Friday, August 19, 2011

Wine Snob: 1992 Husch Reserve Pinot Noir

Husch 1992 Reserve Pinot Noir
Recently, it was my birthday. Although I was (and am) ill, I managed to gather up my strength for a nice quiet dinner with my parents and a bottle of wine left for us by my uncle. The wine was reasonably close to my own age and I thought it would go well with the meal. I was right, the wine was lovely with the salads, pasta, and pizza we all shared.

I was kind of nervous at first. When the waiter poured the wine it was distinctly brown. I think he saw the look on my face because he told me that if I left it to breath, it would probably be quite nice. He was right: after only a few moments the wine turned from chestnut brown to a sort of brick red. The flavor progressed to become a very light, round, warm wine with minerals and a hint of pink pepper. It retained the slight tannic bite at the end.

I always like to compare old wines (when I get the chance to have them) to their original descriptions. This wine certainly changed from when it was bottled in 1994 after a 20-month period in oak barrels (this was Husch's first reserve pinot noit). They said that it tasted of cherries, violets, and cinnamon with a long, softly tannic finish.

If there are any bottles out there to try, I highly recommend it. Let it sit for at least an hour before tasting.

4 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful. I didn't know that old wines could change color after they rest. Hope you had a great birthday!

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  2. I don't know if they usually do change color. On the other hand, I've never had a wine that was quite this brown before (I think meaning it was at the end of it's mature life). The Silver Oak that my uncle brought was a little brown looking but after a few moments the brown seemed to separate into a thin ring around the top of the wine while the rest was red and he mentioned that this meant that the wine was quite mature, but could have rested for a few more years (due to the band being thin instead of thick). I will have to ask my uncle what he thinks.

    Other than still having the cold that will not die, I had a lovely birthday (although I missed the usual friends and family). Thank you.

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  3. LOL. i love imagining your expression when you saw the brown wine. i like husch. sound vineyard. i urge you to try bryce. oregon. great pinots. limited supply. nice.

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  4. Yeah, the brown was quite a shock at first. I bet it would have been pretty amusing to watch.

    I generally like Oregon Pinots so I'll definitely look around for Bryce next time I'm up that way. Thanks for the recommendation!

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