Stevenson Barrie Freedom Hill Pinot noir 07
Stevenson Barrie Freedom Hill Pinot noir 07 - Michael Stevenson is winemaker at Panther Creek Winery. Stevenson Barrie is his personal winery, and he makes very small amounts of his wines.
The 2006 Freedom Hill's red berry fruit scents and flavors are intensified by Michael's trademark meaty, earthy notes.
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
2006 Vintage Tasting Notes
The Stevenson Barrie Freedom Hill Pinot noir 06 has immediately rich and intense aromas of toasted hazelnut, like walking through a European Christmas market. Black cherry, sun ripened raspberries and slightly savory meatiness combine for a very complete wine. Both mouth watering and structured, the Freedom Hill's balance encourages us to try cellaring some of it for several years, to see how the wine evolves.
Michael's Pinot noirs have a subtle, clean, and fresh style. He ages in used oak barrels, and his winemaking style emphasizes restraint. The wines are pure fruit and balanced structure, with a finish that tends towards subtle mineral notes. Retasting the wine over several hours after decanting, all three 2006 wines evolve to lushness, with intensifying scents and rich fresh fruit flavors. An undercurrent of structure and earth anchors the wines and suggests cellaring.
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2003 Vintage Tasting Notes
Matt Kramer (Wine Spec, Oregonian): "gorgeous 2003 Oregon Pinot noir, one of the standouts of the vintage. It's very much worth hunting down. There's no intrusive oakiness in this wine, as Stevenson-Barrie consciously avoids using any new oak in its wines. (Panther Creek wines, in comparison, are noticeably oaky.) This restraint works immensely to the benefit of the wine, allowing a lovely flavor purity to emerge, redolent of raspberries and a distinct hint of minerals."
Matt Kramer: "when a 2003 Oregon pinot noir is good, it can be more than merely good: It can be spectacular. The top 2003 pinot noirs are richer, denser and more basso profundo, if you will, than in any other recent Oregon vintage. The best producers knew just when to pick; just how to handle such ripe grapes; just how much to acidify; and just how long to leave the wine in barrel. While every vintage poses these challenges, it was trickier in 2003.
Michael Stevenson clearly knew what he was doing, at least in this superb 2003 pinot noir from Freedom Hill Vineyard near Dallas, which is west of Salem. Stevenson-Barrie is a private venture of Michael Stevenson and Scott Barrie, with Stevenson, best known as Panther Creek Cellars' winemaker, supplying the winemaking skill. What makes the 2003 Freedom Hill Vineyard bottling stand out is a striking purity allied to a just-right balance. There's no intrusive oakiness in this wine, as Stevenson-Barrie consciously avoids using any new oak in its wines. (Panther Creek wines, in comparison, are noticeably oaky.) This restraint works immensely to the benefit of the wine, allowing a lovely flavor purity to emerge, redolent of raspberries and a distinct hint of minerals."
