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e got an email not long ago, which read as follows:
Good Morning George and the
Gang of
Pour,
My name is Michael Stevenson and I am the winemaker at
Panther
Creek Cellars out here in McMinnville, Oregon. Some friends
recently sent me a link to your site and the
tasting notes on four of our '98's and one '99. I really enjoyed
reading what you had to say about the wines. I think your observations
regarding the winery style in general, and the '98's more specifically,
were very astute. But a lot has changed since the halcyon days of 1998
and I think the winery style reflects that. Do you guys have any
interest in tasting a selection of the 2002's?
Obviously there are significant differences in our vintages up here and
it's hard to compare one against the other. But we have made lots of
progress regarding how the fruit is handled in the winery and I think
the wines reflect that. Your observation of the sewer/matchstick
character in the '98 Shea is a sulfide issue that we have dealt with for
a while. Sulfide/reduction has been a pain in the ass for years here and
is another area where I feel we have made some progress.
If you would like for me send out a few '02's I would be happy to.
Needless to say, we took Mr. Stevenson up on his offer, which included not
only four bottles of the '02 Panther Creek Pinot Noirs, but also two
from his side project, Stevenson - Barrie, along with a cool
Panther Creek hat and a Stevenson - Barrie shirt. (We did our best to
return the favor by sending him some
Nunquam
Spuemus schwag.) After letting the bottles settle down from
their journey from Oregon, we pulled some corks and tried some wine,
starting with the four from Panther Creek. The
Psychopomp himself, Bill Schwab,
and his companion Tami tasted these
with us and offered opinions, as well as some killer grilled pork loin
skewers and purple potato gratin. (We also grilled a slab of fine
salmon, and Kim prepared a tasty
cauliflower gratin, so there was no shortage of good things to eat.) The
wines were decanted about an hour and a half before drinking.
 2002
Panther Creek Willamette Pinot Noir Bednarik Vineyard, $41.99, 13% alc.:
Dark garnet, fading to pink at the rim, this takes another fifteen
minutes to open in the glass and really show what it has, even after
decanting, offering very nice black cherry, blackberry, plum, smoke,
cola and subtle underbrush characteristics; Bill added impressions of
"peppered raspberry and a little bubble gum." This is very smooth on the
palate, being medium full - bodied, with great balance and a nice
density to it. There are fine, silky tannins and good acidity to take
this some years down the road, and yet it drinks very well already.
2002 Panther Creek Willamette Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard,
$41.99, 13% alc.: About this smoky tinged ruby dark garnet, the
Psychopomp opined, "It's much sweeter to the nose (than the Bednarik),
with sort of a jasmine thing." A bit less dense and heavy than the
previous selection, this features very pretty black cherry and plum
flavors and aromas, but like the first wine, it's silky smooth, with
fine tannins and excellent balance; with extended air, a hint of maple
syrup emerges. Bill remarked, "If I didn't know better, I'd say it saw
whole berry fermentation, it has that carbonic maceration thing."
Whether that's the case or not, this is one very fine Pinot Noir, and it
will only get better over the next three to five years.
"Our wines have never been built
to show their best in the short term." - Michael Stevenson
2002 Panther Creek Willamette Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard, $41.99, 13%
alc.: A deep dark garnet in color; Bill found it "much darker than
the Bednarik or Freedom Hill, with more black and blue fruit," and I
agreed, adding an impression of licorice. The wine almost comes off
being more Syrah - like than Pinot, with black plum, blackberry and
black cherry character, shaded with a note of lavender and a little
roofing tar. Kim found it to be "not as elegant as the last two," and
while she has a point, this is still a silky smooth and well - balanced
wine on a medium full - bodied frame.
2002 Panther Creek Willamette Pinot Noir Nysa Vineyard, $41.99, 13%
alc.: A slightly smoky tinged ruby garnet in color, this shows
considerable oak, with a lot of toast on the nose and the palate,
seemingly at the expense of fruit. Bill says it "smells like rotting
flowers," and Kim added, "It tastes like nutmeg and apple pie spices."
As it opens, it shows a little root beer - sarsaparilla and burnt rubber
to go with all the toast. Like the others, this is silky smooth, with
good aging potential, but "the lack of fruit is what drops this out of
the sexy category," according to Mr. Schwab, who, as a longtime fan of
Panther Creek Nysa Pinot, finds this one disappointing. However, he
added that he has tasted this on another occasion recently, and that
bottle showed much more fruit, and "even some blossom."
Despite some concern about the fruit in the Nysa, we are generally quite
impressed with these four. I especially like the silky elegance they all
show, much more so that the '98s and '99 we tried a few months ago. As
stated in the notes, these are already quite approachable with air, but
we all feel that they'd be best left to age in the cellar for at least a
few years. As Bill put it, "These are all about promise, and I don't
like to drink promise, I like to drink wine."
