There are some wines that I’ve enjoyed for so long that I have very little to say about them. These (which I opened this week) would be typical of those.
The 2001 Panther Creek Freedom Hill is absolutely spectacular. I’ve never liked the “Pinot for a Cab lover” description of the wine - though it is a black to almost blue fruited wine, with a cedar-y nose, warm acids and great tannic structure. This is a wine that has plenty of time left in it - glad I have another bottle. It certainly represents why I think 2001 is not a bad vintage - and better than some of the most controversial vintages out of Oregon.
The 2003 Beaux Freres (the flagship release) is drinking really well right now - I opened it Friday in celebration of receipt of the 2010 vintage. I was curious after someone’s comments about 2003’s on the recent contentious thread - and after drinking the hot 2003 Chehalem Stoller. But this was soft and really fantastic. It tasted like a young wine from a fruit forward vintage like 2000. None of the undisolved gasses that I often get from the producer. And it seemed much more lush than some of the more structured wines that they release. Slight heat after it had been opened a couple of hours. It really walks a great line (or, I suppose, a favorite line) between black and red fruit - something I got in Shea wines before replantings and in Arcus Estate wines, too. To me, this tastes like a wine that was absolutely at its peak on the day I opened it. I wouldn’t suggest it is the best Beaux Freres I’ve had (going back to 1992), but I would say that I have never opened one of their wines that had a more perfect day. Drink one if you have it.
I’m not familiar with your palate so I am curious about the “amount” of fruit you are describing. I’ve had a couple vintages of Beaux Freres I would call fruit forward, which is my preference. No hints, the fruit is there right through the finish until the acidity dries the mouth. I haven’t had any Panther Creek wines but your description sounds like I would like their style and wines.
Second question. Are the new vintages of Panther Creek made in the same style?
I suppose I see BF wines as typically having such big structures that the fruit is not what immedialy makes an impression on me. This wine seemed so comparatively soft that I immediately thought about fruit and juicyness more than anything else. No pronounced acids. Soft tannins. I think they make very well balanced wines, so they age well and lose some of the bigness - but they still have substantial structure, just reigned in with cellaring. If I had opened this only knowing it was Oregon PN, I’d have thought “this is a young wine, fruit bomb, minimal structure, and it’ll never age” but, of course, it already has nearly a decade on it. Even with the fruit flavor profile, I would not have guessed anything correctly about the wine - winery or vintage. Odd, if completely positive, tasting experience.
For a while, Panther Creek was absolutely my favorite winery. I really haven’t bought much in recent vintages. Michael has been making wine there a long time (and both before and after the sale of the winery), but (to me) they seemed to lose something after the sale. I bought a lot from 95/96 until 02, and have hardly cracked any of the 02s. I did buy some 06s also, but I haven’t cracked any of those, either. (Feeling too lazy to go down and look, but I may have 03s, also.) I held the 01 Freedom Hill because the vineyard does tend to produce especially long-lived wines from PC. Really long answer to short question, I know. I hesitate to criticize them - both because the lingering fondness and because I haven’t bought as much in recent years, but I hadn’t noticed stylistic differences as much as I perceived quality issues, which is why I stopped purchasing. And even that may have reflected post-winery-sale-tasting-bias - but if they were still blowing my mind, I’d have never stopped purchasing. I bought the 06s on a winery visit - after tasting through them - and while I liked them, I didn’t love them - more of a sentimental purchase than anything else.
Chris,
Our experiences mirror each other and I think you have nailed the BF style. I remember having mike in for a tasting and discussing his wines, style and the newish direction starting on or near the 01’ vintage. One of the greatest Oregon experiences was the 93’ BF-BF, that wine was incredible, perfectly aged at 11 years old, amazing fruit purity, length and finish.
I have never really understand why they get labeled ‘big’, if you want ‘big’ look at Archery Summit or Domaine Serene.
As for Michael, I remember Oregon Pint camp in 2002, my Bday happened to be on that Saturday and after an amazing tasting with dinner at DS we all met downtown at a hole in the wall bar and drank Quilceda creek out of plastic cups, that was a great night and fun to get to know him a little better. The 92’ PC reserve was incredible, really pretty and pure fruit, great acid balance at 8 years old when I drank it. The 95’s, 96’s, 97’s and 98’s are all very pretty and nice with the 98’ having a little more wood on it as memory serves.
Jason - the 1995 Panther Creek Shea was my “epiphany wine” - an incredible wine from that difficult vintage. I think I have one left (that I may never open), but I think the wine is pretty much at the end of its life. I loved their 96s, but mine are all gone. (Another of my handful of all-time favorite Oregon wines is the 1999 Knights Gambit.)
(I do have a case+ of a Freedom Hill vertical, dating back to 1992, sitting at the winery! When I was going to Oregon more often, I’d hoped to have a tasting with the winemakers, etc, and just haven’t had the chance. Some day that will be fun!)