Patton Valley Estate Pinot Noir 2013
| Country: | United States |
| Region: | Oregon |
| Grape Type: | Pinot Noir |
| Winery: | Patton Valley Vineyard |
Winemaker's Notes
The 2012 Patton Valley Estate Pinot Noir is the most comprehensive expression of our vineyard site. Bright red cherry cola, watermelon rind, dusty earth, and caramelized almonds grace the nose of this pretty and sumptuous wine. The palate is immediately broad, but has less alcohol sweetness than you might expect from a warmer vintage. Provincial herbs, spice, and milk chocolate flavor the mid-palate, with great acidity providing length, and silky tannins rounding out the mouthfeel.
The contrast between our 10 Acre and West Block Pinot noirs exemplifies how slight geographical differences can have significant influence on the flavor profile of a wine. Planted in 1997, The 10 Acre block of Pinot noir is the oldest planting on the Patton Valley Estate Vineyard. Located on the east-facing slope of our vineyard, this area gets full sun in the cool morning hours, leading to a slower, more gradual ripening process and a wine that is typically elegant and lighter in body with prevailing red fruit character.
The 2011 10 Acre Pinot noir shows abundant aromatics, immediately woodsy but overwhelmingly fresh with lavender and red plum, sweet caramel and malt. The palate is lush and broad with sweet cherry, cigar box, and the faintest hint of peat smoke. Soft and very subtle tannins give this wine a solid backbone. A great acid profile makes this wine likely to offer boundless enjoyment when consumed in the short term, or if given some time to rest, the distinct potential of becoming something much more profound. Drink now or cellar 5-8 years.
Up front, this wine is all red fruit with candied cherry and strawberry, accompanied by sweet pipe tobacco, zesty lemon and hints of bramble, boysenberry and flowers. Lighter and prettier than the 2010 vintage, the 2011 Estate Pinot noir is elegant with more cherry, subtle black pepper and English breakfast tea. The palate is lightly textured with balanced acidity, soft, supple tannins and a lengthy finish. Drink now or cellar for up to 10 years.
A cold, lingering, winter gave a late start to the 2011 growing season, and left us praying for a low fruit-set and a warm summer. Mother-nature had other ideas. Fruit-set was virtually perfect with nearly every berry in the young clusters maturing, yielding much heavier cluster weights than normal. With rigorous and frequent green thinning, we brought our crop-loads to under half of what they were early in the season, pushing ripeness in this mild and cool growing season. In October, growers were blessed with a sunny, dry Indian summer, giving us longer hang-time, and a beautiful picking window. The last bit of fruit was picked on November 2nd, making 2011 the latest harvest in Patton Valley history.
Winemaker's Notes
The 2012 Patton Valley Estate Pinot Noir is the most comprehensive expression of our vineyard site. Bright red cherry cola, watermelon rind, dusty earth, and caramelized almonds grace the nose of this pretty and sumptuous wine. The palate is immediately broad, but has less alcohol sweetness than you might expect from a warmer vintage. Provincial herbs, spice, and milk chocolate flavor the mid-palate, with great acidity providing length, and silky tannins rounding out the mouthfeel.
"Brilliant red. Spicy dark berry and cherry pit aromas are complemented by deeper-pitched notes of cola and licorice. Silky and expansive on the palate, offering sweet black raspberry and spicecake flavors and an exotic floral nuance. Shows excellent focus and snap on the finish, which is firmed by fine-grained, harmonious tannins. I like the blend of density and liveliness here. "Vinous / Antonio Galloni 91 Points
.Polished and refined in structure and vivid in flavor, bursting with blackberry, cherry, licorice and floral character that wells up and doesn't quit as the finish lingers, showing harmony and velvety tannins. Drink now through 2022. Harvey Steiman Wine Spectator 92 Pts
91Pts. Josh Raynolds, Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar
The Patton Valley Vineyard Estate
Patton Valley Vineyard was founded in 1995 by Monte Pitt and Dave Chen, two former business school classmates. The estate is located in Washington County, just north of the town of Gaston. Jerry Murray joined the team as Cellar Master and Assistant Winemaker.
The Patton Valley Vineyard
Located in the northern reach of the Willamette Valley, the vineyard is sited on a hill with views of Patton Valley to the southwest and the Tualatin Valley to the east. This is a 72-acre parcel with the ideal combination of soil, exposure and elevation. The vineyard currently consists of 23 acres planted to a diverse selection of Pinot noir clones. Utilizing sustainable farming practices, coupled with intense hands-on viticulture and low-impact winemaking techniques, they produce wines that are true to the variety and to their particular site, striving for balanced wines with supple texture, richness and ripe fruit flavors.
