Set in the Red Hills alongside neighbors Domaine Serene, Domaine Drouhin, White Rose and other Willamette Valley greats, Archery Summit is a gorgeous setting for excellent Oregon Pinot Noir. Started by the Pine Ridge baron Gary Andrus, this estate relies on a variety of vineyards across the valley, as well as estate fruit. The winery itself is stunning and has an absolutely gorgeous cave setting for tasting. I recently stopped by there to sample their excellent 2014 Pinots. The winery has six estate vineyards totaling 120 acres, with 5 vineyards in the red volcanic soil of the Dundee Hills AVA and 1 vineyard in the ancient sea bed of the adjacent Ribbon Ridge AVA. Winemaker Chris Mazepink came to the winery in 2013 and also currently serves as the general manager. Mazepink has a wealth of experience in the valley, starting at Lemelson Vineyards as assistant winemaker. He spent four years at Shea Wine Cellars before joining Benton Lane Winery as Director of Winemaking and Viticulture.
I was highly impressed with what they achieved with the excellent 2014 vintage. The structure and weight of their wines were lovely. Their 2015 ‘Ab Oro’ Pinot Gris (WWB, 93) was a gorgeous bottling that showed nice richness and intensity. That great Gris serves as a perfect summer wine for shellfish. All of their 2014 Pinots showed great poise and fruit flavors, although most of them were needing more time in the bottle to settle, which I have found true for wines having tasted at Archery over the past ten years. The 2014 Archery Summit ‘Arcus Estate’ (WWB, 95) follows up their excellent 2013 bottling and is one of the best 2014 Oregon Pinots that I have sampled this year. This new Arcus was a dense and rich effort that really needs at least two more years in the bottle to develop. These wines showed wonderful richness but also deep terroir. Learn more about Archery Summit and their great lineup of wines at http://www.archerysummit.com. Here are the excellent new wines from Archery Summit.
2015 Archery Summit 'Ab Oro' Pinot Gris- The wine opens with aromatics of ripe starfruit, orange blossom, and Bartlett pear. There are rich flavors of poached pear, starfruit, nutmeg and hints of white peach. There is lovely viscosity and texture here to this awesome Pinot Gris. Drink 2016-2023- 93
2014 Archery Summit ‘Premier Cuvee’ Pinot Noir This excellent Pinot Noir opens with aromatics of prune, pomegranate, black cherry, mushroom compote and boysenberry jam. There are flavors of red cherry, Shitake mushroom, wild blackberry and mushroom. The persistence to this wine is lovely. This is up there with their excellent 2012 bottling as the best Premier Cuvee that I have sampled from this estate. This wine has the structure and stuffing to cellar exceedingly well. Drink 2016-2028-92
2014 Archery Summit ‘Archer’s Edge’ Pinot Noir -This Pinot Noir wine has utilized 105, 667 and 777 Dijon Clones in the blending. The wine opens with powerful aromatics of teaberry, mushroom compote, black cherry and cranberry with hints of cola. The wine has flavors of black cherry, morels, and Earl Grey tea. There is a really generous mouthfeel and texture to this wine which makes this difficult to resist right now. Like all these Archery Summit releases, this will cellar marvelously well. Drink 2016-2028 -93
2014 Archery Summit ‘Red Hills Estate’ Pinot Noir - This fantastic Pinot Noir by Archery Summit starts with aromatics of black cherry, volcanic ash, mushroom compote, black tea and black raspberry. There are rich flavors of black raspberry, pomegranate seed, marionberry, black cherry, anise and mild tannins. This is gorgeous and has wonderful poise and fruit that captures the heat of the vintage. Try to resist this great bottling for at least another year. Drink 2017-2030- 94
2014 Archery Summit ‘Looney Vineyard’ Pinot Noir -This Pinot Noir wine is sourced from the Ribbon Ridge AVA and has rich aromatics of milk chocolate, black cherry, black truffle and allspice. There are flavors of black cherry, black raspberry, cranberry, blood orange and black tea. Somewhat shut down right now, with some mild to moderate tannins, this Pinot will benefit from some bottle age. Drink 2017-2028- 92
2014 Archery Summit ‘Archery Summit Estate’ Pinot Noir- The absolutely gorgeous 2014 Archery Summit 'Archery Summit Estate' Pinot Noir is showing beautifully right now. The wine starts with aromatics of toasty oak, black cherry, black truffle and Christmas spice. There are deep flavors of black cherry, pomegranate seed, orange rind and black truffle. This wine shows incredible range and poise but can really benefit from another year in the bottle with some mild to moderate tannins currently at play. Drink 2018-2030- 94
2014 Archery Summit ‘Arcus Estate’ Pinot Noir- The best of the excellent 2014 releases from Archery Summit is the 'Arcus Estate' which consistently has been one of their most impressive bottlings since I started tasting there more than a decade ago. This is up there with the best 'Arcus Estate' wines that I have ever sampled. Having a deep core, the wine starts with perfumed aromatics of black cherry, black raspberry, black truffle, white pepper and black plum. There are flavors reminiscent of black cherry, black truffle oil and black raspberry. The weight and balance of this wine is simply gorgeous. Try to avoid drinking this exceptional Pinot for another two years. There is a lovely purity of fruit in this bottling that shows through to the lingering finish. Drink 2018-2035- 95