Apr
2020

Wine Review: Panther Creek 2017 Kalita Vineyard Pinot Noir

categories: Booze, Wine

This is a continuation of my tour of Panther Creek Cellars’ various vineyard sources. Today, we travel to Kalita Vineyard, located in the Yamhill Carlton AVA of Oregon, and planted entirely to Pinot Noir.

A bit about the vineyard from the Kalita Vineyard website:

Year planted: 2000
Varieties planted: Pinot Noir
Clones: Pommard, PN 114, PN 115, PN 777, all on grafted rootstock
Acreage planted: 22 acres

  • A bowl-shaped site providing winemakers with the option to select grapes grown on hillsides facing South, Southwest or Southeast with elevations ranging from 400 to 800 feet.
  • The soil is classic WillaKenzie soil.
  • 22 acres of Pinot Noir with four different clones – Pommard, PN 114, PN 115 and PN 777 – all on grafted rootstock. Spacing is 4’x7′.
  • A Certified Sustainable Vineyard by Oregon Live
  • Managed since first planting in 2000 by Results Partners (currently led by Daniel Fey).

Now onto the wine…

(more…)


Mar
2020

Radio-Coteau 2014 Las Colinas Sonoma Coast Syrah

categories: Booze, Wine

Who likes a cool-climate Syrah? *Raises hand.* Syrah is one of the varieties that my partner in wine crime and I don’t agree on—meaning, he always wants it and I’m way picky about it. It was when I was working on an article for Edible Silicon Valley, discovering the Rhône wines of the South Bay (read: Where We Rhône: Wine Trends In Silicon Valley) that I discovered the broad range of styles that can come from the Syrah grape. And it was during an interview with renowned winemaker Ross Cobb that it dawned on me that I truly gravitate toward the subtle, but undoubtedly structured, Syrahs grown in cooler climates. “We’ve always known that this area (Sonoma Coast) is an outstanding place for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay,” Cobb said. “But I’ve always thought that it’s also an outstanding cool Northern Rhône climate here.” He’s right. (Read more: Technical Review: Anaba Wines).

Well, today I bring to you that experience—that experience of subtlety, finesse, structure, and a small snippet of the Northern Rhône with a taste of Radio-Coteau’s 2014 Las Colinas Sonoma Coast Syrah.

(more…)


Mar
2020

Panther Creek Cellars 2017 Maverick Vineyard Pinot Noir

categories: Booze, Wine

My latest shipment from Panther Creek Cellars came with single-vineyard Pinot Noir from each of the winery’s estate vineyards. Super fun. I had the chance to compare the vineyards last year, so was so pleased to get to experience the 2017 release this year. The new kid on the block: Maverick Vineyard. In fact, this vineyard, located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA of Oregon was only planted seven years ago, in 2013. For those of you unfamiliar with a vine’s growth cycle, typically the first three years of a vine’s life does not produce any fruit (or at least not enough or enough quality fruit to make wine). So, I imagine, 2017 was really the first harvest that yielded enough fruit to make enough sellable wine. And even then, only 150 cases were produced. So, how did the new kid fare?

(more…)


Mar
2020

Panther Creek Cellars 2019 Pinot Noir-Chardonnay Blend

categories: Booze, Wine

This was literally a case of, “Do you want a red or white wine with dinner tonight?” The fact of the matter was the meal could have easily paired with either. So, I thought, heck, why not try this (for me) experimental blend I just received in my latest allocation of Panther Creek new releases. It’s a cool concept: Take off the skins of the red wine grape and ferment it like a white and then, blend it with another white. No reason it shouldn’t work…

(more…)