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2019 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Wadensvil Block Estate Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge (3/26/2022)
Decanted 6hrs. This wine impressed at our tasting at PG in December and it was right on the mark again last night. Both expressive yet already showing serious hints of complexities that will unfurl in due coarse. Funny, the fruit could come across as both red themed or black - pending what bit of my roasted chicken thighs with spring veggies was in the pie hole. A real shape shifter. Tannins have a fine grained texture but plenty of structure for aging. A sliver of well judged oak is seen on the clean finish, which is sweet and spicy. Lovely, lovely wine. (93 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
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This is my favorite block in the Estate Vineyard. I have always enjoyed the syngergistic relationship between Wadensvil and marine soils (we have 2 other Wadensvil specific bottlings which are both in marine soil and will introduce another with the 2021 vintage). This block was planted by the previous owners in 1997.
When we arrived on the property in the spring of 2000 we knew there was a problem. From this 3.09 acre block there were 27 barrels of wine. To get that quantity of wine you would need roughly around 9.5-10 tons of fruit. Getting that tonnage per acre from first production (3rd leaf) vines is a bad idea in general, doing it in the talc-y/sandy soils this vineyard has is beyond irresponsible. The next time we got 10 tons of fruit from this block was 2021!
By July the second problem arose and that was the fatigue the plants were in from the duress plopped on them in 1999. By mid-July all the leaves in this. Lock were yellow. When we finally finished the purchas in late July the first thing we did was drop all the fruit in this section of the site.
The next five years were a project to keep these vines alive and get them going in the correct direction. Even the minimal amounts of fruit we allowed to hang did not produce very good wine. It wasn’t until 2006 that we had truly viable stuff and even then it went into a large blend. By 2012 it was sneaking into the Estate bottling and in 2014 it was the largest or second largest aspect of that wine. In 2015 we began bottling it on its own.
While we are moving toward full maturity from a chronological perspective I think these vines are not as developed as their age suggests. I think there is a lot of room before the ceiling on this block is met. The 2021 in barrel is extraordinary. It’s also a very calm and beautiful spot that meets up with our two adjacent sites. Always one of my favorite days of harvest when we pick this block.
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Thanks for the additional insight Jim!! It really stood out in the tasting in December - all 6 of my party had it as the best or 2nd place as the favorite Pinot that day.
Just decanted (for only 20 minutes or so) the 2021. Wow! Really nicely perfumed on the nose and just really intense fruit on the palate. Wonderful right now. 
I was a bit hesitant opening one of my 2021s (that it might be closed up; from reading about these wines, not from actual experience), but this bottle is very much open for business. Glad I tried one of these!
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Sounds like Terry’s CdPs are facing some new and stiff competition!!
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