Winery - Lachini
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The best wine this estate made in 2004, this is comprised of half Pommard/half Dijon clones, aged a full year in French oak, but only one fifth new. It’s quite young and tight, with snappy flavors of bright raspberry and pomegranate. Sharp, etched, almost laser-like in clarity, this beautifully structured and focused effort opens into aromas of wild berry, gravel and earth. Definitely a wine to put away for a few years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Lachini’s S is a remarkable wine, broad and lush, heavily extracted, and plump with ripe strawberry fruit. Succulent, thick and chocolaty, it supports its ripe power with underpinnings of tart acid, a combination of voluptuous fruit and snappy acid that really keeps the palate fresh and waiting for the next sip.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Cuvée Giselle is the top four barrels from the vintage; essentially the winery’s reserve. It’s not always easy to spot the difference that the winemaker, who tastes the barrels almost daily, has observed. This is an excellent wine, though to my taste the Family Estate bottling showed even more concentration. Here there is more of the pine resin, perhaps more elegance and structure, but less of the sharp acid and pristine fruit.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This comes from an older vineyard planted to Pommard clone Pinot Noir, and yielded less than a ton an acre in 2004. It is a wine that needs more time to pull itself together; all the right components are there but they are a bit disjointed. The center stage is the sweet, creamy core of the wine—wild berries and vanilla crème. With time it should rope in the still-ragged edges and merit a higher score.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Here’s a very seductive Pinot Gris, done in the soft, plush style that Oregon is best at. Smooth and supple, it’s got a good mix of apple and pear, the flavors suggesting spicy tart more than fresh cut fruit. Excellent definition and pure pleasure in the mouth.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Lachini winemaker Isabelle Dutarte, who made half a dozen vintages at Domaine Drouhin and trained under Maison Drouhin, definitely has a DDO style going here. Tight, compact, structured and immaculate, this focused effort rewards breathing time with aromas of wild berry, gravel and earth. Tart and juicy, it’s one of those wines that’s even better on the second day.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Smoky and aggressive, this is a wham-bam style with enough saddle leather to call in the cavalry. Toast, coffee, smoke and caramel pile on oaky flavors. It’s big, rough-hewn and tannic, but tasty.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Seductive floral accents make a nice entry, and the wine, tart and juicy, carries aromas and flavors of orange peel, sour cherry and bitter chocolate.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This wine has been in release for almost two years, but the extra time has only improved it. Nicely melding the strengths of Klipsun vineyard Cabernet and Merlot with 24 months in half new, half year-old French oak barrels, this powerful wine has concentrated cherry and cassis fruit, potent baking spices, suggestions of mint and pepper, and a host of details waiting to be noticed. A great bottle to toss into a blind tasting of high-end California reds.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Late-picked, 100% Cabernet fruit from an iconic Red Mountain vineyard; hence the name, which translates as “the beast”. It’s jammy and ripe, but the tannins have been tamed, and the fruit is front and center, along with brown spices and toasty barrel notes. This is a thoroughly delicious wine that seems to be drinking in its prime, though it shows no sign of tiring.
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