Deep ruby color, going transparent at the edge. Blackberry and spice, with good acidity. Midway between savory and sweet—par for many Oregon PNs? Slightly astringent on the finish. Should I be surprised that this is in such good form after more than a decade in the bottle? Paired with lamb burger; fine but not an inspired pairing. VGV (as others noted long ago—and drank all theirs!)
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Deep, dark ruby color. Some reductive notes on opening, but those blew off after a short time in the glass to reveal dark cherry flavors. Structure is mostly courtesy of acidity rather than tannins. This wine is young and primary - enjoyable now but I think it will improve and gain complexity as it mellows a bit. Clearly says "Oregon" to me already though, which I think bodes well for its future.
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We went to a tasting at Patricia Green winery (always a great experience) and tasted about 12 wines. Every wine we had was somewhere between very good and terrific - from the Reserve to the top-of-the-line Notorious. All were nicely balanced with a distinct Oregon texture and flavor profile. All will undoubtedly improve with some bottle age, but are very drinkable now with plenty of airtime. Steve Tanzer clearly thinks they made great wines he awarded some very high scores to the entire lineup (I think all the pinots were awarded between 90 and 95 points by Tanzer — and he a much more conservative point giver than most of his peers). I have always enjoyed their wines, and this vintage is clearly their best yet.
Did not take notes on each wine, but here are my overall observations and order of preference for the ones I can recall: (my apologies to those who only want to see notes on a specific wine, but I thought the comparison from a single taster would be useful to many).
#1 Notorious. 95+ A spectacular wine, with everything you want in an Oregon pinot (or for that matter, in one from Burgundy, Calif., etc. ). Intense aromas and flavors of dark berry, spice and florals. Great texture, balance and structure with fine tannins and nice juicy acidity. Lingering, fruity finish. Almost lush, but still in an Oregonian style. This is a wine that will compete well with very, very best from Burgundy or California. I think this was Tanzer's top-rated 2012 Oregon pinot -- and I can see why.
#2 Freedom Hill - Dijon Clone 115. 93+ Other than the Notorious, this was my favorite wine. And just a touch better than the Freedom Hill Pommard to my palate. All the Freedom Hills are big, deeply & darkly flavored, and delicious. This one seemed just slightly better balanced, perhaps a bit leaner, more complex and with a bit more tannin than the Pommard. Jim said it was 50% (?) whole cluster and that seems to show vs. the Pommard.
#3 Freedom Hill - Pommard clone. 93 Another truly delicious wine — just a touch more lush, rich, soft and round to my palate than the Dijon. I would think many would prefer this over the Dijon because while it is not fruit-forward, the fruit is a bit more dominant in this wine.
#4 Estate Old Vines - 92 Dark berries, earth and some minerality in this one. Good complexity and great depth.
#5a #5b tied: Durant and Ana 91 Durant - A bit bigger and richer than I normally prefer, but there is a sort of dried fruit, dusty earth component to this wine that I enjoyed very much and that made it unique. Ana - Seemed like it had the widest variety of flavors and aromas of all the wines, and perhaps also just a bit sweeter and juicier
#7 Anklebreaker - 90 Only recall thinking it was big, rich and ripe. We saw pictures of the vineyard which looks like it is made of stones rather than earth (similar to Chateauneuf-du-pape).
#8 Estate - 89+ Don’t recall details, but it was a very solid, Oregon-style wine that is a great value.
#9 Reserve - 88+ Bright red fruits and the simplest and most feminine of all the pinots, but still with nice flavors including some spice. Again a great value.
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Pours a deep maroon. Nose of black cherry, Christmas spice and baking soda.
Palate of black cherry, cranberry, spice and the a cooling finish that includes baking soda/mint notes. The flavors are saturated and could be mistaken for Sonoma Coast. Medium bodied and silky but would prefer a bit more acid. More yummy than intellectual. Still a very enjoyable drink and represents a good QPR at $20.
Delicious on pop and pour, even smoother 2 days later (corked and kept in fridge).
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Bright ruby, bing cherry nose. Lightly dry with some mineral on the PnP, a little zest on the tongue along with bright fruit and a slight bitter tannin. Drinking well on the fruity side, some cheese and crackers helps balance the flavors. Better on night two, a little cola.