I shared my notes with Michael, and he had this to say:I enjoyed reading the comments and feel like
you guys definitely honed in on the changes in type and amount of tannin
and how that is reflected on the palate. I feel we are getting silkier
textures and more graceful palate presence due to gentler handling and
shorter fermentations. While they do show better than the '98's and
'99's did this young, they will still benefit greatly from a few more
years in the bottle and that is certainly by design. Our wines have
never been built to show their best in the short term. Your descriptions
of flavors and aromas were very familiar to me and I recognized many of
the same fruits and flowers from my own tasting notes. As you observed,
the wines enjoy decanting and respond well to the influence of air over
several hours. I am sorry that the Nysa did not show better, as this
wine has been drinking very well and hasn't shown a lack of fruit.
Several of the other descriptors rang true though and maybe it was a
Pinot going through a difficult phase. I haven't seen much bottle
variation with our wines but I think these wines and Pinot in general go
through many ups and downs in the bottle. The two Stevenson - Barrie wines are from Michael Stevenson's side
project, and both are made with fruit from very familiar names among
Willamette vineyards. The wines are made in a rather different style
than the Panther Creeks, and see no new oak.
 2002
Stevenson - Barrie Willamette Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard, 14% alc.:
This ruby garnet is rather stingy on the nose at first, giving only a
little cherry, but in the mouth, it's big, bold and very primary; it's
something like drinking big black cherry cough drops, with earthy
undertones and bones, and as it opens, notes of underbrush and forest
floor. And open it does, smoothing out considerably despite significant
tannins and ample acidity that need three to five years, but still, the
wine is just so primary right now. Give it two or three hours in a
decanter if you must drink it now, but this is one that will certainly
reward patient cellaring.
"...whatever the style, a well made
vineyard specific wine ought to teach us something about that place,
that time and those people."
2002 Stevenson - Barrie Willamette Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard, 14% alc.:
We enjoyed this smoky tinged ruby dark garnet with
Dan and Carol Myers
and Scott "The Geek" Tobias, and everyone agreed that while it was
initially tight, even after an hour and a half in a decanter, it really
opens nicely with another hour in the glass. It shows smoky black cherry
and pomegranate aromatics that follow through in the medium full -
bodied flavors with just a hint of chocolate on the back end. With a
nice intensity, fine tannins and balanced acidity, the perfume here
needs a little air to catch up with the flavors, with some sweet cherry
emerging. Like the other '02s featured in this report, while
approachable, the best days are still ahead of this one, so try to hold
off for another three to five years, and you'll have a most excellent
bottle of Pinot Noir.
About these, Michael had this to say:The Stevenson-Barrie wines often seem a little
tighter than the PCC's because of the lack of new wood. I like the
earthy traits these wines exhibit and think they are fine additions to
single-vineyard tastings, as I am not aware of other producers from
these sites who have abandoned a new oak aging treatment. So it's not an
issue of which approach is right because whatever the style, a well made
vineyard specific wine ought to teach us something about that place,
that time and those people. I would be remiss in failing to report on another beautiful Pinot Noir
from Panther Creek, one that we enjoyed with
Alan Kerr aka Canadian Zinfan,
on Kim's birthday, courtesy of the Psychopomp himself.
1999 Panther Creek Willamette Pinot Noir King's Gambit Vineyard, 13%
alc.: This dark garnet is very aromatic, with a lovely perfume of
smoky black cherry and plum, underscored with hints of earth, tar and
what Mr. Kerr describes as a subtle note of balsawood; these follow
through in the flavors with density and concentration, and yet it's very
smooth, seeming to be sleeker and more streamlined than the '99 Nysa
Pinot. It really opens with air, and is drinking very well right now,
with a lovely personality that carries on through the long finish.
Undoubtedly the finest wine we've had yet from this terrific producer,
and approaching its prime window of drinking opportunity.
Knowing little about this particular vineyard, I asked Michael what he
could tell us about it:
The 1999 Knight's
Gambit has been a wonderful wine almost since its release in May of
2001. We got only one chance to work with these grapes and would have
loved to have gotten them again. Gary Andrus, of
Pine Ridge
and Archery Summit fame, sold them to us and then
Erath took over
the management and purchase of the fruit. For the first six months in
the barrel, I couldn't stand this stuff. The wine smelled like cotton
candy in a very cloying and artificial way. But as it matured, the fruit
became rounder and juicier without losing its sweetness. Other tertiary
characteristics began to form and after a year in barrel it had become
one of my favorite wines of the vintage. It has the hallmark balance and
softness of Red Hills fruit but has remarkable complexity. In
retrospect, I'd have to say that it is the most balanced of the 1999's.
I liked all the wines that year and there were certainly mightier
bottlings, but none were as elegant. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.Needless to say, we've become fans of Panther Creek, and we're looking
forward to visiting the winery the next time we're out in Oregon. Many
thanks to Michael Stevenson for his generosity in letting us taste these
terrific wines. We sincerely hope that the Nunquam Spuemus accoutrements
sent his way found warm, happy bodies to cover. I never did have the
stones to ask who the thong was for.
 Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo
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