WineInk: On The Promontory, A Trio from Argyle
by Kelly J. Hayes
“Three wines. Three styles. Three vintages. One grape.
The diversity of Pinot Noir was brought home this past week when I sampled a selection of three wines that had been sent to me by Argyle, a well-known producer of Pinot Noir in Dundee in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.
The first wine I tried was a young 2020 Argyle Rose´of Pinot Noir made by the versatile winemaker Nate Klostermann. ‘The goal was to create a generous and textural rosé that is also dynamic and balanced,’ he said of his endeavor. A pink beauty, the traditional Pinot Noir aromas and flavors were, in fact, dynamically balanced.
Next I twisted the screw cap on a 2018 Argyle Willamette Valley Reserve Pinot Noir, a wine produced from four different vineyards. ‘This wine takes you from north to south in the Willamette Valley,’ said Klostermann of the wine that is defined by a silky texture and a sense of its origins in Oregon’s Pinot Paradise.
The final wine, going chronologically back in time, was a 2016 Argyle Knudsen Vineyard Brut. Yes, a sparkling wine — Pinot Noir is, after all, one of the three allowed grapes in Champagne — that was produced from 100% Pinot Noir grapes grown on the winery’s original vineyard planted in 1974. Not a hint of color, just perfect bubbles with a touch of rose and hint of cherries on the nose. A special wine.”