The evening began at 6:30PM with welcome bubbly and the opportunity to
meet winemaker Jim Anderson before dinner at 7:00PM.
The 5-Course Dinner featured 5 perfectly paired Wine Tastings from
Patricia Green Cellars, enhancing the dishes:
Picture: Patricia Green and Christian G.E. Schiller at Pearson's in Washington DC
Wine Tasting: The Pinot Noirs of Patricia Green Cellars, Oregon, US
Patricia
Green from Oregon came to Washington DC to show us her wines. I
attended a tasting at Pearson’s. Patricia Green founded Patricia Green
Cellars in 2000, with Jim Anderson. Since then, the winery has
established itself as a producer of outstanding Oregon Pinot Noirs.
Oregon Patricia
Green Cellars is in the Willamette Valley, were about two-thirds of
Oregon’s wineries and vineyards are. Buffered from Pacific storms on the
west by the Coast Range, the valley follows the Willamette River north
to south for more than a hundred miles from the Columbia River near
Portland to just south of Eugene. But Oregon is not only about
Willamette Valley. Oregon’s vineyards span the whole State, rising up
and falling over the rolling hills and gentle valleys of more than
12,000 acres (4,858 hectares) of wine grapes. Oregon’s major wine
regions are the Willamette Valley, Rogue Valley, Umpqua Valley, and the
Columbia Gorge. Some regions straddle the border between Oregon and the
States of Washington and Idaho.
Wine was made in Oregon in the
19th century already, when Italian and Swiss immigrants planted wine
grapes and started bottling wine. Oregon's wine industry was suppressed
during Prohibition. It wasn’t until1961, when Richard Sommer set up shop
in southern Oregon and planted Riesling, that the modern Oregon wine
industry was borne. Other pioneers include David Adelsheim, Dick Ponzi
and Bill Sokol-Blosser. Then the French also came with Domaine Drouhin
bringing European sophistication to Oregon. In the past 40 years, Oregon
has become one of the country’s top three wine States, with 350
wineries producing an average of 5,000 cases each a year. Most of it is
Pinot Noir, but there’s also Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and modest amounts
of Riesling and Merlot.
Picture: Wine country Oregon
Oregon
produces wine on a much smaller scale than its southern neighbor
California. Oregon's biggest producer ships only 125,000 cases per year
and most produce under 35,000 cases. The State features many small
wineries which produce less than 5,000 cases per year. In contrast, E
& J Gallo Winery, the US’ largest winery, produces about 70 million
cases annually. The majority of wineries in Oregon operate their own
vineyards, although some purchase grapes on the market.
Like
New Zealand, Oregon rode the Sideways Pinot Noir boom for several years,
expanding vineyard plantings repeatedly. Now the financial crisis has
hit the wine industry. Malbec from Argentina and Camenere from Chile are
hot and prices are tumbling. As if weak demand and strong competitors
weren't enough, the 2009 crop was a big one -- up 23% from 2008.
Combined with the unsold inventory from 2008, the State faces its first
significant surplus of wine in many years.
Pinot NoirPinot
Noir in the US has become synonymous with the relative cool climate
grape growing regions of Oregon. The reputation that gets Pinot Noir so
much attention, however, is owed to the wines of the Bourgogne in
France, where it has probably been cultivated since at least the 4th
century. It's responsible for the great red wines from the Bourgogne,
which includes Chambertin, Pommard, and Romanee-Conti, to name a few.
In the Champagne region, Pinot Noir is one of the three grape varieties
(along with Chardonnay and Meunier) allowed in the sparkling wine. Pinot
Noir is also an important red grape in Germany. In northern Italy,
Pinot Noir is known as Blauburgunder in some areas and Pinot Nero in
others. Some of California's better Pinot Noir wines come from the
State's cooler regions such as Carneros, the Russian River Valley and
Santa Barbara.
Regardless of where it’s grown, Pinot Noir is not
typically a value wine. That is so because Pinot Noir is such a delicate
grape that it is difficult and expensive to grow. It is a fickle grape
that demands optimum growing conditions with warm days supported by
cool evenings. As the German name – Spaetburgunder - implies, it
ripens late (spät). Compared with those from California, in general, the
Oregon Pinot Noirs are lighter in color, fruitier in the nose and
cleaner on the palate.
Patty GreenThe
48-year-old winemaker’s career in the wine industry began by leaving
the re-forestation business to pick grapes at Hillcrest Vineyard outside
of Roseburg. There, she quickly was given the reins. She then worked
and consulted for various wineries, including Ashland Vineyards,
Girardet Winery, Adelsheim Winery and La Garza Vineyards. When she left
Torii Mor Winery with the 1999 vintage in barrel, there were a slew of
90+ point scores on wines from the 93- 97 vintages, widespread
recognition within Oregon s wine community as a talent to watch and near
cult-like status from Pinot Noir drinkers. In 2000, together with Jim
Anderson, who worked at Torii Mor with Green as well as with a silent
partner, she acquired the winery of Tom and Wendy Kreutner and the Patty
Green Vineyards was borne.
