Patricia Green Cellars and the Art of Packaging
Apart from good reviews, good scores, a good track record and affordable (often high value) prices, what makes any winery stand apart from the rest? I suggest it's packaging. That's a broad category which includes everything that isn't the wine: the container, the closure, the label graphic, the label content (written information front and back), the website, e-blasts and so on – everything that tries to tell the story behind the wine.
Big wine companies (whether corporate or privately owned) usually farm these tasks out to various vendors, with mixed success. But small wineries – those under 5000 case annual production – must do them pretty much on their own. It's a lot of work, and very few have the time and skill to do it well. When they do I take notice, because if someone with just a handful of employees and less than deep pockets puts in the extra care and attention on such details, it strongly suggests that they are going to put something special in the bottle.
At Big Table Farm Clare Carver draws brilliant custom labels for every bottle every vintage, with a website that dives into details about their groundbreaking biochar project. At Amalie Robert Estate Dena Drews and Ernie Pink produce a detailed, well-illustrated, often humorous and always informative e-blast that comes out regularly, backed by a website loaded with valuable background material. At Antiquum Farm you'll find a delightful overview of Grazing-Based Viticulture, made super accessible by featuring a 'Cast of Characters' headlined by sheep, pigs, poultry and dogs (the humans get last place billing). What stands out at all of these ventures is that the stories being told are real, the information is detailed and fascinating, and you know intimately that there are creative, dedicated people who go far beyond the usual AI-ready copy about passion and dreams pitched by far too many winemakers.
At Patricia Green Cellars it's obvious from reading the back labels and the individual wine entries on the website that Owner/Winemaker Jim Anderson and his team place supreme value on the many vineyards (both estate and non-estate) that comprise their vast portfolio. I have rarely if ever found better information (including extensive histories) about so many key vineyards so compactly expressed. Of course it all started with founder Patty Green, and Jim has penned a wonderful tribute to her that provides the foundation for everything done at the winery today.
Last week I published notes and reviews on many of the non-estate wines; this week you'll find the rest of my extensive tastings, including a half dozen estate bottlings. This still isn't everything. Note that many of these wines (and some back vintages) are available in magnum, 3 liter and even larger formats. One or two are completely sold out. As I researched the current releases I found more than a few with fascinating background material. I am posting some excerpts along with my own tasting notes.
Patricia Green Cellars – Part Two
Purchase wines here.
Ribbon Ridge AVA
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Ridgecrest Vineyard Pinot Noir – Ridgecrest is the original vineyard planted on what is now the Ribbon Ridge AVA, and this special bottling sources grapes from the oldest blocks that date back to the early 1980s. The seductive aromas of fruit and spice lead into an utterly delicious wine that plunges its rich purple fruits deep down into a mineral-packed core. It perfectly captures the seashell minerality for which this AVA is known, while keeping the plush fruit flavors front and center. Great up front, built to age beautifully, even better when tasted on the second day. 13.7%; $95 (Ribbon Ridge) 94/100
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Wind Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir – This vineyard select is a showcase for 20-year-old Pommard vines in a vineyard originally planted by pioneer Harry Peterson-Nedry. This is a supple, smooth wine with purple fruits in abundance. There is an underlying seashell/sea breeze character to both its aromas and mouthfeel. It's an exemplary expression of Ribbon Ridge terroir – deep, textural and threaded with minerals. 13.2%; $75 (Ribbon Ridge) 94/100
The winery notes reflect the thoughtful care and attention that went into featuring this as a vineyard designate. "When we began this relationship in 2018 we wanted to ensure that we weren’t simply repeating both wines that we already make from our Estate Vineyard or wines from the adjacent Ridgecrest Vineyard. Ribbon Ridge AVA, after all, is a fairly small AVA with nearly the same soil everywhere. We chose the most, in our minds, interesting and challenging part of the vineyard with a block of Pommard running along both a fairly significant gulch and a tall stand of trees. Even though it is not even 2 acres in size this block has many rolls and pitches to it despite seeming “flat” to the naked eye from far away. The block hold both cool morning air and warm afternoon heat. It has taken awhile to get to understand it well enough to bottle the wine on its own. We are incredibly pleased to be able to add this bottling to our line-up of vineyards that have significance in the history of the Oregon wine industry."
