WTN: 1990 Kalin Pinot Noir

[David M. Bueker]

1990 Kalin Cellars Pinot Noir Cuvee DD
Served as part of a blind tasting, this had a cork that self-destructed, but after decanting off the bits it was a really interesting wine. I don’t know Kalin well enough to be sure if it was an intentional feature of the wine, or an artifact of a poor cork, but there was a definite decrepit, old wine cabbage aroma at first. Thankfully it largely blew off, though the aromas were always “old.” Where the fireworks went off was on the palate. In complete contrast to the aromas there was a bright, fresh floral note that took center stage. It was backed up by dusty red cherry fruit. Earth, mushroom, dried herb, stone dust, and all the other developed elements you could possibly have looked for were all there. The finish was long and fully resolved. It was fascinating to drink. I was convinced it was a much older Burgundy, and quite surprised at the reveal later on.

Kalin is always interesting, I'm a fan.
Don't think I've had 90 DD PN . But in a couple of verticals '90 Kalins (Chard, Sem, and CS) have shone a bit more mature thsn other late 80s-early 90s vintages. Though I still liked
Good note

[David M. Bueker]

William Kelley says the vineyard has been replanted to Cabernet for Silver Oak.

Yes, this is what Gilman says
Cuvée DD: The “Cuvée DD” is named for vineyard owner Dave Demostene and the grapes hail from his ranch in Alexander Valley. This was the source for the oldest Pinot Noir vines with which Terry and Frances Leighton worked, from clones that were originally brought from Burgundy and produce particularly small, concentrated berries and which are known in Burgundy as “Pinot Fin”. The Demostene ranch Pinot vines originated from cuttings taken from Louis Martini’s Monte Rosso Vineyard. The soils in this vineyard are locally known as “Blue Clay”, which, according to Terry Leighton “is the same kind of marl found in Gevrey-Chambertin and Morey St. Denis.” The vineyard itself was primarily planted to Zinfandel, with only a small percentage dedicated to Pinot Noir, and these vines were thirty-five years of age when Silver Oak purchased the vineyard and started planting Cabernet here.

I've found that necro/funked up nose and tertiary with fruit palate on a number (less than 10) of Kalin DD pinots, although I've not had the '90. I've also found the flavors in their pinots to be somewhat muted though compared to what the Leighton's are doing with their Beaune bottlings.