Oregon Wining and Dining at Cliveden: a Phelps Creek Wine-Pairing Dinner in Berkshire

The French Dining Room at Cliveden, with Robert Morus of Phelps Creek Vineyards in the distance (right) deep in discussion with Harry Christie of his UK importer Davy's

‘Did you have input into the loos here?’ I asked, as we turned into the drive at Cliveden. It was an unfortunate choice of wording – terrible actually – but my husband knew what I meant, and the answer was no, he had mainly been researching the garden history (376 acres of Grade I listed formal gardens and woodland).

I should explain: my husband (R) was once a historic buildings expert for the National Trust, which owns Cliveden, and at the time the Trust was doing some restoration work (the property was still leased to Stanford University, but became a luxury hotel soon afterwards). At one of the other National Trust properties in Berkshire that R was then working on, he felt that an inordinate amount of his time was being taken up on the design, decoration and furnishing of the new lavatories (that’s Grade I listing for you). Hence my question.

Cliveden's antique marble Fountain of Love commissioned by Lord Astor

Let’s move on – as R and I did. Passing the splendid antique marble Fountain of Love by Thomas Waldo Story commissioned by Lord Astor in 1897 (the history of Cliveden is thick with royalty, dukes, earls, politicians, socialites, glamour and, not least, scandal), we drove up the sweeping gravel drive to the house. The nine-bay, three-storey Italianate design by Charles Barry is his 1850–51 replacement for its 17th century predecessor that had been destroyed in a catastrophic fire. There, between ranks of large, sleek, dark cars with smoked windows, we parked our glaringly white Yeti.

I mention the car because it was our first encounter with one of many things Cliveden has absolutely right, its staff: friendly but not intrusively overfamiliar; formal enough but without a shred of po-faced stuffiness. Candy white Yeti? Who noticed? It set the tone for the remaining 17 hours.

The Charles Barry facade on the left looking from the window of the Chinese bedroom

We were there for a Phelps Creek Vineyards dinner, six-going-on-seven courses paired with eight eponymous wines led by owner (or winegrower/president, as his business card puts it) Robert A Morus, aka Bob. Apart from Cliveden, the lure of the evening was threefold: Oregon wines, especially Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; getting to know a winery I knew only by name; and ceviche. I just happened to be working on a piece on ceviche for my monthly At the Table wine-pairing series in The World of Fine Wine when the menu was sent to me.

Before we get stuck into the dinner, I should give Phelps Creek Vineyards some context. It dates from 1989 when Bob Morus, an airline pilot raised in California but operating out of Chicago, decided to relocate to Oregon in search of a better lifestyle for a young family – a lifestyle that he hoped would include a vineyard. And did.

In what is now the Columbia Gorge AVA, an appellation in northern Oregon shared with Washington, he found a 24ha property (60 acres) with a steep southern slope and majestic views of both the Hood River Valley and Mt Hood. With the same rainfall and heat as Oregon’s Dundee Hills, but at higher elevations (290–360m/950 to nearly 1200ft), and deep, ancient volcanic soils with no rock until 25m down, it looked more than promising.

Robert A Morus, aka Bob, founder of the boutique Phelps Creek Vineyards in Columbia Gorge, Oregon on the terrace of Cliveden, enjoying a glass of his Fleur de Roy Rosé of Pinot Noir, as were we all

The first vines, Pinot Noir, were planted in 1990 and the first harvest was 1994. Initially, the grapes were sold, including to Ponzi, which is now owned by Bollinger and whose wines I tasted, coincidentally, a few days before the Phelps Creek dinner. From 2007, having built their own winemaking facility, Phelps Creek kept all their grapes (today they have 12ha of vines, 10ha of them Pinot Noir).

In the same year, they started working with a young Burgundian winemaker, Alexandrine Roy of Domaine Marc Roy in Gevrey-Chambertin, who had come to Oregon for the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC). The idea was that she would do one vintage at Phelps Creek. She has been coming back ever since.

Three things are immediately apparent when talking to Bob Morus and tasting his wines: he is hands-on; he makes the wines he wants to make, rather than letting fashion dictate, although Alexandrine has put her stamp on the wines too; and he is transparent – the latter a luxury afforded to someone who is owner, wine grower and president. He doesn’t hesitate to say, for example: “A small boutique family winery cannot be consistent every year.”

It’s surely the combination of the three, together with his sense of humour, that have made him one of the go-to wine producers in Oregon for young winemakers wanting to talk through their dreams and aspirations.

That’s the background, let’s go for dinner.

Right on cue, the setting sun glows orange-pink as we take an aperitif outside

To kick off, there was an aperitif on the terrace overlooking the gardens. The sun went down on cue in an orange-pink glow as we sipped Phelps Creek Fleur de Roy Rosé of Pinot Noir 2023: pale pink and and bone-dry with tart red berry fruit, gossamer-fine texture and icy acidity, it was a suitably appetite-whetting start. (Scroll down for photographs of all the wines.)

Then it was inside to the Rococo splendour of the private French Dining Room, the decoration and furnishing of which William Waldorf Astor bought more or less lock, stock and gilded panel from Madame de Pompadour’s Château d’Asnières. And so to the first course: Halibut ceviche with lime caviar and elderflower jelly, accompanied by Phelps Creek Underwood Mountain Vineyard Riesling 2021.