Dundee Hills AVA
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Anderson Family Vineyard Pinot Noir – This is (I believe) the first time this site has been made a PGC vineyard designate. Its low alcohol, elegant wines pay tasting dividends for those who value subtlety and detail. Like a very good Village Burgundy, it does not shy away from the savory side of Pinot Noir, and accents those flavors with floral highlights, brambly berry and a foundation of wet stones. Above all it's in perfect balance and shows itself best after significant aeration. 13.2%; $55 (Dundee Hills) 93/100
I profiled this unique vineyard and its estate wines here. It's a perfect fit for the extensive Patty Green portfolio, as noted on their website: "More rock than soil, the hilltop is an old landslide of broken lava flows. It is hard to farm. The vineyard is dry farmed, organically farmed and farmed with a no-till philosophy. The latter owing largely to the rubble pile that this vineyard sits upon making tilling either a near impossibility or an expensive, equipment-destroying reality."
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Arcus Vineyard 'Mysterious' Pinot Noir – For the first time the true identity of the Mysterious bottling has been disclosed (with full permission) – the Arcus vineyard. Classic Dundee Hills flavors of blackberry and black cherry fruit are accented with iron-rich highlights and threads of Asian spices, candied citrus, coffee grounds and pencil lead. In short, a densely layered, textural and detailed wine with decades of life ahead. 13.5%; $100 (Dundee Hills) 96/100
OK I'm a wine history buff and the Patty Green website provides a wealth of background on many of the vineyards featured in their wines. Here's to scoop on this one: "The history on any one vineyard on Worden Hill Rd is inextricably linked to all the others and, ultimately, to a single site and a couple of families. The vineyard in question is Maresh Vineyard and the people are Jim and Loie Maresh and Dick Erath. Erath convinced this cherry and hazelnut farming couple with property located at the summit of the hill to consider planting a vineyard in 1969. This would be only the second vineyard in Yamhill County. In 1971 Bill and Bessie Archibald acquired 20 acres of land adjacent to (and owned by) the Maresh family. Five acres were planted over a handful of years beginning in 1973. The property grew and more acreage was added over the years. In 1988 the property was sold to Gary Andrus and the newly formed Archery Summit Winery. The vineyard contains none of its original plantings but still has material that was planted in 1988 and 1990."
Estate Wines
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir – This all-encompassing estate bottling incorporates grapes from a half dozen of the vineyard's 17 blocks. At $37 it's a flat out gift to the winery's friends and fans. Bold, dark-fruited, tannic and finishing with an earthy, lightly bitter charcoal edge, this complex, scaffolded wine punches way above its price. The tannic darkness sets it up for accompanying food; charred meats come to mind, not the usual namby-pamby stuff you think to pair with Pinot Noir. Go big! 2000+ cases; 13.7%; $37 (Ribbon Ridge) 93/100
Site history (from the website): "The vineyard’s original planting dates back to 1984, making it the second oldest established vineyard in what is now the Ribbon Ridge AVA. Plantings of entire blocks have happened in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2010. The site includes 25.5 acres of Pinot Noir (20 acres of Pommard, 3 acres of Dijon 114, 3.1 acres of Wadensvil and 1.4 acres of Coury Clone), 2.5 acres of Sauvignon Blanc and 2 acres of Chardonnay (Dijon 76 and 96). Patricia Green Cellars purchased the property in July, 2000. The vineyard houses the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vines in the Willamette Valley. It has also produced the only Pinot Noir to receive a score of 100 from a major, national wine publication."
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Estate Vineyard Wadensvil Block Pinot Noir – A reader notes that he has developed a fascination with the Wadensvil clone bottlings. "They just strike the right chord for me" he explains. Me too. There is a special touch required for this clone, in order to keep it focused and contain its tendency to spread out and flatten out across the palate. The winery notes that this block was planted in 1997, but overcropped (which thins out flavors). After it was purchased by PGC in 2000, "several years of careful work went into nursing the plants back to health and another several years to begin to coax out the potential from this multi-sloped section in the very back of the vineyard." This is tightened up, layered with rhubarb, brambly berry, citrus oil, some bitter stem, black olive and ultimately smooths out in a full-bodied and flavorful finish. Magnums and up; 13.2%; $135 (magnum); (Ribbon Ridge) 95/100
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Estate Vineyard Coury Clone Pinot Noir – Interesting background – this block was only grafted over to Coury clone in 2019, as the winery was unhappy with the previous results. Taking cuttings from their Coury clone block at Freedom Hill, they made the change and here are the results. Delicious, almost effusively fruity, this opens with red berry fruits, sassy citrus and firm, concentrated tannins. It's not blocky but it's segmented, not completely seamless, though all the components are in place. Instantly approachable, it's easy to see that the change in clones was a great call, and the future for this block is golden. 225 cases; 13.6%; $75 (Ribbon Ridge) 94/100
