One of my favorite Oregon wineries is Argyle. I’ve purchased many bottles of their Spirithouse and Nuthouse Pinots over the years and they have become fantastic age-worthy expressions of Willamette Valley Pinot. In fact, some of their 2007 Pinots are drinking great right now.
I had a chance to visit the winery recently and was intrigued by their recent releases following their winemaker, Rolland Soles, leaving the winery and starting his own project. Soles has produced fantastic scores from Robert Parker and Wine Spectator – in fact, since 1998 his Nuthouse Pinot Noir has achieved Wine Spectator scores of 93, 93, 92, 91 93, 93, 92, 93, 92, 90, 92, 91, and 92 which is essentially unprecedented consistency for Willamette Valley wineries.
Some of the best wines produced at Argyle are sparkling wines and Argyle makes a great Rose, as well as their finest sparkling called Extended Tirage, which is essentially the best and highest rated sparkling wine produced in North America. Argyle has many different flights at their tasting room, so I suggest sharing a few of them if you visit their tasting room. Here are some of the great Argyle wines that I have tried recently. #argylewinery
2007 Argyle Spirithouse Pinot Noir- Translucent color indicative of a relatively poor vintage. This wine has improved considerably since I first bought it a few years back and has the acid structure to age another five years. Nose has rose petals and raspberry. Strawberry, raspberry and guava flavors with mushroom and cedar. Impressive effort for the vintage. -92
2008 Argyle Nuthouse Pinot Noir- Light color with strawberry and oak on the nose. Palate has guava, cranberry and red cherry with mushroom flavors. Earthy and delicious. Drink now or cellar for 1-2 years. -92
2011 Nuthouse Pinot Noir- Translucent color. Red cherry and guava on the nose. Palate has mushroom, red cherry and raspberry. Somewhat diluted but tasty. -90
2012 Nuthouse Pinot Noir- Smoke and guava on the nose. Palate has wonderful texture. Red currant, raspberry and red cherry. Nice viscosity and depth. Needs 2-3 years for the fruit to integrate. -92
2012 Reserve Pinot Noir- Strawberry and smoke on the nose. Palate has orange peel, strawberry, raspberry and cherry pie. Delicious. Hard not to drink now. -92
2011 Nuthouse Pinot Noir- Translucent color. Red cherry and guava on the nose. Palate has mushroom, red cherry and raspberry. Somewhat diluted but tasty. -90
2011 Clubhouse Pinot Noir- Knutsen vineyard. This would have been their Spirithouse but they did not declare a Sprithouse Pinot this year. Earthy and mushroom on the nose. Palate is light but earthy. Mushroom, red raspberry and red cherry. Delicious but diluted. Needs 2-3 plus years for fruit to integrate further.- 90
2010 Brut Rose- pear and almost apricot with strawberry on the nose. Palate has strawberry, guava and pear. Wonderful wine. Drink now. -92
2010 Blanc de Blancs Sparkling- Pear and red apple on the nose. Palate has minerals along brioche, pear and starfruit. Tasty. Drink now. -91
2009 Knudsen Vineyard Sparkling- Perfumed nose with pear and red apple. Ripe and rich nose. Palate has pear, red apple and lingers. Drink now. -93
2010 Brut Sparkling- pear and red delicious on the nose. Palate has nice effervescence. Pear, golden delicious and minerals on the palate. Drink now. -90
2000 Extended Tirage Sparkling- Nose has baked apple and oak with mushroom. Palate has brioche, baked apple and pear, with light vanilla nodes. Tremendous effort, effervescent with strong minerality for its age. This could cellar for 5 more years. -96
2012 Nuthouse Chardonnay- butter and mushroom with barnyard on the nose. Butter on the palate with pear and mushroom along w red apple. Nice depth. -91
2007 Minus Five- This is their Riesling dessert wine. 21% Residual sugar. Pear and golden delicious apple on the nose. Palate has lemon lime, golden delicious, orange creamcicle and ripe pear with vanilla. 300 cases made. Rich and delicious, drink now. -93