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Medium ruby, spicy cherry nose. Dry, lightly fruity, bing cherries with some dusty tannins. Even with the fruitiness, there is a lightness and freshness with the acid. Drinking very well with a good balance, some lightly bitter tannins on the finish.
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Solid Pinot at this price point. A little tight at the open but 30 minutes in a glass and it opened up nicely. Medium body with a cranberry and cherry overtone. Will buy again.
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Favoring the spicy side of the grape, this medium ruby Pinot delivers aromas and flavors of cinnamon, coriander and ganache, framed by black raspberry fruit. Medium-bodied, fresh, lightly tannic and with well-integrated alcohol (listed as 13.5%), it sails through a solid middle palate and on to a tart, medium length finish. Aggressively priced, this wine represents good value. Drink now-2019.
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Charlotte Wine and Food Tasting Event> Interesting. Smooth mouthfeel with a richness that lingers. Enjoyable, and indicative of the high quality 2012 vintage. Score [50 + 5 + 12 + 16 + 7] =90
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Nice pinot especially at this price point. It smells much better than it tastes at this point. The nose smells like Christmas I guess: maybe cinammon, vanilla, and cloves, some cherry scents, pretty enticing. The palate was fairly tart on opening, but after being open for a few hours mellowed some. Nice red fruit with a little black pepper on the finish. Very good.
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Medium-deep garnet in color with a reddish-purple tint. Forward, fragrant & attractive nose of dark fruit aromas of cherries, strawberries & plums with overtones of cloves & cinnamon spices, earthy, cocoa and a touch of vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of smooth textured, balanced, ripe red fruit flavors of cherries, raspberries & plums, spices, cocoa, some cherry-cola and a hint of vanilla. Drinks quite well at present with airing and may have some limited potential for further development with another year or two of additional aging.
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Pop and pour and served along with a 2007 Hirsch San Andreas Fault Pinot. This one shows good depth of fruit, albeit a bit tight on immediate opening. A bit grapey at first but with some air, that subsides. Nice combination of black and red fruits with some mushroom/earthy notes to keep things interesting. A good wine although this bottle did not show as well as ones I have had earlier.
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Nose of black cherry, Pinot funk and a hint of baking soda.
Palate follows the nose with the addition of a rhubarb component on the medium finish. The flavors are saturated, but the wine itself is medium bodied and silky on the palate. Nice structure -- should have the ability to age and improve for several years but certainly drinkable now. Nice QPR at $20.
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Yowza, this is just jumping out of the glass with aggressive fruitiness. My second 2012 WV pinot, and the second one that was a bit too much for me. Missing the energy of the wonderful 2011.
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Dark red with magenta rim, light cherry nose. Fruity and aromatic on the PnP. Opened my first Patti Green to assess the style, a little more fruity than I like, so will let them age awhile. Very nicely balanced and a lovely wine for those wanting to drink a young fruity wine. On the second night, the tart berry is replacing the aromatic notes, some funky notes, I'm liking this a lot. Give it some time like a previous note said. Very good for the sub $20 price. Another night and this wine has fabulous balance of fruit and acid. Silky smooth with some light mineral tannins.
Pop and pour and served with food (Sunday gravy with spaghetti and a piece of lamb). A little fizzy at first, so I recorked, shook the bottle, and let some gas escape. Nose of pinot funk and spice. A bit of mushroom and dark fruits. Good fruit; shows depth and with a nice wave of acidity and tartness that gives it lift. Improved significantly with air and the little bottle shake.
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aroma - oaky, cherry, tobacco, blackberry, cedar; taste - smooth, little blackberry on finish, needs some time, but very nice, not as chewy as expected
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6/27/2023 - M.Batard wrote: 90 Points
Deep ruby color, going transparent at the edge. Blackberry and spice, with good acidity. Midway between savory and sweet—par for many Oregon PNs? Slightly astringent on the finish. Should I be surprised that this is in such good form after more than a decade in the bottle? Paired with lamb burger; fine but not an inspired pairing. VGV (as others noted long ago—and drank all theirs!)
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11/13/2014 - DSP Likes this wine:
Deep, dark ruby color. Some reductive notes on opening, but those blew off after a short time in the glass to reveal dark cherry flavors. Structure is mostly courtesy of acidity rather than tannins. This wine is young and primary - enjoyable now but I think it will improve and gain complexity as it mellows a bit. Clearly says "Oregon" to me already though, which I think bodes well for its future.
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11/7/2014 - carlb128 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Really good value. Very approachable right now.
