Winemaker Notes
Situated just above the 45th parallel and just between the protective rain shadow of Oregon’s Coast Range to the west and the majestic Cascade Mountain Range to the east, the Willamette Valley enjoys a long, late growing season, perfectly suited for world class Pinot Noir.
Food Pairing Notes
All Argyle Pinot Noirs are hand picked and fermented in small batch open-top bins - a rare, time-consuming and labor-intensive process for a winery of any size. This gives our winemaking team ultimate flexibilty in blending - literally to the vineyard block.
Vineyard Notes
The 2018 growing season began with a relatively mild and dry winter and moderately cool spring, leading to bud break during the second and third weeks of April. Temperatures picked up in May and continued into a beautiful mid-June bloom. The rest of the summer continued to be warm and very dry, with no precipitation for nearly 3 months. Early September remained warm and dry through the beginning of the sparkling harvest, but then cooled down with a few days of precipitation in the middle of the month. This allowed for still wine ripening (and the cellar crew!) to slow down and catch their breath before finishing out with beautiful late September and early October weather. In all, the 2018 harvest was very condensed, having started with Chardonnay at the lower elevations of Lone Star Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills on September 4th and finishing with Pinot Noir in the upper elevations of the Eola-Amity Hills at Spirit Hill Vineyard on October 2nd.
Accolades
90 Points, Wine Enthusiast: “A surplus of good grapes makes this new vintage of Argyle’s Grower Series Pinot especially desirable. It’s a fragrant mix of berry, plum and chocolate, with ample backing tannins. The herbal and tobacco notes are light but add welcome details, as does the hint of roasted coffee beans. Drink up while it’s young and fresh.” —Paul Gregutt, October 2020
