Rose of Tempranillo by Patricia Green Cellars
For years, Jim Anderson and Patricia Green insisted that Patricia Green Cellars wouldn't make a rosé. Not because they couldn't, but because they loved drinking great rosé too much to release one that wasn't worthy of the name. They believed that truly great rosé comes from grapes with more structure than Pinot Noir. Their problem lay in thatOregon's Willamette Valley, grapes like Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Tempranillo simply don't exist in meaningful quantities. Until they discovered one forgotten block.
Meanwhile, hidden away in the historic Freedom Hill Vineyard was a small planting of Tempranillo, planted in 2012 for a winery that has long since disappeared. As it turns out, Tempranillo struggles to ripen fully enough in Oregon to make great red wine—but it is almost perfectly suited to making world-class rosé.
The result is the 2025 Patricia Green Cellars "Helen Dusschee" Rosé of Tempranillo, and it is one of my greatest summer pleasures to have tasted this for the first time.
Freedom Hill is one of Oregon's truly great vineyards. Established in 1982 by Helen and Dan Dusschee, it has become one of the state's benchmark sites, producing exceptional Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Blanc for many of Oregon's finest wineries. Patricia Green Cellars has long relied on Freedom Hill as one of its most important vineyard sources, and this tiny parcel of Tempranillo—just 535 cases produced—was named in Helen Dusschee's honor as a tribute to one of the pioneers who helped build Oregon wine.
Picked early at just 12.5% potential alcohol, whole-cluster pressed, and fermented entirely in stainless steel, it is bone dry with electric acidity, remarkable freshness, and just enough ripe fruit to keep everything beautifully balanced. Think wild strawberry, watermelon rind, ruby grapefruit, fresh herbs, and a distinctly mineral finish that begs for another sip.
There are thousands of rosés on the market today. Very few are made with this level of intention. Patricia Green approached this wine with the same seriousness they bring to their celebrated single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, and it shows in every glass. I’m told that as he expected, this is now the only wine that Jim Anderson drinks. I can’t blame him, the wine is smashingly good.
The end of August is nearly here. This wine comes out later than other Roses because is hangs longer and needs a touch more elevage before bottling. However, at just 535 cases produced, it won't be around for long so maybe it’s for the best that we only get a few weeks with this beautiful wine every summer.
