2003 Carlo and Julian Pinot Noir

A few days ago, my husband was rooting around in our wine cellar and discovered this 2003 Carlo and Julian Pinot Noir from Carlton, Oregon. We both remember going to the vineyard and learning about their tall Pinot noir vines being tended by sheep! My husband said that when he pulled out the cork, it came out in one piece without a problem which is a good sign for a wine that is 21 years old. The sniff test revealed some muted aromas but the tasted test was surprisingly good. The wine still tasted youthful with a fair amount of fruit on the palate. The label on the back of this bottle provided a little more information. The wine was made with Pommard, Dijon 667 and 777 from the oldest vines on their estate vineyard. Only 200 cases were produced. The wine was unfined and unfiltered. On their website, I learned that they still use their sheep in the vineyard which was planted in 1991. We paired the wine with a pork chop smothered in pan gravy with a side of wild rice and green bean almondine!