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Estate Vineyard Old Vine Pinot Noir – I continue to be dazzled by the first taste of these 2021 Pinots, yet they often are still better on the second day. Let's remember these are young wines with many years of development ahead. The old vine designation here principally includes grapes from the Winery Block (1984), the Hallelujah Block (1990) and the Lakeview Block (1998). Lush strawberry/cherry fruit is packed in with highlights of blood orange. Though there were just a handful of new barrels (under 10%), they were enough to add a thin seam of caramel to the finish. Another extraordinary value from this exceptional vintage. 1125 cases (3/4 neutral); 13.5%; $45; (Ribbon Ridge) 94/100
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Estate Vineyard Etzel Block Pinot Noir – This block was planted to Pommard in 1986 and Dijon 114 in 2001, named for celebrity winemaker Mike Etzel whose Beaux Frères winery is nearby. Firm, almost steely, this tightly wound wine brings compact flavors of raspberries and brambles, cherries and stems. At 13.7% abv it's at the high end for Patricia Green. It remains dense and compact, fairly tannic, with the nuanced accents that trail the finish just beginning to poke through. Magnums and up; 13.7%; $145 (magnum); (Ribbon Ridge) 95/100
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Estate Vineyard Bonshaw Block Pinot Noir – Perhaps the most rare of all the PGC Pinots, this was the wine to which I awarded 100 points for its 2016 vintage. In subsequent years it has always scored in the high 90s. There's undoubtedly some magic here. Planted to Pommard in 1990 on a steep south slope, the aromatics are sensuous, seductive and seamless. They combine citrus and flower; the palate is broad and dense, loaded with a mix of red and purple and black fruits. The spices touch on Asian/Indian flavors, and the length is exceptional. This is ripened to almost 14% – unusual for Patty Green but perfect for this wine. 13.8%; $75 (most recent found); (Ribbon Ridge) 97/100
... and one more (non-estate)....
Patricia Green Cellars 2021 Notorious Pinot Noir – Boom! This is the bomb. Notorious is designed as the top reserve from Patty Green, the only wine aged in 100% new French oak. It's sourced each year from a mix of sites – in this vintage a mix of estate fruit, Freedom Hill, Durant and another unnamed Dundee Hills site. The new oak has not been overdone, and remains an accent at this point, not a dominant scent or flavor. The palate strains to corral all that's going on here. Berries, bramble, savory herbs, lead pencil, coffee grounds, chicory, charcoal... well it's pretty much endless. This is a big wine, but in perfect proportion and balance from start to finish. 13.5%; $85; (Willamette Valley) 98/100
Opinion
This past week marked the kickoff of a month-long Washington wine promotion under the rubric WAugust. My thoughts about the name aside, such events, whether it's World Donut Day or Washington Wine Month, have become so commonplace that it's difficult to know what if any impact on sales they achieve. WAugust also suffered from the extremely unfortunate timing (also this week) of the revelation that the state's largest winery – Ste. Michelle Wine Estates – was in the process of cancelling 40% of its long term grape contracts. This has been called by more than one pundit a devastating blow.
I don't think that is an exaggeration. For decades SMWE was the major force in producing, promoting and marketing the Washington brand. In tough times the winery, under the leadership of the late Allen Shoup and his successor Ted Baseler, lent essential support to growers and wineries both large and small. In good times they sponsored such global events as the semi-annual Riesling Rendezvous. With the sale of the business to an east coast investment firm, the writing was on the wall that things were about to change. There have already been changes at the top in local management, sales of some marquee properties, significant bottom line losses and now this announcement that nearly half of the contracted vineyard acreage will be jettisoned.
From my perspective, as one who has banged the drum for Washington wines and Ste. Michelle in particular over several decades, none of this is surprising. I don't pretend to have a crystal ball to see what's next, but it doesn't feel good. For small growers and producers it's time to batten down the hatches. This website and my other online entities are dedicated exclusively to providing real support to these family-owned businesses. I do not review hundreds of wines; I provide focused and detailed notes and background on specific wineries. I link to online sales – direct to the winery website – and encourage my readers to purchase there. I charge no fees and have no advertisers, sponsors or investors. If you are a small winery facing difficulties I welcome the chance to hear your story and taste your wines. I will do my best, following the guidelines I've established for this online journal, to offer support.
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The wines I review have been tasted over many hours and days in peer groups. Only reviews for recommended wines are published, with links to winery websites to facilitate DTC sales. Additional exposure comes via my frequent posts on Substack, Post Alley, Instagram, the Waitsburg Times and several Facebook wine chat groups. All of these outlets are ad-free with no cost to visit and/or subscribe.
Please send current and upcoming releases according to your own release schedule (check with me first re: weather/travel exceptions). All new releases from Pacific Northwest wineries are welcome and will be tasted.
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