2013 Panther Creek Verde Vineyards Pinot Noir

Jaw-Dropping Value From Oregon Stalwart

It’s unlikely that you’ll find another under-$20 Pinot Noir that holds a candle to this monumental 2013 Panther Creek Verde Vineyards Pinot, which traces its lineage back to the 94-point Pinot that stunned Robert Parker and announced Oregon’s ascendance to the world stage back in 1994. That year, Ken Wright and Panther Creek put the Willamette Valley on the map for good. Almost two decades later, Panther Creek continues to raise the bar in Oregon. If your Pinot Noir preference is for opulent dark, black- and red-fruited New World concentration buttressed by Old World structure, this is an unbeatable bargain. Released at $45, offered today at $19.99 — that’s 56% off. 125 cases for the taking.  

Nine years before the 1994 vintage that set Oregon Pinot ablaze on the world stage, winemaker Ken Wright drove to the Willamette Valley with 10 barrels of CALIFORNIA red wine, intent to release it under a new label, Panther Creek. The young Wright was unaware that he’d illegally transported wine across state lines, but faced with the prospect of selling the wine or going broke and going home, Wright convinced a federal agent to let him bottle and sell it all.

In the years that followed, Wright earned a reputation for making the impossible happen again and again. Then, in 1994, he turned every head in the nation towards Oregon, crafting a superb crop of wild-berry Pinots that launched the Willamette Valley into the spotlight.

Since then, Wright has passed the torch at Panther Creek to another star winemaker, Tony Rynders. A longtime friend of Wright’s, Rynders had dreamed of working at Panther Creek since that legendary 1994 vintage. After 20 years working at some of the best wineries in Oregon, including a decade at Domaine Serene (where he would turn out a record number of high-scoring wines), Rynders finally got the job he’d been waiting for.

2013 was Rynders’ first vintage at Panther Creek and he wasted no time applying his deft touch to the sustainably farmed Verde Vineyards Pinot. Aged for 18 months in 30 percent new oak, the 2013 Verde is vibrant, rich, and complex, with a bent towards Burgundy. At 19.99 per bottle, it offers jaw-dropping value, harkening back to the pivotal Pinots of the early days of Panther Creek. The only difference? The secret is now out.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Acces

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 13.30%
• Enjoy right away
• Drink Up
• % Pinot Noir
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork