A retrospective tasting of the 1997 vintage

Over the holidays we had the opportunity to taste six of our favorite wines from the historic 1997 vintage. The importance of going back and tasting these wines is helpful to know how the 2007 vintage which we have found to be equally extraordinary will stand up.

The six wines we tried were the Scherrer Vineyards Old, Mature Vines Zinfandel, the Bald Mountain Zinfandel, the Whitethorn Hyde Vineyard Pinot Noir, the Qupe Bien Nacido Hillside Select Syrah, and the Littorai One Acre Pinot Noir in magnum, all from California and the Reserve de la Comtesse from the Pauillac in Bordeaux. The Littorai was removed from the tasting as the bottle was unfortunately "corked."

Of the remaining five we were very impressed with all and found them to have aged very well and developed subtlety and elegance in the intervening 10 years they spent in the bottle. Our favorite was the Whitethorn Hyde Vineyard Pinot which had developed subtle earthiness on the nose, matched with lovely fruit notes and a surprisingly long finish loaded with cherry flavors. As many old Pinots do the wine is taking on a slightly leathery color. The wine is in its prime and should be consumed in the next year.

The Qupe Syrah was the next favorite showing all of the complexity and heft of Bob Lindquist's best productions. The wine was the color of deep garnet and the nose exhibited notes of fruit and meat. A powerhouse for its age that is likely to continue to mature and be quite tasty for at least another five years.

The two Zinfandels came in next and were virtually tied. While many folks question the age worthiness of California Zins we found both to be in great shape showing good fruit and concentration of flavors. While the wines have always been different styles, they have always had the similarities of minimal oak profile and good tannin structure both of which add to a wine's ageing ability. The fruit flavors were of dark berries, and the flavors grew more intense throughout the back palate and the finish.

The Bordeaux was least preferred but for an amazing reason, it was still very "tight" with a lot of tannic structure. The wine did soften as it opened and the fruit profile became more expressive and shows great promise for additional age up to 10 or perhaps even 15 more years, which is not atypical for Bordeaux.

Most of these bottles would be impossible to buy with the exception of one or two at a time from collectors.

For the 2007 vintage though it is illustrative of what wines from this great and recent vintage are likely to become. The wines of 2007 from California, Washington, Idaho, Northern Italy and Southern France have all been nothing short of spectacular, and like 1997 when we taste them we find nearly universally that they posses enough tannin, and acid coupled with great fruit flavors to remain great for many years to come up to 15 or 20 years in most cases.

Wine and age though remains a very personal decision. Many folks prefer their wines to be young and fresh and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that preference. Many more will find the "sweet spot" on the wines from '07 to hit their prime earlier than the aforementioned 15 or so years, also fine. However, the good news is you can feel comfortable buying up the '07s in size and know they will last for some time and reward you for as long as you hold them.

The other reason consumers may want to consider laying down some of the 2007 vintage is the historically low pricing. While the wine market has stabilized some, there remain some compelling deals on great wines from this year as wineries, and distributors find themselves with more inventory than they prefer, unlike when the 1997 vintage was released and sold out quite quickly. In fact some wineries continue to hold back their 2007 releases hoping the market stabilizes further.

As always what is most important is whether or not you as the consumer like the wine you buy. No matter what I or any other wine professional thinks of a bottle we can't change the like or don't like equation for you. We can answer questions for you though, go to your wine professional with a preferred budget and varietal selection and chances are we will find some great wines from 2007 that you can enjoy for many years to come.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo. www.thedinnerpartyshop.com .