One of the longstanding Dundee Hills wineries, Archery Summit has sweeping views of the Willamette Valley and is a must visit for those who have never tasted these beautiful wines. Founded by Pine Ridge Winery baron Gary Andrus, Archery Summit sources from a host of vineyards across the valley, as well as estate fruit. The winery itself is stunning and has one of the most beautiful cave settings in the Pacific Northwest.
This summer I had the chance to meet new winemaker Ian Burch who was previously assisting with Evening Land prior to coming to Archery Summit. The new red and white wines were gorgeous across the board. vintage. The structure and weight of their wines were lovely. Their 2017 Archery Summit ‘Ab Oro’ Pinot Gris (WWB, 92) was showed a wonderful combination of richness and tension with great varietal typicity. This wine is a marvelous pairing for shellfish. Their 2016 Pinot Noirs showed really good ripe fruit with lower oak influence than I can remember, as the winery has been leaning against using more heavy oak treatment. Their 2016 Archery Summit ‘Dundee Hills’ Pinot Noir (WWB, 93) is a downright awesome wine that is one to purchase by the case. I love the range and ripeness of this wine. I was absolutely blown away with their 2016 Archery Summit ‘Arcus Estate’ (WWB, 95) which is truly one of the best Oregon Pinot Noirs that I have sampled this year. This is a beautiful new Arcus Estate that is up there with the best ones of memory, the epic 2012 and amazing 2014. 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.
2017 Archery Summit ‘Ab Ovo’ Pinot Gris- The 2017 ‘Ab Ovo’ by Archery Summit was bottled in Jan 2018 and is entirely sourced from the Red Hills Vineyard. The wine was aged in a combination of concrete eggs, Acacia barrels and stainless steel prior to bottling. The nose shows wonderful kiwi and honeydew melon aromas with buttered brioche and Pink Lady apple. There is a good combination of richness and freshness on the palate with green apple, kiwi, cantaloupe and nutmeg flavors. Simply delicious now, this will age well over the next five plus years. Drink 2018-2023- 92
2016 Archery Summit ‘Eola-Amity Hills’ Chardonnay- Sourced from Dijon Clone 76 and 95 this saw 30% new French oak prior to bottling. This starts off with striking aromas of brioche, roasted pineapple and banana. This has good freshness and richness mid-palate with a lovely tension and mouth-watering acidity. Brioche, banana and ripe pear flavors all beautifully combine. Downright delicious now, this will continue to evolve over the next decade. Drink 2018-2028- 92
2016 Archery Summit ‘Summit View Vineyard’ Chardonnay- The ‘Summit View Vineyard’ Chardonnay was fermented in 45% new French oak and also was ferment3ed in 22% Acacia barrels prior to bottling. This wine starts off with and intense bouquet of nutmeg, vanilla cream and hints of ripe pineapple. The palate echoes the nose with brioche, nutmeg and vanilla cream flavors with ripe red apple. Enjoy this over the next decade. Drink 2018-2028- 92
2016 Archery Summit ‘Dundee Hills’ Pinot Noir- The ‘Dundee Hills’ Pinot Nori is largely comprised of Pinot Noir sourced from the Arcus Vineyard (58%) and the Red Hills Vineyard (30%). The wine was aged for 9 months in 45% new French oak prior to bottling. This shows beautiful dark fruits on the nose with sandalwood, black tea and wild blackberry cobbler. The palate shows a good combination of freshness and richness with excellent tension. Black tea, blackberry pie, and black cherry cordial. Rich and seductive, this excellent wine will have a long life ahead of it but is outstanding right now.. Drink 2018-2030- 93
2016 Archery Summit ‘Whole Cluster Cuvee’ Pinot Noir- The ‘Whole Cluster’ Pinot Noir was a blend of ASW2 and Dijon clones 777, 114, 115 and 667. The wine was fermented in a combination of wooden and stainless steel open top containers as the wine underwent 92% whole cluster fermentation. Showing off a deep color, this begins with nice earthy undertones with wild mushroom and peat moss with black fruits that fill the nose. The palate shows a good combination of weight and freshness with black tea, anise, Asian spice and black truffle flavors. This is simply delicious now but will cellar well for a decade or more. Drink 2018-2030- 92
2016 Archery Summit ‘Red Hills’ Pinot Noir- Sourced entirely from the Red Hills Estate, this wine was aged in 54% French oak for 13 months prior to bottling. The wine shows nice earthy undertones with forest floor and black truffle that combine with dark fruits on the nose. The palate shows a rich combination of red and dark fruits with sandalwood and wild mushroom flavors. Showing good range, this delicious wine has a long life ahead of it. Drink 2018-2033- 93
2016 Archery Summit ‘Archer’s Edge’ Pinot Noir- The 2016 Archery Summit ‘Archer’s Edge’ Pinot Noir is a blend of Dijon clone 667, 777 and 115 as well as Pommard clones. The wine was aged for eight months in 60% new French oak prior to bottling. The nose shows beautiful range with citrus rind, teaberry, cran-pomegranate and forest floor. I love the freshness and richness mid-palate. Well-balanced and highly poised, this unveils black tea, wild blackberry compote and peat moss flavors. Downright delicious now, this will continue to evolve over the next fifteen plus years. Drink 2018-2033- 94
2016 Archery Summit ‘Renegade Ridge Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The Renegade Ridge Vineyard is a twelve acre vineyard located in the Dundee Hills. The wine is a blend of Dijon clone 667, 114, 115, 777 and ASW2/Pommard. The nose is highly perfumed with rose water and black truffle crudo with hints of boysenberry liquor. The rich texture entices with copious red and dark fruits with massive acidity and brightness. A downright stunner, enjoy this beautiful wine over the next fifteen to twenty years. Drink 2018-2033- 94
2016 Archery Summit ‘Summit View Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The Summit View Vineyard is located in the Dundee Hills AVA and is planted to clones Pommard, ASW1, Dijon 667 and 115. The wine was aged for 12 months in 50% new French oak prior to bottling. This shows ripe red and dark fruits with earthy undertones on the nose. The palate has good astringency with ripe red cherry, teaberry, forest floor and wild mushroom flavors. Showing beautiful range, this bottling needs one more year of bottle age but if enjoying young be sure to give this at least a one hour decant. Drink 2019-2035- 93
2016 Archery Summit ‘Shea Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The Shea Vineyard is one of Oregon’s great historic vineyards located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. The wine was aged for 12 months in 37% new French oak prior to bottling. There are nice earthy tones with black truffle crudo, wild sage and teaberry that combine with dark fruits on the nose. The palate shows a good combination of richness and freshness with gran-cherry, pomegranate seed, peat moss and wild mushroom flavors. Downright delicious now, this will continue to evolve over the next decade or more. Drink 2018-2033- 93
2016 Archery Summit ‘Arcus Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- One of the great new Pinot Noir releases that I have sampled over the past year, the 2016 ‘Arcus Vineyard’ is a dazzling new Pinot Noiur by Archery Summit. The nose shows intense aromas of black and red fruits with rose petals and nice earthy tones that fill the glass. The palate is rich and refined with black tea, anise, cran-cherry and teaberry. Velvety and soft, showing an incredibly soft texftyre, this beautiful wine is a downright heavyhitter by the talented winemaking team at Archery Summit. Gorgeous now following a one hour decant, this stunning wine will cellar well for twenty plus years. Drink 2018-2040- 95