First and foremost, we work closely with our growers to ensure that the fruit on the vine has been given every chance to develop complex flavors, rich color and optimal sugar content. Low crop levels and intensive vineyard management are the first steps in the production of ripe, balanced wines. Timing of harvest can be one of the most crucial decisions in winemaking. As the grapes near ripeness, our winemaking staff spends a great deal of time in the vineyards evaluating clusters on the vine. Sensory analysis— tasting and inspecting fruit in the vineyard— and empirical analysis of grape chemistry in the lab are both critical in determining the moment of desired ripeness.

Gentle destemming and gravity transfer into the fermentor are the next steps and these are followed by slow fermentation at controlled temperature. This helps increase mouthfeel and retain the evanescent aromas of Pinot noir. A long gentle pressing extracts rich flavor and color without the hard tannins that can quickly change the balance of this delicate wine.

After settling bright and clear, the young wine is racked to barrel where it ages from ten to sixteen months. Panther Creek uses all French oak barrels in our elevage. Working with a mix of cooperages ensures complexity of wood flavor and aroma. Barrel aging enhances the wine's richness and texture, but we limit the use of new barrels to no more than 35% in order to restrain wood character and to allow the site and vintage to clearly express themselves. After completing malolactic fermentation, each lot is racked separately to tank and then back to barrel. This early blending helps to integrate the new and old oak in each lot as the wines build in weight and complexity. Slow aging and several rounds of racking enables gravity to remove sediment, eliminating the need to fine or filter our red wines.

After aging approximately ten months in barrel, our winemaking team selects the blend of wine lots for our Winemaker's Cuvée, the first release of each vintage. This blend of 100% Willamette Valley Pinot noir is composed of a mix of wines from our different vineyard sites and is carefully crafted to be forward and accessible, while maintaining the structure necessary for cellaring.

The remaining lots of wine, handpicked for superior vineyard and vintage character, are aged in barrel for another six months. After a total of 16 months in elevage, these wines are bottled in separate batches and labeled with their vineyard of origin. These single vineyard designated wines are generally the richest and most complex showing of each vintage.

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.

Panther Creek Cellars - 455 NE Irvine St. - McMinnville, OR 97128
503.472.8080 (ph) - 503.472.5667 (fax)
info@panthercreekcellars.com