The Reserve

​The Reserve is an exclusive selection of Pinot Noir representing our most intriguing wine in the cellar. The final blend represents countless hours of tasting wine from barrel. Only with such in-depth knowledge of our subject, were we able to select these 2 barrels of Pinot Noir.

Every block of Pinot Noir within our 35 acre vineyard is individually hand harvested at its peak of flavor maturity and intensity. Block by block, the fruit is fermented in small 1.5 ton lots and matured for over 18 months in French oak barrels.

Every vineyard block and clone/rootstock combination showcases something unique and special from the vineyard. After fermentation is complete, the wine is placed into a selection​of barrels to mature. We source French oak barrels from several coopers. The wine takes a different path to maturity in each barrel, developing its own nuances.

We taste all of our barrels of wine many times throughout the year. We experience the evolution of flavors and aromas and remember the significant events in our vineyard. The excitement of an early bloom, the mystery of a very light fruit set, the discovery of color change at veraison, and the rapture of harvest. Tasting each barrel of wine provides us a snapshot in time. We experience the wine’s development.

As we taste wine through the cellar, we can usually agree on when we have found the best barrel or two of Pinot Noir. When that happens, we find that we disagree on whose blend it is going into. And when we find that we agree to disagree, we have just found The Reserve.

2016

2015

2014

2013

Tasting Notes: Risqué red. A perfumed bouquet of Montmorency cherries, crushed red raspberries, nutmeg and Darjeeling tea aromas entice. Focused and lithe, offering intensity of red fruited flavors and a complete colonization of the palate while refined stem tannins and integrated acidity provide grip and intensity that echo endlessly.

Culinary Inclinations: Roasted quail stuffed with chanterelles, kale and quinoa served alongside Gorgonzola stuffed mission figs wrapped in prosciutto and garlic sautéed broccolini.

Bright-rimmed red. Expansive spice- and mineral-accented red fruit, musky earth and floral pastille scents are complemented by a zesty suggestion of blood orange. Sweet and seamless in texture, with a spine of juicy acidity giving lift to the sappy black raspberry, cherry cola and candied rose flavors. Shows excellent clarity, no rough edges and lingering floral and spice notes on a very long, subtly tannic finish.

- Josh Raynolds, Vinous, June 2019 - 93 points

2012

The Other Reserve is new on the scene for 2012. This limited production selection also represents 2 of the finest barrels of Pinot Noir in the cellar, albeit in a different idiom from The Reserve. Think Échezeaux v Grands Échezeaux if it helps. While both The Reserve and The Other Reserve are mutually exclusive, they form a collectively exhaustive selection of the most intriguing barrels of Amalie Robert Estate Pinot Noir from the 2012 vintage.

2012 The Other Reserve Accolades:

"Bright red. High-pitched red berry and Asian spice aromas, along with suggestions of candied rose, vanilla and incense. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering intense, spice-laced raspberry and cherry flavors and a refreshingly bitter touch of blood orange. Silky tannins come in slowly and fold effortlessly into the energetic fruit on a very long, spice- and mineral-accented finish that shows excellent clarity."

- Josh Raynolds, Vinous, December 2016 - 93 points

Dark pool red. A deep and delving bouquet representing black cherry, Five spice, cardamom, baking chocolate and savory enjoins discipline. Highly expressive presentations of penetrating flavors are focused and unyielding as they vacillate while the deftly balanced acidity and stem tannin structure colonizes the breadth and depth of the palate. Long, deep and continuous, the length of this wine lives in perpetuity.

- Amalie Robert Estate Tasting Notes

The vintner’s favorite barrels of the vintage. Whole cluster inclusion and fermentation with feral yeasts. Aged a minimum of 18 months in French oak barrels. Moderately light reddish purple color in the glass. Exuberant aromas of cherry, wildflower, baking spice and nutty oak. The gorgeous core of black cherry fruit is blessed with supportive, age worthy firm tannins. Flavor notes of exotic spices, vanilla and nutty oak add interest. Long in the mouth and extremely long on the extraordinary finish. A serious, connoisseur's wine that needs time in the cellar for full enjoyment. Even better when tasted several hours later and the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle. Did I say the finish goes on and on?