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Mullineux Swartland Syrah is 100 percent Syrah
Winemaking:
Hand picked grapes are cooled in our cold room, where after they are crushed and destemmed to tank, and between 20 to 50% whole bunches are added. 25ppm SO2 is added, and as with all our wines, no other additions are made. The must is initially pigeaged once a day. After about 4 days, fermentation begins with indigenous yeasts, and the wine is pigeaged once or twice a day, depending on extract and tannin development. Temperatures are not allowed to exceed 30 degrees centigrade. Fermentation lasts from 7 to 10 days, and after fermentation, two to four weeks (also depending on tannin development) skin contact is given. The wine is then drained and pressed to barrel for malolactic fermentation and maturation. The different parcels are racked in Spring to blend the wine, which is then returned to barrel and bottled unfiltered and unfined after 11 months in barrel. Please decant (or give time!) when drunk young.
Maturation:
11 months, French oak 225L & 500L barrels, and 2000L Foudre. 15% new wood in total.
Tasting Note:
Black pepper, crushed ripe berry, and tobacco aromas linger on the nose. This juice is every bit of full-bodied on the palate. Well integrated tannin gives the wine a silky texture. Flavors of blackberry, herb, and spice layer throughout and into the long silky finish. This is a big wine that can take on another 10+ years of age and will need some serious decanting if consumed early. 30 minutes of decanting will allow the wine to open beautifully.
Review:
Swartland (13.5%) Seven different vineyards on a combination of granite, schist and iron soils make up the blend of this brilliant, textbook Syrah. Running to 35,000 bottles, it has a touch of new oak, wonderful fragrance and perfume, some whole bunch grip and a smoky, brambly mid palate. 2017-23 - Tim Atkins 94 Points
"The 2015 Syrah includes two additional vineyards on granite soils after the 2015, whilst the whole bunch component is back up to 60%. It has a clean and precise bouquet with floral-tinged red berry fruit (red cherry and wild strawberry), nicely focused and developing more intensity with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity, fine structure, much more detail than the 2014 and I think that is down to the higher whole bunch proportion, the sense of energy flowing through on the long finish. Compared to the 2014 Syrah, I much prefer this: more freshness and complexity. - Neal Martin"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #230, April 2017), 93 pts
Luis Canas Reserva Seleccion de la Familia Rioja is made from 85% Tempranillo and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aged for 20 months in new oak barrels - 50% French 50% American.
45 years old vines
Alcohol: 14,5º
Total acidity: 5,73 g./l.
Volatile acidity: 0,73 g./l.
PH: 3,53
Free SO2: 28 mg./l.
Reducing sugars: 1,3 g./l.
The “family reserve” from one of Rioja Alavesa’s most enduring family-run wineries. Wines destined to be the Reserva de la Familia label are made from a selection of grapes from old vines, those which combine a series of characteristics such as good orientation and exposure to the sun, and a poor soil which ensures low yields.
This wine is one of very few Rioja wines to blend Cabernet Sauvignon with Tempranillo. Bodegas Luis Cañas was granted permission by the D.O.Ca. to plant this variety as an experiment in the early 1980s.
Tasting notes
A brillant garnet color with cherry hints on the edges.
The nose offers a complex variety of aromas that combine to bring an intense and sophisticated wine. Initially we can find very ripe berry fruits, smoky notes, raisins and liquor. After a certain amount of aeration, the cinnamon and jam notes appear and, with a little more time, the roasted and spiced aromas are noticed more clearly.
The palate is full, with a good presence of tannins, although these are offset by the glycerine like character, resulting in a fleshy sensation. Long lasting and lingering finish.
Winemaking and aging:
The grapes were cold macerated for 72 hours upon arrival at the winery. They underwent fermentation at 26º C in sealed cement tanks under constant thermal control, with the must pumped over daily. With the paste devatted by gravity, spontaneous malolactic fermentation took place after 45 days.
The wine was aged for 20 months in 50% medium toasted American and 50% French oak barrels. The barrel ageing not only adds tannins from the wood, but stabilizes the wine naturally. After the final racking, it was clarified in tanks with a small amount of natural egg white, decanted after 30 days and bottled directly without any type of filtration. Because this wine’s evolutionary cycle is quite slow, only corks of the highest quality available were used to ensure that it could be prolonged for several years.
Reviews:
"The 2012 Reserva Selección de la Familia is Tempranillo with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes it different from the majority of reds from Rioja. It matured 50/50 in French and American oak barrels for 20 months. It's slightly more international than the rest of the bottlings, the Cabernet adding some weight. There are notes of toasted sesame seeds and a touch from the French oak. It's clearly different, so it's a matter of preference which one you like best. 125,250 bottles produced. - Luis Gutierrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #235, February 2018), 91 pts
