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Travel Schedule: We are going to be hitting the road again in 2013 because we always have so much fun. Both Patty and Jim will be cruising around the country glad handing, showing some wines, doing tastings and dinners. At the very least you can expect visits to New York City, Vegas, South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, DC, and Virginia. We have just started the beginning processes of setting up events in these cities and states. As we start to get things laid out we will have updates on the website (events page) about tastings and dinners that are open to the public. We are also not opposed to throwing in a private tasting to two if there is the right forum and momentum for them. Input is always accepted on that front. Anyway, keep checking in or contact us and we hope to see you out there in America! Watch our blog for details as the events unfold.
Tasting notes on a handful of older Patricia Green bottlings:
2000 Eason Vineyard Pinot Noir: A friend of ours brought a bottle of this to a dinner at Alba Osteria in southwest Portland on the last weekend in January. Honestly, I was a little worried about the prospects for this wine. While this was one of my favorite wines of the vintage I seem to remember a couple of years ago thinking that this wine had hit its apex and was even in a bit of decline. Pinot Noir does sometimes have some non-linear aging that it goes through and some wines will show older at one stage and snap back into line later one. I guess that would be what went on here.
The wine was simply wonderful aromatically with rich, sweet red fruits and some mild earthy, herbal, spicy characteristics. On the palate the wine was youthful and so highly textured I could hardly believe it. The mid-palate was brimming with ripe, opulent red fruits that were sweet but really well composed. The texture gave the wine enormous presence and length and there were layers of secondary flavors that gave it great complexity. In short the wine was super-fantastic, youthful, punchy and flat out delicious. Tasted next to a very nice 2000 Vosne-Romanee from Mugneret-Gibourg. The Eason definitely stood out as the more complete wine. Nice. If you have it, it’s a treat but there appears to be no big hurry.
2000 Bonshaw Pinot Noir: I got to work on Monday after tasting the Eason and was dying to try another 2000 vintage wine. The week before I had taken a bottle of the 2000 Bonshaw out of the cold-storage that is the wine storage unit in the winery. Lunch time was a perfect opportunity to crack it open.
I knew this was going to be a lot different than the Eason since Bonshaw comes from a portion of our Estate Vineyard as opposed to the Dundee Hills. Since 2005 Bonshaw has been one of my 2 or 3 favorite bottling of each vintage (and the 2008 in barrel is spectacular by the way!). More reticent on the nose than the Eason with dark, plum and leather notes to the aromatic profile. Very rich and round on the palate with a little spike of acidity to give a point to the smooth nature of the wine. Still fairly present and full tannins on the back palate. Slaty/minerally notes fill in the back end. Very, very good if perhaps a touch less enrapturing than the Eason. Hardly surprising as the Estate Vineyard had a load of issues when we bought this place in 2000. Nice to see that this is still more than hanging in there and is a pretty sumptuous and highly enjoyable wine that should easily motor through the next 5 years as a yummy wine.
2001 Balcombe Vineyard, Block 1B: This wine we had about a month ago at Urban Farmer (new steak house in downtown Portland).
I personally love the 2001 wines right now. They are really dramatic and showing beautifully. They may be overshadowed by the wonderful 2002 wines but they are spectacular in their own right. This wine was tasted beside a 2001 Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits-St.-Georges Les Chaignots 1er Cru.
Much riper and sweeter in the nose than I would have expected. Dark berries, game, animal, pain grille and a touch of brown sugar swirl around in the glass and are fairly opulent. This is a big wine. Block 1B always tends toward the darker, gruffer, riper side than Balcombe but to see it in a vintage like 2001 as dramatically staged as this bottle is pretty amazing. This has lots of primary sweetness to it. This is domestic Pinot Noir lover Pinot. Lots of texture, lots of sweet fruit, long finish, nice tannins but still very approachable. This is extremely tasty and it married beautifully with the steaks we were having. I don’t know that this wine is going to get much better, perhaps it will shed a little of that primary sweetness and brown sugar aspect and become more composed, but it certainly isn’t looking at any downward spiral any time in the near future.
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2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Croft Vineyard Willamette Valley 90 Bright red. Musky red berry and cherry aromas are complemented by notes of violet and licorice. Firm, finely etched berry and cherry skin flavors are refreshingly bitter and nicely framed by silky tannins. The licorice and floral notes repeat on the long, mineral-driven, nervy finish.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Ribbon Ridge 89(+?) Medium red. Cherry, flowers and earth on the nose. Youthfully subdued red berry and cherry flavors are firmed by dusty tannins and pick up a gentle spiciness with air. Bitter cherry skin and anise qualities define the finish, which is a touch clenched right now.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Balcombe Dundee Hills 90 Vivid red. Full-blown red fruit and floral aromas are complicated by smoky Asian spices and flowers. Pliant, gently sweet strawberry and raspberry flavors pick up gentle spice and herb notes on the back end. This is very appealing now, and I'd drink it over the next couple of years for its open-knit, juicy qualities.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Old Vine Ribbon Ridge 91 Bright red. Dark berries, cherry, rose and graphite on the nose. Mineral-laced cherry and black raspberry flavors are impressively precise, gaining a pleasant edge of bitter cherry skin with air. The minerality lingers on the persistent finish, adding cut to the cherry and dried rose flavors. This is balanced to age.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Ana Vineyard Dundee Hills 91 Medium red. Sexy aromas of raspberry and blackberry preserves, cherry-cola and Asian spices, along with a floral topnote. The cherry-cola quality repeats on the palate, which also offers rose pastille and clove flavors. Becomes sweeter on the persistent finish, with no loss of energy or clarity. This is drinking very well right now.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Balcombe Vineyard Block 1B Dundee Hills 90 Deep red. Youthful raspberry and cherry aromas are complemented by notes of anise and rose. Deep red fruit flavors gain depth and richness with air, picking up cherry skin and plum qualities. The finish hangs on nicely and leaves spice and berry skin notes behind. Serve this with a peppery, grilled steak.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Bonshaw Ribbon Ridge 91 Deep red. Highly aromatic bouquet evokes dark cherry, blackberry, Asian spices and musky underbrush. Nervy, finely etched cherry and spice flavors are braced by a tangy mineral quality and framed by silky tannins. Finishes brisk, with echoes of red berries and baking spices and excellent persistence.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Etzel Block Ribbon Ridge 91(+?) Full red. Fresh strawberry, raspberry and floral aromas are complicated by hints of smoky minerals and Asian spices. Silky in texture, with sweet red berry and tangy mineral flavors gaining depth and sweetness with air. The mineral quality adds cut to the long, gently spicy finish. This will age on balance, not power.
2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Notorious Yamhill County 92 Vivid red. Exotically scented bouquet of red and dark berries, five-spice powder, rose and suave vanillin oak. Plush raspberry and blackberry flavors are deepened by sweet cola and floral pastille notes, with supple tannins lending support. The finish strongly echoes the dark fruit and floral notes and lingers impressively. This is extremely seductive now but is balanced to age. Incidentally, the Notorious is the only Patricia Green wine that ever gets 100% new oak.
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Jul/Aug 11
($24) Bright red. Redcurrant and cherry on the spice-accented nose. Taut and linear on entry, then fleshier in the middle, offering lively red fruit flavors and a hint of white pepper. Lively and refreshingly brisk, with good finishing cut and nerve. 89
($30) Bright red. Black raspberry, cherry and spicecake on the fragrant nose. Deep dark berry and cherry-cola flavors are enlivened by juicy acidity and pick up smoke and violet nuances with aeration. Chewy, concentrated and powerful on the finish, leaving dark berries and flowers behind. This benefits a lot from aeration. 90(+?)
($45) Medium red. Cherry, Indian spices and dried rose on the fragrant, smoky nose. Ripe and smooth on entry, then tighter in the middle, offering bitter cherry and black raspberry flavors perked up by a slow-mounting mineral quality. Seamless and focused pinot with impressive finishing clarity and smoky persistence. Balanced to age over the next few years but this drinks very well now with some decanting. 91
($36) Vivid ruby. Pungent, assertive aromas of black raspberry, spicecake, sandalwood and herbs. Offers an array of red fruit and floral pastille flavors, with tangy acidity adding spine and lift. Turns sweeter on the back half, with slow-building tannins providing shape and grip. Finishes smooth and sappy, with lingering cherry and candied rose qualities and very good persistence. 91
($50) Full red. Raspberry and cherry-vanilla on the pungent, spice-accented nose. Rich, fleshy and broad on entry, then more taut in the middle, displaying sappy dark berry flavors with notes of gingerbread and anise. Tannins build with air and lend chewiness to this wine's densely packed fruit. Finishes with very good clarity, length and grip and a suggestion of bitter cherry. I'd cellar this one for at least another five years. 93
($36) Deep red. Intense blackberry and cherry aromas are complicated by notes of anise, sassafras and smoky minerals. Plush, expansive dark berry flavors show an attractive pliancy and pick up a touch of bitter cherry with air. Fine-grained tannins add shape and grip to a long, mineral-accented finish. This drinks very well now but has the depth to suggest patience will be repaid. 91
($40) Deep, bright red. High-pitched aromas of raspberry and fresh flowers, with deeper cherry pit and smoke notes gaining strength with aeration. Focused and bright on the palate, offering lively red berry flavors and a subtle bitter chocolate nuance. Shows very good energy on the finish, which leaves notes of cherry and tangy red berries behind. 91
($36) Deep ruby. Cherry-cola, dark berries, violet and spices on the nose, with a subtle herbal quality and a touch of cracked pepper. Dense but energetic, offering powerful black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors that are firmed by dusty minerals. Tannins build on the finish, which is long, sappy and well-focused. A few years of bottle age should be beneficial to this wine., 90(+?)
($60) Bright ruby-red. An exotically perfumed and expressive bouquet displays raspberry, cherry compote, sassafras and five spice powder, with a subtle floral note in the background. Fleshy and energetic in the mouth, offering deep dark berry and licorice flavors and a late note of peppery spice. Closes with solid punch, lingering dark berry and bitter herb notes and excellent persistence. I'd definitely age this one but it drinks well with some decanting, too. 92
($40) Vivid medium red. High-pitched red berry and floral aromas are complemented by deeper notes of anise and black cardamom. Sappy and precise, with deep raspberry and bitter cherry flavors and a sexy rose pastille quality. Fine-grained tannins add shape and grip to the long, spicy, energetic finish. I'd bet that this very well-balanced wine will reward at least another five years of aging. 92
($70) Deep, bright red. Explosively perfumed nose offers an array of dark berry and floral scents, along with notes of cinnamon, allspice and cola. Sappy, palate-staining black raspberry and cherry-cola flavors show very good clarity and pick up smokiness with air. The smooth, seamless finish shows outstanding persistence and resonating spice and floral character. This could be drunk now but I'd hold onto it for a while. 93
($100) Vivid ruby. Exotic perfume of candied red and dark berries, cherry-cola, incense and dried rose, with cinnamon and allspice notes adding vivacity. Densely concentrated raspberry and cherry flavors stain that palate, picking up mineral and spice character with aeration. Unfolds slowly on the back end, finishing with powerful spice and floral pastille notes, noteworthy vibrancy and excellent length. This is just starting to show its potential. 92(+?)
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