We have three super wines for release this year. The 1985 Pinot Noir, for those patient Pinot lovers, has benefited enormously by its quiet rest in wood for another year and not having been hurried into bottle. I think I have mentioned before that, “Pinot Noir ferments tumultuously and then matures in wood in a series of sulks”, well – it was certainly true of the 1985 Pinot. Now it is a lovely rich, velvety smooth, complex wine with a great future, having lots of the goodies that provide the building blocks for longevity. Regrettably there is very little of it.
The Chardonnay 1986 and the Cabernets 1985 are just as impressive. Luckily there is a bit more Chardonnay than last year, and we hope that the embarrassing business of returning cheques and writing out refund cheques each year will not occur this year. It is a brilliant crisp wine full of flavours and fragrances, and has great balance for future development. The 1985 Cabernets blend is an outstanding wine, highly complex and rich. It is showing at this stage of its development quite a good deal of Merlot and Cabernet Franc characteristics in the best tradition of the St. Emilion and Pomerol area of Bordeaux. The tannins are fine and plentiful and the middle palate is deliciously rich and mouth filling. The finish is long, with plenty of acid and grip for development. It will last for years, but enjoy an odd bottle during its development.
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