Tasted alongside its 2011 counterpart, the Erath 2002 Pinot Noir Leland completely outshone an awkwardly woody and drying 2002 Estate Selection bottling, even though, Horner pointed out, the barrel regimen was virtually identical. Peat and burley tobacco; roasted game; lightly-cooked cherry and plum inform the nose and sappy palate, the combination of toastiness from barrel, tobacco, peat, kelp, and fruit pit making for a rather somber and slightly bitter as well as pungent finish, but one of admirable complexity and sheer persistence. I would plan on savoring this over the next 12-18 months. Interestingly – in a trend the reverse of what one normally encounters – Horner says there was less yeasting and more spontaneous fermentation at Erath at this time, for which reason, though, he opines that sometimes volatile acidity or brett were on the cusp.
Veteran vintner Gary Horner showed me a significant share of 2011 vintage releases from Erath, though I did not have time to taste by any means all (and we focused exclusively on Pinots). He opined that higher-elevation sites – even though cooler – seemed to him favored in 2011, presumably on account of the important role played by wind in concentrating flavors everywhere in the Willamette in October of that year. And wind was certainly critical in helping counteract what Horner claims were two of the toughest challenges of this vintage: rot, especially that hidden – along with pink berries – inside clusters; and clusters themselves so heavy that as he quipped “even at one to a shoot, your vines were sometime over-cropped!” Virtually all of the 2011 Pinots here are around 12.5% in finished alcohol, and that’s even after selective chaptalization. An elevage of 11-12 months in 35-45% new barrels is pretty much the routine for Erath Pinot. (For more about this historic winery; its vineyards; and Horner’s approach, consult my issue 202 introduction.)
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