The 1999 Pinot Noir Reserve is my favorite of Panther Creek's recent releases. It has a mouth-watering nose of violets, perfume, potpourri, and cherries. On the palate, this elegant wine is medium-bodied, expansive, and packed with cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and hints of freshly cracked pepper. It is pure, harmonious, has no hard edges, and possesses a long, sweet, fruit-filled finish. Drink this gorgeous Pinot between 2004 and 2010..Tel. (503) 472-8080

Intense and structured, firm acidity provides a backbone to flavors of caramel, toast, beets, pie cherries and pine boughs. Its strength is also its primary drawback; the assertive acidity mutes the other components, and there may not be enough flesh in the long run. Give this backward offering a couple years in the cellar to smooth out. ——W.E.(11/1/2001)—— 87