AVA: Dundee Hills              SOIL TYPE: Jory               PRODUCTION:  489 cases bottled

Winemaking and Notes:This bottling comes equally from the high elevation, 1990 plantings of Pommard in Balcombe Vineyard, the mid-tier elevation of both the 44 year-old Pommard clone vines in Durant Vineyard’s Bishop Block and the Dijon 115 in the 18 year-old Madrone Block, the 38-year old vines from Weber Vineyard and from a Worden Hill Rd. site planted in 1990 that is bottled under the name ‘Mysterious’. This mix allows us to take from the cooler, windier Breyman Orchard sites (Balcombe and Durant) as well as the cool vineyard within the warm growing area (Worden Hill Rd.) to show a complete picture of the Dundee Hills and its volcanic soil influences. While some element of whole cluster fermentations barrels was used, no new barrels were incorporated so as to show the clearest path from soil to wine as possible. This wine has a dynamic set of vineyards that make it up. What comes forth is pure Dundee Hills goodness. Red fruits and spices combine on an incredible textural lattice making this wine both edu-mah-cational and very difficult to not find appealing. Come for the geology, stay for the incredible taste.

Winemaking and Notes:The fermentation contained around 33% whole cluster fruit from the four blocks this bottling is sourced from. The fruit from Block 2A was done as 100% whole cluster which is our normal method of fermentation with this block. All cuvees went through a standard cold soak of about 5-6 days, fermented in 1.75-ton open-top fermenters and were pigeaged 1x/day until dry. It was then pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days at which point the wine went to barrel. This wine saw only just over 5% new barrels, but over 50% came from once used barrels of the 19.5 selected for this bottling. As mentioned earlier, there are five sections of Balcombe Vineyard. Four of the sections are used to create the Balcombe Vineyard bottling. The section called 1B is separated out into a different bottling. The Balcombe Vineyard bottling is certainly the quintessential Dundee Hills Pinot Noir. Ever since its first bottling in 2000 this wine is all about how the texture and the flavor co-mingle to deliver the EXPERIENCE. This has an irresistible silky texture without being soft or cloying. The manner in which the flavors are delivered are the key component to this wine’s complexity. It is consistently floral on the nose with subtle elements of red-fruit and smoked meat. It has a sneaky ageability to it since it does have such an approachable-when-young nature to it, but recent tastes of the 2001 and 2002 show those wines cruising along beautifully. Drink it for its lovely, youthful nature or save it and it will be a delicious treat 10+ years into the future. Either way you cannot lose.

AVA: Chehalem Mountains                          LOCATION: Kings Grade Rd.

ELEVATION: 325’                                          SOIL TYPE: Willakenzie

YEAR PLANTED: 2007

CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Pommard        VINEYARD SIZE: 32-acre vineyard, ~1.0-acre PGC Anklebreaker (Pommard) block

VINIFICATION: 2 open-top fermenters, a 1.75 ton and a 2.5 ton, the former with 40% whole clusters the latter with 60% whole clusters.

PICKING DATE: September 22nd               TONS/ACRE: 3.33

OWNER: John & Susan Olenik                   PRODUCTION: 12 Bottles

AVA: Chehalem Mountains                   LOCATION: Kings Grade Rd.

ELEVATION: 325’                                     SOIL TYPE: Willakenzie

YEAR PLANTED: 2007                            CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Pommard

VINEYARD SIZE: 32-acre vineyard, ~2.7-acre PGC Wadensvil block

VINIFICATION: 3 open-top 1.75 ton fermenters, one with 0%, one with 40% and one 50% whole clusters.

PICKING DATE: September 26th         TONS/ACRE: 3.25

OWNERS: John & Susan Olenik         PRODUCTION: 12 Bottles   

Winemaking and Notes: Olenik Vineyard sits nearly smack dab in the middle of this south facing hillside. The vineyard sits on the same type of thin marine soil as our Estate Vineyard. Wadensvil Clone is especially perfect for this type of soil. The natures of marine sedimentary soil and the Wadensvil clone are nearly a perfect intersection for Pinot Noir in Oregon. Wadensvil tends toward more elegant, high-toned and red-fruited wines while the sedimentary soil adds an element of structure and turns the wine distinctly toward a very mineral-driven mid-palate and finish. The barrels that make up this wine come equally from the fermentations that was done with 50% and no whole clusters with a couple of barrels of the 40% whole cluster fermenter rounding out the balance. Despite the differences in the make-up of the fermentations the bins were both pigeaged 1x/day and pressed separately on the same day. The fruit that was fermented with 50% whole clusters emphasizes minerals, spices and back-palate structure all of which provide tension in the herb-laced red fruit. The de-stemmed barrels are a rush of sweet, feminine red fruit and a texture like velvet. The 40% seemed to have a little of both. The whole clusters give an incredible backbone to this wine that lends an austerity to this wine that benefits it not only down the road but in the here and now, allowing it to be the wine from the Chehalem Mountains that is the most elegant, graceful and refined of the bottlings. The wine is incredibly aromatic and floral but still allows for the back palate to be the guiding force in this wine. This wine is soulful and richer than it at first seems however it is graceful, subtle and sublime and easily one of the most popular wines that we make.

Winemaking and Notes:The Madrone Block, planted to Dijon 115 Clone creates a much different Pinot Noir than the Pommard Clone from the Bishop Block, and it is special enough to be bottled on its own. One of the reasons that the Dundee Hills was the place that initially defined all of Oregon Pinot Noir and why this AVA remains so sought after in terms of plantable vineyard land is that, quite simply, the wines from here are delicious. In their relative youth vines here produce ripe fruit that wants to be pleasing and friendly. The Madrone Block is just about to get to its 20^th leaf, so it still exists in a spot where it produces fruit that makes wine people want to enjoy.  It is plush wish richness and ripe characteristics, but it also has balanced acidity and enough tannin to keep everything where it needs to be. This is definitely deep in fruit and oozing with textural appeal creating a long, graceful and entirely charming wine. This borders right on sultry as all bottlings of this block have since we began producing it in 2012. Almost certainly, this is the single vineyard designate with the most upfront appeal to it. This will show sweet red fruits which are certainly a staple of the vintage with classic Dundee Hill sweet spices. Hard not to like.

Winemaking and Notes:There was a range of whole cluster fermentations ranging from 45% to 100% stem-inclusion that were created from the fruit we received from this block in 2018. They allwent through a normal cold soak of 4 to 5 days and then were fermented in 1.75-ton open-top fermenters (as well as one 2.5 ton round that was done 100% whole cluster and is the bedrock of this bottling) and pigeaged 1x/day until dry and then was pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days before being pressed separately to allow for specific blending later in the year. The wine spent about 11 months in barrel in 27% new oak. 13 barrels of the 100% whole cluster fermentation barrels were selected with 7 coming from the 2.5 ton fermentation and 5 from 45% whole cluster fermentations. This combination allows for the forward, supple nature of Dundee Hills fruit to be showcased while held in check by the old vine, mineral-driven elements of the 100% whole cluster barrels. There is sweet red fruit that is overlaid by a distinctly savory aspect creating a dichotomy upon which complexity exists. This is a wine that has old bones and sensibilities to it while still having the stuffing that Dundee Hill wines are known for all while being an insanely rare example due to the vine age that helps define this wine’s boundaries.

These now monster vines were planted back in 1973 making them some of the oldest vines in Oregon, thus giving this bottling an historical aspect to it. 46-year-old vines in Oregon are exceptionally rare both because there was so little planted acreage back then and some of that acreage has been re-planted due to Phylloxera. The fact that this site and wine exist at all is somewhat of a minor miracle. In part due to this, this wine knows exactly what it wants to be. It shows finesse, subtleness, elegance and discreet balance all backed up by a sneaky and looming firmness. Only older vines make wines like this. This is not a wine that needs to make a dramatic entrance, because all the work is done on the back end.

AVA: Willamette Valley                                 LOCATION: Burnell Rd., Dallas, OR  

ELEVATION: 500’                                           SOIL TYPE: Bellpine

YEAR PLANTED: 2000

CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Coury               VINEYARD SIZE: 85-acre vineyard, 1.1-acre PGC block

VINIFICATION: 2.5-ton open-top fermenters done with 100% whole cluster and 35% whole cluster fermentations.

PICKING DATE: 09/30/18                              TONS/ACRE: 3.16

OWNERS: Dan and Helen Dusschee             PRODUCTION: 229 cases bottled

Winemaking and Notes: This section of the vineyard was planted in 2000 and the cuttings came from the 1972 section of Coury Clone at Hyland Vineyard. What all this amounts to is that this is one of the most fascinating single vineyard bottlings we make on a yearly basis. Coury Clone is definitely something that leads with the nose first and foremost. To ensure that this feature is as prominent and beautiful as possible we have been using 35-50% whole cluster fermentations since our first vintage working with the fruit in 2012. We used 50% whole clusters again in 2018. It works, and in excellent vintages like 2018 the aromatics are especially intoxicating and unique. This bottling shows the flipside of Freedom Hill Vineyard which is known for power, intensity, sap-laden wines with lots of structure. This is graceful and aromatic, and while intense, it is discreetly so. Amongst the staff at Patricia Green Cellars this particular bottling is a distinct favorite.