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9/11/2014 - rickspicks wrote: 88 Points
We went to a tasting at Patricia Green winery (always a great experience) and tasted about 12 wines. Every wine we had was somewhere between very good and terrific - from the Reserve to the top-of-the-line Notorious. All were nicely balanced with a distinct Oregon texture and flavor profile. All will undoubtedly improve with some bottle age, but are very drinkable now with plenty of airtime. Steve Tanzer clearly thinks they made great wines he awarded some very high scores to the entire lineup (I think all the pinots were awarded between 90 and 95 points by Tanzer — and he a much more conservative point giver than most of his peers). I have always enjoyed their wines, and this vintage is clearly their best yet.
Did not take notes on each wine, but here are my overall observations and order of preference for the ones I can recall:
(my apologies to those who only want to see notes on a specific wine, but I thought the comparison from a single taster would be useful to many).
#1 Notorious. 95+ A spectacular wine, with everything you want in an Oregon pinot (or for that matter, in one from Burgundy, Calif., etc. ). Intense aromas and flavors of dark berry, spice and florals. Great texture, balance and structure with fine tannins and nice juicy acidity. Lingering, fruity finish. Almost lush, but still in an Oregonian style. This is a wine that will compete well with very, very best from Burgundy or California. I think this was Tanzer's top-rated 2012 Oregon pinot -- and I can see why.
#2 Freedom Hill - Dijon Clone 115. 93+ Other than the Notorious, this was my favorite wine. And just a touch better than the Freedom Hill Pommard to my palate. All the Freedom Hills are big, deeply & darkly flavored, and delicious. This one seemed just slightly better balanced, perhaps a bit leaner, more complex and with a bit more tannin than the Pommard. Jim said it was 50% (?) whole cluster and that seems to show vs. the Pommard.
#3 Freedom Hill - Pommard clone. 93 Another truly delicious wine — just a touch more lush, rich, soft and round to my palate than the Dijon. I would think many would prefer this over the Dijon because while it is not fruit-forward, the fruit is a bit more dominant in this wine.
#4 Estate Old Vines - 92 Dark berries, earth and some minerality in this one. Good complexity and great depth.
#5a #5b tied: Durant and Ana 91
Durant - A bit bigger and richer than I normally prefer, but there is a sort of dried fruit, dusty earth component to this wine that I enjoyed very much and that made it unique.
Ana - Seemed like it had the widest variety of flavors and aromas of all the wines, and perhaps also just a bit sweeter and juicier
#7 Anklebreaker - 90 Only recall thinking it was big, rich and ripe. We saw pictures of the vineyard which looks like it is made of stones rather than earth (similar to Chateauneuf-du-pape).
#8 Estate - 89+ Don’t recall details, but it was a very solid, Oregon-style wine that is a great value.
#9 Reserve - 88+ Bright red fruits and the simplest and most feminine of all the pinots, but still with nice flavors including some spice. Again a great value.
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8/31/2014 - CMN Likes this wine: 89 Points
Pours a deep maroon. Nose of black cherry, Christmas spice and baking soda.
Palate of black cherry, cranberry, spice and the a cooling finish that includes baking soda/mint notes. The flavors are saturated and could be mistaken for Sonoma Coast. Medium bodied and silky but would prefer a bit more acid. More yummy than intellectual. Still a very enjoyable drink and represents a good QPR at $20.
Delicious on pop and pour, even smoother 2 days later (corked and kept in fridge).
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8/27/2014 - dsgris Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bright ruby, bing cherry nose. Lightly dry with some mineral on the PnP, a little zest on the tongue along with bright fruit and a slight bitter tannin. Drinking well on the fruity side, some cheese and crackers helps balance the flavors. Better on night two, a little cola.
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8/1/2014 - dsgris Likes this wine: 90 Points
Medium ruby, spicy cherry nose. Dry, lightly fruity, bing cherries with some dusty tannins. Even with the fruitiness, there is a lightness and freshness with the acid. Drinking very well with a good balance, some lightly bitter tannins on the finish.
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6/9/2014 - Jsmithbim wrote: 88 Points
Solid Pinot at this price point. A little tight at the open but 30 minutes in a glass and it opened up nicely. Medium body with a cranberry and cherry overtone. Will buy again.