- William "Rusty" Gaffney, M.D., PinotFile, September 2016 - 97 points

Vivid red. An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and dark berries, incense, Asian spices and vanilla; blood orange and smoky mineral notes come up with aeration. Sweet, seamless and penetrating on the palate, offering deeply concentrated black raspberry, cherry cola and spicecake flavors that show unlikely vivacity for their density and power. Clings on the finish with superb tenacity and smooth tannins that lend gentle grip to the sappy berry fruit. I find the balance of richness and vivacity here really compelling.

- Josh Raynolds, Vinous, December 2016 - 93 points

2011

Velvet glove red focuses your attention on exotic tamarind, blood orange, cardamom, cinnamon, five spice, nutmeg, graphite, graham and Scottish tayberry scents continuously vacillating between order and chaos. A coalition of elegant high toned red fruits enjoins suave textures and balanced acidity providing the essential balance of Pinot Noir as if pirouetting on the head of a pin. The signature Amalie Robert culmination of refined stem tannins and intriguing acidity provides a long and resounding finish.

- Amalie Robert Estate Tasting Notes

Limpid red. Aromas of dried red berries, cherry pit, musky herbs and vanilla, joined by a suave floral nuance as the wine opens up. Shows good tension and lift on the palate, offering subtly sweet raspberry, cherry and rose pastille flavors and a hint of mocha. Soft tannins make a late appearance and add shape to a very long, smoke-tinged finish that echoes the berry and floral notes. This well-balanced, graceful wine is drinking well right now.

- Josh Raynolds, Vinous, December 2016 - 91 points

2010

Romance red with a velvet sash beckons you into the arena. Aromas of fresh grated cinnamon stick and cardamom are entwined with sweet, ripe Flathead cherries and strawberry jelly. While initially suave on the palate, you suddenly realize the Tango has begun. Pure elegance and finesse are submissive to whole cluster stem tannin textures and dominate acidity; and not gently like before. Azimuth to Zenith, all are aligned, the lingering afterglow reinforcing a timeless interpretation of Pinot Noir. Who doesn’t want that!?

- Amalie Robert Estate Tasting Notes

Light, bright red. Highly perfumed aromas of fresh red berries, potpourri, cinnamon and sandalwood are complemented by deeper-pitched notes of cola and black cardamom. Shows excellent clarity and lift on the palate, offering spicy raspberry and bitter rhubarb flavors that gain sweetness with air. Distinctly pure and focused pinot with silky tannins coming on late and adding grip to the long finish.

- Josh Raynolds, Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, July 2014 - 93 points

2009

Electra red opens a portal into your Pinot Noir sensory cortex. The heady aromas meander through sandalwood, Chinese five spice, and tart red raspberry preserves that are punctuated with dried sage and bitter cocoa. The initial flavors are rich and dense, testing your patience until they bloom with a permeating texture into dark cherry and freshly tilled damp earth, buttressed with firm stem tannin and precision acidity.

The wine evolves presenting a depth and breadth of flavor and texture on the palette that is only limited by your imagination. The experience lingers longingly on the back palate with a sense of purpose and attention to detail.

This wine is clearly one of our more opulent offerings of The Reserve that will reward your investment in cellar aging. Or if you like – “a bad girl with unresolved issues upon release.”

- Amalie Robert Estate Tasting Notes

Light, bright red. Vibrant and sharply focused on the nose, displaying intense red fruit preserve and Asian spice scents along with deeper cola and underbrush nuances that gain strength with air. Sappy, penetrating and pure, with deeply concentrated raspberry and bitter cherry flavors energized by a jolt of blood orange. Powerful yet graceful wine with excellent finishing clarity and persistence and supple tannins that fade into its ample fruit.

- Josh Raynolds, Vinous, October 2015 - 94 points

The Amalie Robert 2009 Pinot Noir Reserve features strong scents and flavors of lightly cooked and dried cherry accented with cinnamon spice and toasted, caramelized oak resin. Full-bodied (at 14.4% alcohol) and expansive, it also grips impressively, though its tannins are definitely astringent and the finish takes on a faintly dry edge from their alliance with alcohol. Still, this is an impressive effort that might gain complexity – even if not finesse – with a few more years in bottle.

