Archery Summit Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2023

From the winery:

"Gary Andrus launched Archery Summit in 1993, infatuated by Pinot Noir and the capacity the Willamette Valley seemed to have for it. The Dundee Hills in particular caught his eye, because it shares similar growing conditions with Burgundy, France, and some of the most acclaimed Pinot Noir vineyards on earth.

"A veteran winemaker with a résumé full of award-winning Napa Valley wines, Andrus sharpened his craft at sister winery Pine Ridge Vineyards. He founded that label in 1978, going on to specialize in vineyard-designate wines, tied tightly and evocatively to the sites they pulled from.

"The spirit of site-specific wine persists at Archery Summit. We have assembled an impressive family of vineyards over the years: five estate vineyards and three grower sites covering four unique American Viticultural Areas.

"Because we focus on Pinot Noir—a telling variety to say the least—our commitment to terroir and the refined flavors of place has only grown. With a quarter century of winemaking experience, we are proud to have helped bring well-deserved fame to Willamette Valley wine and are eager to take it to even higher ground.

"Equal and subtle parts floral and spice driven, this wine shows rose hip, hibiscus and strawberry on the nose. The aromatics persist, with flint and confectionary bubbling to the surface. On the palate, there’s a boisterous but balanced blend of sweet and savory. Candied strawberry, flickers of oak and a juicy acidity are tied together elegantly by the tannins and spice that come from whole-cluster fermentation."

Critical acclaim:

"97 points. No one is naïve about the difficulties and challenges of growing Pinot Noir away from its home in Burgundy (even there, of course, it isn’t easy). Pinot has taken to Oregon’s Willamette Valley with remarkable success, though, and especially to the red-soiled Dundee Hills. This 2021 wine is a fine example of the charm, balance and satisfaction that fine Dundee Hills Pinot can provide. Translucent scarlet in colour, with magnetically attractive raspberry scents, once on the palate the wine is soft-contoured yet energetic, with arresting intensity of fruit. Here the raspberry shades into something more curranty and tenacious, and there are refreshing bitter notes in the finish, too, with a hint of earthiness perhaps derived from the clays of volcanic origin in which the vines grow. The warm edge of cool climate? Perhaps – and it makes for beautiful drinking." - Decanter