acidity is starting to come out giving the impression that the wine seems to lack body, lack tannin. We had the feeling that we were watching the wine age in front of our eyes.
Forty minutes after opening – The nose is now mostly about dried fruits and straw. In the mouth the flavors have become darker. The velvety mouth-feel is gone.
At one hour – Eugenia thought the wine was holding strong with a nose of deep cherry candy and red licorice. The acid is very focused, but the wine has slimmed down as it’s been open. She found hints of the earlier silkiness, but now the finish is more racy.
At two hours – I found the nose of the wine very brown, dominated by middle-eastern spices with almost no fruit remaining. In the mouth, the acidity hits you first, the tannins have become more astringent, and the body is less apparent. One very nice thing about this wine – the alcohol never stands out. It says “12%” on the label. The alcohol was probably kept that low because the rain diluted the sugar in the grapes.
So, at the end of the evening, we had a few thoughts on this 1981 Pinot noir:
This wine is an anomaly. Eugenia used this simile, “It’s like a 100-year-old person running a marathon.”
It deserves a place of honor at a special meal and the complete focus of the guests.
It should be served to a group, certainly not to just a couple. It should probably be more than four. Ideally six or eight or even 12.
It should be served with food, but the food needs to be pretty subtle. Eugenia suggested charcuterie. I still like the focus of showing it with a cheese course at the end of a meal. Just not with strong cheeses like blue.
Is this a great wine? On its own, with no story, no label, no history? Maybe, not. Could serving this wine to a group of wine-loving friends with a long discussion, focused on this wine, be a rare experience? Absolutely. Your special friends will remember the evening for a very long time. Wine can, in fact, serve as a placeholder for an experience. People carry the general memory of their experience with friends memorialized by the special bottle of wine they consumed together.
In September 2018, Eugenia and I entertained Enrico Bernardo, a famous sommelier and wine writer from Paris. There was a group of five for dinner and the final wine we served was the 1981 Pinot noir, Elizabeth’s Reserve. He included the wine in his book, The Impossible Collection of Wine; the 100 Most Exceptional and Collectible American Wines (Assouline, August 2019.) Take a look at what he wrote about the 1981 to see an alternative assessment of this wine.
how to enjoy:
Step-by-step instructions for properly enjoying the 1981 Elizabeth’s Reserve Pinot noir
Storing your old wine:
Store in a cool, consistent temperature (50°f-55°f), with moderate humidity
Set on its side or upside down.
Keep in the dark and away from vibrations or movement.
Prepare:
Move the bottle upright for a minimum of 3 days to move the sediment to the bottom.
Open:
Dust off the bottle.
Carefully remove foil with little agitation.
Use an Aso or corkscrew to carefully remove the cork from the bottle and remove any sediment from the inside of the neck.
Decant:
Use a duck decanter
Pour the wine slowly into the decanter.
Use a backlight to ensure that you stop pouring when the sediment starts leaving the bottle.
Pour:
Older wines do not need any aeration or time to breathe.
The longer the wine has aged in your cellar, the less time you have to consume it.
Pour yourself a glass and enjoy the fruits of your patience!