This wine was opened and decanted four hours ago and the last remnants are in a glass with me now. It has the astrigency that is peculiar to Pinot Noir, notably different from that Cabernet puckering. There's lenty of fruit and tannin, but no elegance. 89 points. Not quite ready yet.

Board-O, I started drinking the Ken Wright Pinots with the '98 vintage and have been very pleased with them in their youth. I have a few of the '99s and am wondering when the best drinking window will be. Any thoughts?

P.S. Sorry about the a-hole comment....nuff said.

LNJ

LNJ: Some 99s are already OK ( Abbey Ridge, e.g.,) but I would hold off at least two years.

The Abbey Ridge is my favorite so far followed by the Shea. The Abbey is drinking so well right now why wait?

Because Ken Wright structures his single-vineyards to develop over the short/mid term.
Typically, they start entering the peak window at about 4 years of age.

1996 was a challenging year in Oregon, although I recall Ken being very enthusiastic about his '96 wines. However, I have had several of Ken's '96s going back about 1 - 2 years, and didn't feel that most of them were holding up all that well. Some '96s have been wonderful (e.g.-- John Thomas; McKinlay; Chehalem Reserve); others disappointing.

My understanding is that Ken is not focused on making wines that age. Occassionally some of his wines age well, but my overall experience is that KW wines start drinking well about 1-year after release, and stay that way for about 2 more years. Beyond that, it starts to get into a coin toss.

BHV: In a good vintage like the 94 and the 98, I really think otherwise. I just had the last of my 94s, and it was quite good.

lnj, don't give a second thought. I'm often guilty as charged. As far as the Oregon PN's go, I don't think they compare favorably with those of California. They're a different animal, more powerful and far less elegant. My tendency is to give them plenty of age to bring out the expansive floral quality hidden in the tannin. I've had some of the '93's and '94's recently but none of them come close to the best Martinellis and Kistlers I've had.

Board-O, that 96 Guad. is in it's prime- enjoy it now for what it is. Even though Wright doesn't intend for his wines to age, big structured vintages like 98/99 take some time to meld (4-6 years). Cheers

Board-O, I agree with you on the Oregon pinots if you're talking about the big full throttle numbers like the '98 Beaux Freres but for the most part I've found them to be more Burgundian in style. The good ones have the acidity that most CA pinots lack! Check out the '98 and '99 Ken Wright offering if you have not already done so! LNJ

I'm loaded with '98 and '99 Ken Wrights.

The '99 abbey is very nice stuff!!