Today we share the wines of Phelps Creek, a great Columbia Gorge outpost. Founder Bob Morus serves as President and Director of Winegrowing. He moved to Hood River in 1989 with the expressed goal of raising both wine grapes and kids. The manages his estate vineyard consisting of 36 acres of vines planted mainly to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Lauren O’Brien serves as winemaker, having formerly served as enologist at K Vintners. The new wines were really good across the board. I love the 2022 Phelps Creek ‘Columbia Gorge’ Chardonnay (OB, 92) which is rich and round on the mouth. Learn more about these great new wines at https://www.phelpscreekvineyards.com and here are my reviews of the new wines by Phelps Creek.
2022 Phelps Creek ‘Columbia Gorge’ Chardonnay- The 2022 Phelps Creek ‘Columbia Gorge’ Chardonnay delivers buttercream and pie crust notes alongside Japanese pear flavors that mingle well with nutty undertones on the palate. Smooth and round on the mouth, with good tension, enjoy now and over the next few years. Drink 2025-2031- 92
2022 Phelps Creek ‘Estate Reserve’ Pinot Gris- The 2022 ‘Estate Reserve’ Pinot Gris is an acacia barrel-fermented edition of the wine coming from their estate vineyard in the Columbia Gorge AVA. This is dense and fat on the mouth with a silky texture. Rich baked apple and nutty nuances fill the palate alongside salty minerals. This is really well-done. Drink 2025-2031- 92
2022 Phelps Creek ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir- The 2022 ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir comes off a touch lean with tart cranberry and teaberry notes alongside sour cherry on the palate. Drink now. Drink 2025-2031- 90
2022 Phelps Creek ‘Regina’ Pinot Noir- The 2022 ‘Regina’ is round and generous on the mouth, loaded with freshness. Medium bodied red fruits mingle well with orange peel and salty soils on the palate. Delicious to enjoy now, savor this over the next six plus years to come. Drink 2025-2033- 92
2022 Phelps Creek ‘Cuvee Alexandrine’ Pinot Noir- The really good 2022 ‘Cuvee Alexandrine’ is a round, generous and also mineral-laden bottling by Phelps Creek. On the nose this takes on bright red fruits that mingle well with damp salty soils and shades of cloves. The palate is soft and smooth, with a great sense of texture and underlying verve. Drink 2025-2033- 92
2021 Phelps Creek ‘Beehive’ Pinot Noir- The delicious 2021 ‘Beehive’ Pinot Noir is a Dijon 777 clone wine that comes from a corner of the estate that at a time housed beekeeper boxes. This is soft and round on the mouth, offering pomegranate seed and Bing cherry flavors that mingle well with salty nuances and shades of forest floor. Drink 2025-2033- 92