Patricia Green CellarsThe
estate has 26 acres, although Green and Anderson farm 60 acres of
property for grapes. Patty explained that all of the vineyards they
either maintain or purchase fruit from, are extremely well-tended sites
that seek to grow the best fruit possible through rigorous attention to
detail on every single vine. To ensure that the sites truly show the
characteristics of the soil, micro-climate and clonal material none of
them use irrigation. In the winery, the philosophy of attention to the
smallest details is further extended all the way from the fermenting
must to the final bottling process.
Green uses only native
yeast in making their wines; she does not add commercial yeast to get
grapes to ferment. She also puts certain types of lees back into the
barrels while the wines are aging. Lees are the seeds, skins and related
solids that fall to the bottom of fermenting grape juice. They can add a
layering quality to the wine and a berry-like texture.
Patty
makes wine from a variety of Willamette Valley sources, encompassing the
two primary soil types in the region: sedimentary and volcanic. The
vineyards are broken up into 17 different blocks based upon age of vine,
clonal material, elevation, and other factors. The blocks have been
given a name for various reasons (Pheasant, Lakeview, etc.).
Prices are in US$. The current exchange rates are 0.90 BP = 1 EURO = 1.34 US$ = 124 JPY.
Wines we tasted:
PATRICIA GREEN CHARDONNAY 2008
Winery
Notes: Not to be left out of the discussion of wines from this vineyard
would be the Chardonnay. We have developed more of an appreciation for
this vineyard s ability to give us the kind of fruit we wanted as we
figured out more and more what kind of wine we wanted to make from this
site. All the new barrels are long gone and at this point the newest
barrel in the Chardonnay has been used five times. We are also starting
to pick at a point where we still have some greener berries mixed into
some of the bunches. That gives us a hint more acidity than we have had
in the past pushing the wine further and further into the lemon
candy/lemon curd flavor profile that we love and are trying to coax out
of our wine. In 2003 and 2004 we felt as though we were looking to the
wines of the Macon or village level Meursaults for our inspiration. With
the 2005 we definitely stare into Chablis with a wine that is full of
lemony goodness, a dollop of crushed oyster shell and some spice on the
finish. This is a lean, mean fighting machine. Not for everyone but you
will love it if this in your genre of Chardonnays. 330 cases bottled.
$24.99
PATRICIA GREEN FOUR WINDS PINOT NOIR 2008
Winery
Notes: This is not only the best bottling of Four Winds we have ever
done (by a long shot) it is one of the best wines of the vintage. It is
simply incredible in every way. From the electric black/purple
pigmentation to the wild berry/smoke/earth/licorice aromatics to the
sheer intensity and concentration of flavors to the massive texture
supported by firm tannins this wine is a rock star. This bottling has
not always been everyone s cup of tea. Those who have liked this have
loved it and those not so attracted to it tended to find it
distastefully earthy and odd. This wine will not be nearly as
polarizing. There is a lot to love about this wine because there is a
lot of stuffing packed into this wine. This is a dynamo. We waited
patiently for these vines to show the benefit of some vine age and we
think we are beginning to see the fruition of that patience. Didn t hurt
that this came in at slightly over 1 ton to the acre either. Stock up
if you have been a fan in the past or jump on the bandwagon if you haven
t been a disciple in the past. 320 cases bottled. $36.99
PATRICIA GREEN BALCOMBE PINOT NOIR 2008
Winery
Notes : This bottling has the sweetness of red fruit, high-toned
acidity, and super-silky tannins that make Balcombe Vineyard such a
terrific and sought-after site. There is a great deal of intensity in
this particular wine and while its nature tends toward femininity and
elegance there is an underlying darkness and strength to it that provide
a whole different dimension. Fans of this bottling will love this
vintage as it is mouth-watering, smooth, and rich, and it possesses so
much substance that it will be terrific for many years down the road.
$44.99
PATRICIA GREEN ESTATE PINOT NOIR 2008
Winery
Notes: This bottling is designed to show off the inherent power that
younger vines display in the Ribbon Ridge Appellation. There is a
darkness that runs through this wine from its color, to its aromatic
profile, into the flavors and down into the tannins that finish it off.
While other qualities resonate in flashes such as violets and bing
cherries in the nose and rose petal and loam in the mid-palate the
background of power and darkness is always there. While this wine is not
truly a powerful wine as it is quite graceful it has a brooding
character that gives it quite a bit of depth. This is a terrific
expression of the type of subtle power wines from the Ribbon Ridge
Appellation contain. Sort of like Baryshnikov doing Swan Lake in a
leather jacket while carrying brass knuckles. $44.99
PATRICIA GREEN NOTORIOUS PINOT NOIR 2008
Winery
Notes: This blend changes each vintage based on what we think are the
most exotic barrels the cellar has to offer...We chose based on the
superbly rich, dense, creamy, and full-bodied natures of these barrels.
This wine is a marvel in 2008. What is truly recognizable even at this
young age is the length of this wine. There is so much substance that is
so well-balanced that it carries on and on. Buy it for its
concentration, depth, and exotic fruit but cellar and savor it for its
length and complexity. This is a beautiful, beautiful, wine. 135 cases
bottled. $79.99
Patricia Green CellarsOregon, US
Pearson's Washington DC, US
