Great wine starts in the vineyard.
Oregon's
northern Willamette Valley– located near the same latitude as
Burgundy– offers a cool, wet climate with soil conditions
favorable to the finicky Pinot noir grape. Warm and dry autumn
weather allows for long, slow ripening of the fruit, yielding
complexity and flavor development in the finished wines.
Panther Creek does not own any vineyard land. We maintain
long term leases on specific blocks of land at each of our
vineyard sites. This allows us to be very involved in the growing
and harvesting process. Each of our vineyards has its own
ownership, management, and labor, who we consider to be our
partners in the winemaking process. Like most premium Oregon
Pinot noir sites, our blocks are carefully managed through fruit
thinning, leaf pulling, and pruning to produce fruit that is
concentrated and balanced at harvest. In many years we even
choose to thin the crop and reduce the yield of grapes in order to
ensure the ripeness of the fruit.
Freedom Hill Vineyard, located near Dallas, Oregon, is
owned and managed by the Dusschee family. This large, gently
sloping vineyard lies on Bellpine soil in the low range of hills
leading up to the East slope of Oregon's Coast Range. This is our
southernmost Pinot noir vineyard. Panther Creek wines from
Freedom Hill tend to show deep, rich color, firm texture and big
concentrated black fruit flavors. Panther Creek has been making
wine from Freedom Hill Vineyard since 1992.
Shea Vineyard is found in the hilly
country towards the north end of the Willamette Valley. This
steeply contoured site sits atop sedimentary Willakenzie soil.
Wines from Shea exhibit elegant floral aromatics and mouth
filling red fruit flavor. Beginning with the benchmark 1994
vintage, Shea Vineyard has yielded some of Panther Creek's
most remarkable wines. Our 1998 Shea was included in Wine
Enthusiasts' Top 100 Wines in the World. Shea Vineyard is
owned by Dick and Deirdre Shea and managed by Javier Marin.
Temperance Hill Vineyard is home to the oldest vines
Panther Creek has under contract. With sections of the vineyard
as high as 800 feet, it is also our highest elevation site. This
combination of elevation and vine maturity allows clusters at
Temperance Hill to enjoy long hang time deep into harvest. The
vineyard is farmed organically by manager Dai Crisp. The soils
here are a rich complex of volcanic debris, primarily Nekia,
Ritner, and Jory. Despite its southerly location in the Eola Hills,
grapes from this site are among the last to ripen. The result is
wines that show dark fruit with deep mineral and earth character.
These tend to be our most structured wines with great length
and texture.
Panther Creek also maintains contracts on blocks of land at
several other excellent vineyards including Bednarik, Lazy
River, and Vista Hills. Our blocks have been carefully
selected for consistency, quality, and expressiveness of each site's
distinctive terroir.
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