1999 Pinot Noir, Haynes Vineyard, Napa Valley
Released
February, 2006, 119 cases produced
SOLD OUT: this wine is no longer available.
Usually when a vineyard yields a short crop in one year, the vines make up for it by setting a heavier crop the next. It is rare to have two short vintages in a row, but that is exactly what happened with the Haynes Pinot Noir in 1998 and 1999. Following the really big crop in 1997 (68% above average yield), the vines were light in 1998 (36% less than average) and down a whopping 56% in 1999. Early budbreak, a rare late-season frost, blistering hot weather during berry sizing, and cool weather during ripening assured that the clusters and berries in 1999 were the smallest we have ever seen from the Haynes Vineyard. While growers hate to see yields down like this, winemakers look forward to producing intense and concentrated wines.
A concentrated vintage is exactly what we realized in the 1999 Westwood Haynes Vineyard Pinot Noir ? a power, depth and complexity in the finished wine that has no comparison among our other vintages. Where the short crop and mild weather in 1998 combined to give us a concentrated, generous and open Haynes Pinot 'one of our finest ever' these factors combined in 1999 to give us a brooding, monolithic, and intensely closed-in wine. Our winemaker compares the 1999 Haynes Pinot to the blockbuster 1992, which did not even start to evolve in the bottle until 2001. Great vintages should be rare & at Westwood we have ranked just three vintages of Haynes Pinot Noir at the very top of our list: the 1986, the 1992 and the 1998. We are pleasantly stunned that the 1999 Haynes Pinot Noir may have given us two top vintages in a row.
Winemaker's tasting notes:
Excellent clarity with a deep garnet color. Aromas are closed initially but slowly open in the glass to notes of cherry leather, cola, briar, toffee and wet stone, with overtones of truffle, earth and cream, and the hints of eucalyptus characteristic of the Haynes Vineyard. Fresh fruit in the mouth, full body and firm, crisp acid structure in the middle, with palate-coating, silky, still slightly angular tannins. Long creamy finish; fruity, spicy, and slightly leathery, with a persistent aftertaste of citrus, earth and wood. This wine hides a brooding power beneath the surface and shows great concentration. Oaky notes are surprisingly subdued ? with its great depth the wine has fully integrated the unusually high fraction of new wood it was aged in. As with most of our Haynes bottlings, this 1999 is best savored with a ripe Brie and slices of apple and pear, or meditated over on its own. We find it also pairs well with duck, sausages, lentils, or grilled lamb.
Our 1999 Haynes Pinot Noir may have the best aging potential of any wine Westwood has ever produced. While this wine drinks well now it should improve and harmonize with proper cellaring for another 3-5 years and hold through at least 2020.
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This wine hides a brooding power beneath the surface and shows great concentration. It may have the best aging potential of any wine we have ever produced. VERY SHORT SUPPLY!
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