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5/24/2014 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 88 Points
Favoring the spicy side of the grape, this medium ruby Pinot delivers aromas and flavors of cinnamon, coriander and ganache, framed by black raspberry fruit. Medium-bodied, fresh, lightly tannic and with well-integrated alcohol (listed as 13.5%), it sails through a solid middle palate and on to a tart, medium length finish. Aggressively priced, this wine represents good value. Drink now-2019.
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4/22/2014 - roybivens Likes this wine: 90 Points
Charlotte Wine and Food Tasting Event> Interesting. Smooth mouthfeel with a richness that lingers. Enjoyable, and indicative of the high quality 2012 vintage. Score [50 + 5 + 12 + 16 + 7] =90
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4/18/2014 - chitowncdpguy wrote:
Nice pinot especially at this price point. It smells much better than it tastes at this point. The nose smells like Christmas I guess: maybe cinammon, vanilla, and cloves, some cherry scents, pretty enticing. The palate was fairly tart on opening, but after being open for a few hours mellowed some. Nice red fruit with a little black pepper on the finish. Very good.
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4/17/2014 - glen@wooden.com wrote: 91 Points
Fantastic Oregon Pinot for the price. Slightly sweet, delicate and fruity but not overly extracted. Very nice.
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3/13/2014 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 89 Points
Medium-deep garnet in color with a reddish-purple tint. Forward, fragrant & attractive nose of dark fruit aromas of cherries, strawberries & plums with overtones of cloves & cinnamon spices, earthy, cocoa and a touch of vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of smooth textured, balanced, ripe red fruit flavors of cherries, raspberries & plums, spices, cocoa, some cherry-cola and a hint of vanilla. Drinks quite well at present with airing and may have some limited potential for further development with another year or two of additional aging.
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2/28/2014 - t_moderne wrote: 89 Points
Pop and pour and served along with a 2007 Hirsch San Andreas Fault Pinot.
This one shows good depth of fruit, albeit a bit tight on immediate opening. A bit grapey at first but with some air, that subsides.
Nice combination of black and red fruits with some mushroom/earthy notes to keep things interesting.
A good wine although this bottle did not show as well as ones I have had earlier.
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2/25/2014 - CMN wrote: 88 Points
Nose of black cherry, Pinot funk and a hint of baking soda.
Palate follows the nose with the addition of a rhubarb component on the medium finish. The flavors are saturated, but the wine itself is medium bodied and silky on the palate. Nice structure -- should have the ability to age and improve for several years but certainly drinkable now. Nice QPR at $20.
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2/20/2014 - Wine Sparty wrote: 89 Points
Popped and poured, then finished the next night. Aroma has black cherry, along with a bit of black pepper. Taste is very smooth black cherry, though.
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1/18/2014 - Michael Davidson wrote:
Yowza, this is just jumping out of the glass with aggressive fruitiness. My second 2012 WV pinot, and the second one that was a bit too much for me. Missing the energy of the wonderful 2011.
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12/26/2013 - dsgris Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark red with magenta rim, light cherry nose. Fruity and aromatic on the PnP. Opened my first Patti Green to assess the style, a little more fruity than I like, so will let them age awhile. Very nicely balanced and a lovely wine for those wanting to drink a young fruity wine. On the second night, the tart berry is replacing the aromatic notes, some funky notes, I'm liking this a lot. Give it some time like a previous note said. Very good for the sub $20 price. Another night and this wine has fabulous balance of fruit and acid. Silky smooth with some light mineral tannins.
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12/22/2013 - t_moderne wrote: 90 Points
Pop and pour and served with food (Sunday gravy with spaghetti and a piece of lamb).
A little fizzy at first, so I recorked, shook the bottle, and let some gas escape. Nose of pinot funk and spice. A bit of mushroom and dark fruits.
Good fruit; shows depth and with a nice wave of acidity and tartness that gives it lift. Improved significantly with air and the little bottle shake.
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12/21/2013 - knorthrip Likes this wine: 88 Points
Pnp. Nice acidity and typical of the region but nothing special.
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12/8/2013 - Brett and Megan Likes this wine: 86 Points
aroma - oaky, cherry, tobacco, blackberry, cedar; taste - smooth, little blackberry on finish, needs some time, but very nice, not as chewy as expected
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11/19/2013 - madalyn Likes this wine: 90 Points
great PN improved thru the evening, great fruit nice balance. excellent wine for the price. be gentle with this wine, it does evolve w time
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