- David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate, October 2013 - 90 points

2008

Steam roller red. The aromas are signature sedimentary soil offering sandalwood, Asian spices and black cherry-rosemary preserves. The palate is precise and disciplined yet with a ribbon of intrigue leading you through the finish which is lingering and sultry. This is a wine seeking a dance partner. Unfined and unfiltered.

- Amalie Robert Estate Tasting Notes

Bright ruby-red. Seductive aromas of raspberry, Asian spices, potpourri and blood orange, with a note of white pepper adding lift and vivacity. Dry, nervy and very precise, offering tangy red fruit and floral pastille flavors and showing no excess fat. Seamless and pure on the finish, which lingers with outstanding tenacity and echoing spice and floral notes.

- Josh Raynolds, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, July/Aug 2011 – 93 points

Amalie Robert’s 2008 Pinot Noir Reserve is scented and flavored with ripe, juicy fresh cherry and red raspberry allied to rose petal, rose hip, Ceylon black tea, baking spices, vanilla, Virginia tobacco, and an especially alluring and luscious suggestion of blood orange. In short, it exhibits a complexity not to mention an interactivity – allied to lift, fruit purity and energy – that few wines of its vintage are (today at least) showing. Add to this a mouthwatering emerging evocation of veal stock as you approach an uplifting, penetrating and dynamic finish. This is a winner by any measure, and apt to perform terrifically through at least 2018.

- David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate, October 2013 - 93 points

2007

Crushed fresh raspberries, cherry cola, mocha, cinnamon and Darjeeling tea define the aroma continuum. Montmorency cherry, Asian five spice, and rich red fruits are Lithe on the palate. Delineated acidity and firm grip provide a vibrant and extended finish. 25 cases produced.

- Amalie Robert Estate Tasting Notes

Rowan, heliotrope, hibiscus, and in fact an entire floral sachet emanate from the glass of Amalie Robert 2007 Pinot Noir Reserve, resembling – but also heightening – aromatic behavior I’ve experienced this year in a number of wines harvested in this “vintage from hell.” Relatively low tannin – like high perfume – is a theme here, but there is an invigorating ping born of fresh red berry acidity allied to subtle crunch of berry seeds on an otherwise polished palate. Reflecting the warmth that led up to 2007’s miseries, hints of caramel are allied to entirely ripe expressions of red fruits, and 13.6% alcohol reveals itself as expansiveness without weight or heat. A smoky aura of burley tobacco mingles with the profuse inner-mouth perfume of this buoyant, vibrant Pinot that finishes with fine, long, mouthwateringly salt-tinged length: not gripping but both stimulating and soothing. I can only hazard a guess as to how long it will remain in such a flattering state, but nothing I taste now suggests it will be less than another couple of years.

- David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate, October 2013 - 94 points

Limpid red. Bright strawberry, raspberry and Asian spices on the nose, with a seductive note of potpourri that gains strength with air. Sappy, spicy, attractively sweet red fruit flavors are energized by tangy blood orange and white pepper nuances, with a note of medicinal cherry adding grip. Plays deep cherry off tangy strawberry on the finish, which is precise, lively and very long. This will age on its energy and balance.

- Josh Raynolds, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, July/Aug 2010 – 93 points

2006

Deep rich red intensity in the glass. Voluptuous and scintillating aromas of Five Spice, dried plums and tarragon structure the bouquet. Lively and full flavored on the palate with intense dried Montmorency cherry, earthy spice and savory. The finish is firm with lingering fruit and, silky tannins that persist. Yeah man! You gotta try this!!! Unfined and unfiltered. 25 cases produced. Equal parts Wadenswil Clone and Dijon Clone (113).

- Amalie Robert Estate Tasting Notes

Saturated red. Inviting aromas of raspberry, cherry-cola, dried rose and Asian spices, with a suave undercurrent of smoky minerals. Powerful red and dark berry flavors are framed by silky tannins and complicated by candied flowers and anise. Expands with air, picking up deeper cherry and black cardamom qualities that extend through the sweet, lively and finely focused finish. While this is concentrated to age, there's a lot going on right now.

- Josh Raynolds​, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/June 2009 – 93 points

Email: Cuvee@amalierobert.com