It was a triumph – for me, the best pairing of the evening. The lime flavour and ringing acidity of the Riesling complemented the lime and lemon of the marinade, while the wine’s slight sweetness and petrol note played to the saltiness and delicate spice of the Peruvian-style ceviche. It was interesting to hear that the petrol character in Phelps Creek Rieslings usually starts to emerge after about a year in. In other regions, it tends to come much later, after many have been drunk.

The first three courses: Halibut ceviche, Seared scallops, Lobster ravioli

The wine with the next course, Seared scallops with vanilla butter sauce and gooseberry, was the unusual, barrel-fermented Phelps Creek Corduroy Pinot Noir Blanc 2015 (spontaneously fermented like all the wines). This was from Bob’s cellar (and is not in the UK) and is a wine that he says “ages phenomenally”. It was dry, silky and creamy with some perfumed rose, red apple and orange zest, but with a slightly oxidised, marmalady note on the finish.

As for the pairing, the gooseberries in the dish, together with some lightly pickled kohlrabi, were there to cut the richness of the sauce and the sweetness of the (superb) Orkney scallop, but the sweetness and sharpness of the gooseberry shrieked from the sidelines – although it was spot on with the Underwood Mountain Riesling – and the Madagascar vanilla was a bit of a sledgehammer.

Lobster ravioli, lobster bisque and basil followed – the raviolo flavoured with and coloured green by the basil and surrounded by the bisque. “Just lobster and basil, really,” as chef Christopher Hannon put it. The wine poured was Phelps Creek Lynette Chardonnay 2019, named after Bob’s wife Lynette (who is as much fun as he is) and on the list at California’s three-star Michelin restaurant The French Laundry. It’s fermented and aged for 20 months in six 500-l oak puncheons, a third of them new, a third second-fill and the rest third-fill.

“You need large barrels to get the texture,” said Bob. And it’s certainly a Chardonnay that is much more about buttery, creamy texture and fresh acidity than it is about upfront fruit or oak. It was a good pairing, although the sweet intensity of the lobster slightly overemphasised the dryness of the wine.

Duck two ways, confit leg meat coated with pistachio cream followed by roasted breast with 'cherry', then Whipped Wigmore cheese

Duck two ways came as two courses, each served with a Pinot Noir. First, a ball of confit leg meat coated in pistachio cream and served with a sticky sauce made from cherry molasses and stock. “I wanted to make it like Chinese sticky duck [with] saltiness, sweetness and acidity,” said chef Chris Hannon. Then came a slice of duck breast with a ‘cherry’ made from the liver, a slice of pistachio-crusted polenta and a sauce made from red wine and cherry molasses.

The wines were Phelps Cuvée Alexandrine Pinot Noir 2015, a selection from their finest barrels and from the hottest vintage, followed by Phelps Creek Regina Pinot Noir 2011, from the coolest vintage on record. The first is named after their French winemaker and the second, made only from the aromatic Pommard clone and the winery's oldest vines, is named after Bob’s mother.

The order was interesting, I would have served the two wines and dishes the other way round: the cool-vintage Regina Pinot, with its very pretty, cherry and cranberry fruit, lifted spice, fresh acidity and fine tannins, before the weightier dark fruit and savoury, earthy, spicy depth of the Cuvée Alexandrine.

The advantage of the order chosen was that we ended on a high: the stellar duck breast, ‘cherry’ and sauce had the edge over the confit duck with its thick coating of almond-tasting pistachio cream.

Phelps Creek Vineyards Gorge Crest Gewürztraminer, Fig soufflé and the wine served with it, Phelps Vin Glacé Dessert Wine

Not that we had ended. There was cheese and dessert and two more wines to come. Whipped Wigmore, charcoal cracker and shallot jam was paired with Phelps Creek Gorge Crest Gewürztraminer 2019, a crisply floral, dry Gewürz with elegant lychee fruit, which didn’t overwhelm the whipped cheese and, in turn, wasn’t overwhelmed by the shallot chutney.

With Fig soufflé, fig-leaf ice cream and roasted fig sauce, we sipped Phelps Creek Vin Glacé Dessert Riesling 2018, a sophisticated ice wine with crystallised orange and apple intensity, a hint of honey and finely balanced acidity. And in so doing, dinner closed on another high note.

Phelps Creek Vineyards Fleur de Roy Rosé of Pinot Noir, Underwood Mountain Vineyard Riesling and Corduroy Pinot Noir Blanc (above)

Lynette Chardonnay, Cuvée Alexandrine Pinot Noir and Regina Pinot Noir (below)

Post-dinner four-poster bed to retire to in the Chinese room; looking out over the formal garden with the River Thames in the distance; table set for dinner in the French Dining Room

The UK importer of Phelps Creek Vineyards is Davy’s. Among the wines they currently stock:

Phelps Creek Gorge Crest Gewürztraminer 2019, £26.95 (served at the Cliveden dinner)

Phelps Creek Underwood Mountain Riesling 2021, £26.95 (served at the Cliveden dinner)

Phelps Creek Lynette Chardonnay 2018, £45 (2019 served at the Cliveden dinner)

Phelps Creek Cuvée Alexandrine 2018, £45 (2015 served at the Cliveden dinner)

Photographs by Joanna Simon

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