Et Fille Pinot noir Palmer Creek 07
Tanzer 90 points "Vivid red. Seductive perfume of red berries, rose, Asian spices and smoky minerals. Light in body but surprisingly intense, displaying zesty strawberry and raspberry preserve and candied flower flavors. Gains weight with air and picks up a licorice note that extends through the long, sappy finish. I like this wine's understatement and precision."
Only three barrels of 2007 Palmer Creek Vineyard were made. Super-limited and super delicious. Et Fille has produced single vineyard Pinot Noir from the lovely Palmer Creek Vineyard in the Eola - Amity Hills of Oregon since their first vintage. The vineyard is meticulously tended by owners Janet and Larry Richards.
Howard Mozeico describes the wine: Big nose of raspberry, graham cracker and vanilla aromas, complex plum and cherry flavors carry into a long finish.
Jessica Mozeico adds her tasting notes: People always ask which of our wines I like best, and I will answer no sooner than you would name your favorite child. However, I must say that this is my favorite Palmer Creek yet. It is elegant in the aroma of plum and floral notes and palate of sweet cherries, cinnamon, and spice. It seems I like things of which I can only have a few... Ferragamo handbags and now Palmer Creek. We did a small production to focus on quality in 2007.
2006 vintage: Wine Spectator 90 points
Wine Spectator describes the 2006 Et Fille Pinot Noir Palmer Creek Vineyard: "Smooth, open-textured and appealing for its juicy cherry and spice flavors...".
2006 Vintage tasting notes
Last night I cracked into a 2006 Et Fille Palmer Creek Pinot for the first time since trying it in December. WOW, am I glad I did. It was a bit young last year, but now it's kicking ass. At $32 it's a wine you should buy.
At first pour, wiffs of dusted rose petals and allspice mixed with red fruit perfume pull you in. Loads of pie cherry and raspberry hit the front of your palate and sweeten as the wine moves to the finish. There's an almost hidden base note of darker berries that elongates the finish.
Avalon Says:
Jean: Delicate, feminine - the qualities ascribed to the lighter Burgundies of the Cotê de Beaune apply to the 2006 Palmer Creek. A delicate scent of red fruit and spice intertwines with tarragon, fennel, anise, marjoam, and minerals in the nose. Hints of licorice and nutmeg can be detected. Red currant, tart red cherry, and red raspberry flavors sweeten and fatten in the mouth, and fine grained tannins are detectable, inobtrusive but present. A hint of violets adds to the finish. The grapes are all 777 clone, planted in 1999-2000..
Marcus: The most "old school" (or Burgundian, if you prefer) Pinot from Howard, The 06 Palmer Creek has a nose of tarragon, star anise, cherries, and oodles of complex minerals. Loads of pie cherry hit the front of your palate and sweeten as the wine moves to the finish. OK, I need to do that again--too much fun. Structured and vibrant, the 06 will develop nicely over the next six years in your cellar or six minutes in your glass.
The Winery Says:
Dad: Complex red berry & floral aromas. Red berries and minerals on the palette and in the long finish.
Fille: Drinking our 2006 Palmer Creek feels like cruising down the road in a convertible on a sunny afternoon-expansive, freeing, and undemanding. It has a plum color and its aroma is punctuated by a woodsy character that opens to a creamy mouth feel. This wine will complement appetizers or meals of poultry, pork, or salmon.
2005 Vintage tasting notes
Dark in color, with a perfumed nose of sandalwood, raspberry, anise, black cherry, and raspberry. The texture is viscous in the mouth, with a satiny mouth feel. Blackbery, black cherry, multiple cherry flavors, and cassis prevail in the flavors, with undercurrents of licorice and spice. The finish is expansive, and filled with layers of fruit. There's pie cherry, Mt Rainier cherry, Bing cherry, and a hint of bittersweet chocolate, lingering pleasantly in the mouth. -jy
From the winery: The Palmer Creek Vineyard is an up-and-coming pinot noir vineyard in the Eola Hills of Oregon. It is immaculately tended by owners Janet and Larry Richards. Wine Spectator called our 2003, "rich and generous. A mouthful of spicy, toasty, licorice-scented blackberry and currant flavors, lingering on the fine-grained finish (89)."
Our 2004 release has a greater balance and elegance, driven by a milder summer in the Palmer Creek Vineyard.
Dad: Floral/raspberry aroma. Red berries and chocolate on the palate. Long finish. Food friendly.
Fille: Our 2004 Palmer Creek has the elegance-with-attitude of Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". It has a claret color and delicate nose of raspberry that opens to floral notes and finishes with cedar. Its red fruit palate starts with strawberry but yields to a hint of chocolate. The silky mouthfeel leads to a long and even finish. The acidity will complement meals of game, poultry, and mushrooms. This is one that could be held for a few years.
