Panther Creek Freedom Hill Pinot Noir 2006
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The 2006 Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard was aged for 16 months in 30% new French oak. Dark ruby-colored, the enticing bouquet exhibits spice notes, pomegranate, and assorted black fruits. On the palate, earth notes and cola make an appearance. Nicely structured with good depth, concentration, and balance, it should evolve for 2-3 years and drink well through 2020.
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Located in the heart of the Willamette Valley, Panther Creek Cellars has been producing signature Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay wines since 1986. The winery has been recognized for its signature blends as well as single vineyard designate wines.
“Panther Creek has a storied history and I’m eager to build on that legacy,” says Tony Rynders, winemaker. “I have been making wine in Oregon for almost 20 years, and I look forward to beginning this chapter with one of Oregon’s most established Pinot Noir producers, founded by one of the wine industry’s great heroes, Ken Wright.”
Our goal, in making Panther Creek wine, is simple: We hope that each wine will express the personality of its vintage and character of its vineyard. This expressiveness is the essence of great Oregon Pinot Noir. Our wines are crafted to complement a variety of foods, as well as be enjoyed on their own. We believe that great Pinot Noir can be enjoyed as a young, fresh wine that showcases ripe, sweet fruit, as well as an older, mature wine that features unparalleled complexity and beauty.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.