Back in the 1960's I used to watch evening shows on a little 10" Black and White TV in the family den. Reception was shaky at best with rabbit ear antenna, but the family gathered around to watch the hottest game shows. One of our favorites was called To Tell The Truth, (Thanks Mattias for jogging my memory on the name). The show was based on trying to determine which of three guests was the "real" person since they all claimed to have the same name. You might wonder why I bring up 40-year old television, but it is to introduce one of the significant new producers of Pinot Noir from Oregon that has resurrected an existing brand, but with a bold new direction. Two wines with the same name. Don't let that fool you!
The winery is Antica Terra and it had sold a few years ago to a passionate group of partners following years of largely uninspired efforts. The first thing the new owners did was coax a talented winemaker into joining them - one who had worked with the fruit in the area and had the relationships with growers. The person they brought on board to make the wine is Maggie Harrison, formerly Assistant Winemaker to Manfred Krankl at Sine Qua Non for nearly a decade where she worked closely with the Shea Vineyard in the Willamette Valley. I learned about this brand last year through a posting on the eRobert Parker Bulletin Board. When I contacted Maggie Harrison I was somewhat surprised that she had been receiving my wine newsletters for several years and she was thrilled I was interested in trying the wines. A year later I finally had some of the wine available to me and when we released it, the image of the label has changed radically.
We went through our initial allocation of this 95-point wine fairly quickly and I just learned it is last call from our distributor. Antica Terra clearly illustrates what difference can be be made in a brand by determination and talent. The remaining inventory will be arriving within the next week. Follow the thread here to my Vinfolio review and take a position in one of our top new finds from Willamette Valley.
https://www.vinfolio.com/do/store/detail?vid=97041
(You may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)