AVA: Ribbon Ridge                                          LOCATION: North Valley Rd.  

ELEVATION: 450’                                              SOIL TYPE: Wellsdale

CLONAL MATERIAL: Pommard, Dijon 114    YEAR PLANTED: 1986, 2001

VINEYARD SIZE: 30-acre vineyard, 2.55-acre block

VINIFICATION: All 50% whole cluster fermentations in 1.75 ton open top fermenters.

PICKING DATE: 09/25 and 09/27/18               TONS/ACRE: 3.05

OWNERS: Patricia Green Cellars                  PRODUCTION: 18 Bottles

*Wine Club Only

Winemaking and Notes:The Etzel block section of our vineyard planted in 1986 slopes to the northwest directly toward our neighbor Beaux Freres. The name is an homage to the owner and winemaker there: Mike Etzel. This wine has always pulled some of the most interesting characteristics out of the site and that is its reason for existing on its own. For some reason this has always been the most nuanced and most mineral-driven of all our wines. There are 2 sections within the East Etzel Block as we interplanted rows in this block the year after we arrived. The rows were still 12 feet apart and we wanted to have tighter spacing so Dijon 114 was interplanted to make more efficient use of the land. The older Pommard (planted in 1986) was fermented in a single 1.75-ton open-top fermenter with 50% whole clusters, and went through a standard cold soak of about 5 days before being pigeaged 1x/day, pressed, and allowed to settle for 3 days. The Dijon 114 was fermented in three separate 1.75-ton open-top fermenters, all of which had 50% whole cluster inclusion, before going through a standard cold soak of about 5 days, and being pumped over until fermentation started. It was only pigeaged 1x/day before being pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days. The wine spent a little less than a year in 33% new barrels along with a combination of a one time- and a four times-used barrel. This wine is aromatically complex and nuanced. Minerality and seductive dark fruits combined with great complexity on the palate creates a wine that shows elegance, intricacy and intensity. This is a perfect example of how soil-influenced older vine Pinots from the Ribbon Ridge can be. The addition of whole cluster fermentation furthers the aromatic qualities and drives the graphite notes on the palate and tightens the tannins up on the back end.

AVA: Ribbon Ridge                                      LOCATION: North Valley Rd.  

ELEVATION: 250-475’                                  SOIL TYPE: Wellsford

CLONAL MATERIAL: 100% Pommard       VINEYARD SIZE: 30-acre vineyard

VINIFICATION: Pommard fermented in 1.75 open-top fermenters, 100% destemmed, Wadensvil also in 1.75 ton fermenters done 60% whole cluster.

PICKING DATE: Multiple dates from 09/19 to 10/04/18

TONS/ACRE: 3.25                                       OWNERS: Patricia Green Cellars

PRODUCTION: 18 Magnums

Wine Making and Notes:This bottling has always been a powerful view of this vineyard site and we still have blocks in the vineyard in the 10-21 year-old range that have not made (will not make?) the change to the far more chic and mineral-driven Estate Old Vine style. That is fine. Our Estate Vineyard is fairly large and incredibly diverse, so having two very different wines coming off of it is great. To us, this is the exciting part of Pinot Noir and vineyard management, and the marriage of the two in winemaking.

The wine is dark in color, dense in earth-tinged dark fruits with relatively thick tannins. However, as the vineyard has aged, fewer blocks are still producing this style of wine that seems to be indicative of the young vines. This comes from just three blocks: a 1998 southeast-facing planting of Pommard, a 2000 south-southeast facing planting of Pommard at lower elevation and, for the first time ever, a 2000 planting of Pommard that faces east at the top and back of the vineyard. This section has finally developed into something beautiful and representative of this site and particular bottling and we are very excited about its inclusion in this wine! The lower block of Pommard by the winery was done with 50% stem inclusion while all the fruit from the other two blocks were done as 100% de-stemmed. Everything went through a standard cold soak of about 4-7 days depending on the block, fermented in 1.75-ton open-top fermenters and was pigeaged 1x/day before being pressed and allowed to settle for 3 days. This spent a little less than a year in barrel with only 3% being new barrels while 86% were neutral so there is minimal oak influence in this wine allowing the pure nature of this dark Ribbon Ridge bottling to really come out. We dry farm our vineyard and these younger vines, even at 19-21 years of vine age, are still under a bit of duress. This leads to small, tight clusters and fairly thick skins. This gives the wine its trademark dark, almost purplish color with a hefty and dense structure. This can be a bit savage in nature when youthful but it comes around surprisingly fast and, of course, is good for many years.