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.
The Palmer Creek's elegant texture works great with food (duck leg, thyme mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts) but the Palmer drinks well on its own.
Et Fille 2006 Palmer Creek Pinot noir info
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 2005 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.
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
Wine Spectator Et Fille Pinot noir 2005 vintage ratings:
2005 ET FILLE Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard 93 points
"Supple and velvety in texture, this bursts with blueberry and currant fruit, with creamy, spicy overtones adding depth to the distinctive finish. Has tremendous presence and style, yet remains refined. Best from 2008 through 2015. 125 cases made." –HS
2005 Et Fille Pinot noir Elton Vineyard 93 points
"
Crisp and immensely generous, pumping away at its blackberry, cherry and delicate spice flavors on a lithe, medium-weight frame, with a finish that won't quit. An expressive wine with great presence. Best from 2008 through 2015. 126 cases made. –HS
2005 ET FILLE Pinot Noir Kalita Vineyard 91 points "On the light side, with a polished edge to the raspberry and sweet cream flavors, lingering on the delicious finish. Drink now through 2015. 91 cases made." –HS
2005 ET FILLE Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 88 points Lithe, open-textured and appealing for its plum and dried tomato flavors that linger nicely against refined acidity. Drink now through 2011. 140 cases made. –HS
2005 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
2004 Tasting notes
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.
