WTN: 1992 St Innocent Seven Springs & 1997 Mortet Lavaux-St

Yesterday we opened two older pinot noirs with some interesting results:

1992 St Innocent Seven Springs
This was my introduction to Mark Vlossac's wines and I always believed that it would eventually develop into a seriously good bottle. This was the last straggler and it did not disappoint. Dark red but no noticeable browning. Tannins perfectly mature and soft. Lovely dark fruit nose. Medium to heavy in weight. A lovely dark fruit flavor with some spices, very good complexity and layers and very nice length. A nice combination of primary and secondary flavors. No faults and a delicious wine. Excellent+

1997 Denis Mortet Gevfrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux-St-Jacques
The 1997s continue to impress generally. Coming after the St Innocent, this suffered by comparison. Lovely mature nose with quite a lot of secondary aromas, notably some barnyard, sandalwood and leather. Pretty nice on the palate with decent length. On its own, I have generally rated this as borderline Excellent but, despite the excellent nose, the flavors are not as fulfilling as the St Innocent and this wine comes across on the palate as significantly sweeter. Very Good+

Robert

[Jenise]

Robert, so good to see you again. Do you still live in London?

Nice report on the Seven Springs. I've long since exhausted my supply of these, the '92 was an exceptional year in Oregon and many producers made wines that have matured beautifully. In the last couple years I've had terrific examples from Domaine Serene and Chehalem. In fact, the '92 DS was the best domestic pinot I've ever had.