It was a beautiful evening, from my vantage, I could see the hills that formed the backbone of the eastern side of the valley, densely robed in evergreen trees and hunkered against a backdrop of stars that seemed to draw closer against the indigo-black palette of an ever-darkening sky. The evening air, as it so often is in the Willamette Valley was crisp, but patio heaters made outdoor dining a welcome, cozy experience.
I’d had a full day of tasting and touring King Estate, now celebrating its 25th year, and dinner at the winery’s acclaimed onsite restaurant proved to be the perfect close to the day’s hectic pace. King Estate’s proprietor and founder, Ed King sent a parting gift to my table—a rare bottle of 1995 Estate Pinot Gris fished up from the depths of his private cellar. My server quietly informed me that there weren’t many 95’s left as he prised an intact but fragile cork from the bottle with an oso. I regarded my glass with some skepticism; the wine appeared to be oxidized. Even in our low light setting, one could see that it was the color of diluted walnut wood at the rim, the brownish hue suggested the vagaries of time had long since taken their toll, that there wouldn’t be much to savor.
Instead, the ’95 sang, offering up a riot of caramelized apples, poached pears and less expected though equally expressive layers of marzipan, furniture lacquer, and almond paste. On the palate, burnished, pleasantly bitter tertiary notes of apple seeds and walnut skins wrapped around a surprisingly fresh vein of acidity. I had never encountered a Pinot Gris like this. My server suggested raclette as an ideal match for this unexpected rarity. Yes, raclette, I thought, closing my eyes, savoring the imagined pairing.
The tasting I’d attended earlier in the afternoon showcased vintages spanning from 2004 to 2014 served to beautifully illustrate this point—that some domestic Pinot Gris can withstand aging, and indeed, will even improve with time. The notion that we can and should cellar these wines is contrary to how we’ve been taught to view this very old, mutated clone of Pinot Noir. Current vintages were fresh and showy with lush, tropical aromas of ripe mango and pineapple, or bruised pear and golden delicious apple. Almost all of them expressed minerality in one fashion or another, wet stones, talcum powder, and even a touch chalkboard dust. As they mature, an array of secondary and tertiary notes emerge, along with a texture that’s grown silkier and rounder with age—subtler, more complex aromas and flavors of smoke and spice, dried orange peel, almond skins, and granulated honey.
You can download a PDF of the full article or browse to read it online in The Somm Journal’s June-July 2016 edition.