It is nearing 8PM Pacific time and it brings me extreme delight to post on one of the most transcendent wine brands that I have tasted for quite some time. A brand new winery that I have to immediately wrote about, lined with a beautiful, highly evocative neon bottle imprint, Artist Block was founded by Anna Sweet who studied at Manhattan School of Visual Arts and is producing some of the most electric brands of wine — if not THE most exciting — new wines that I have tasted in the past year from the Pacific Northwest. At the helm is winemaker Bree Stock, MW. Stock is Oregon’s only Female Master of Wine, who is an Aussie who brings a global perspective to Oregon. Stock has held positions with the Oregon Wine Board, NW Wine Coalition, and Assemblage Diversity in Wine. She is a delightful person to chat wine with.
As a person with incredible talents, I was absolutely floored when I tasted the first wines from her. These are wines that embody texture, finesse and delightful concentration. They are also low in alcohol, making them beautiful foils for an unmanageable range of foods.
To say that Stock has burst onto the Pacific Northwest winemaking wine scene with these new wines would be a complete understatement. She has produced three new wines, a Rose, a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Each are a must-taste for any serious collector of Oregon wines. Learn more at https://www.artistblockwine.com/ and without further adieu here are my reviews of the new Artist Block wines.
2021 Artist Block ‘Woo Juice’ Chardonnay- The 2021 ‘Woo Juice’ comes from the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. This is stony, salty and seductive Chardonnay which offers a very polished mouthfeel and glorious sense of length. The flavor range is really outstanding from salted Marcona almond to Japanese pear, baking spice dusted French bread and shades of kumquat zest, with wet gravel accents. Highly complex, big and juicy, this is impossible to resist even at the two year mark. Drink 2023-2033- 94
2021 Artist Block ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’ Pinot Gris- Cloudy in the glass which suggests that this is both unfined and unfiltered, the 2021 Artist Block skin contact Pinot Gris is a stunning example of this type of wine, very a la BTW with its burly texture and sense of weight. Once on the mouth, this comes off very generous and deeply concentrated, yet shows good underlying tension despite the warmth of the vintage. Layers of white truffle shavings, guava puree, and pomegranate seed all combine beautifully on the palate. Don’t miss out on this beauty. Drink 2023-2031- 93
2021 Artist Block ‘Willamette Valley’ Pinot Noir- Made by winemaker Bree Stock, MW, this Chehalem Mountains AVA Pinot Noir offers beautiful stony and salty tones on the palate, with a smooth texture. Layers of pretty cranberry and red raspberry fruits combine with cardamom and blood orange zest on the palate. Complex and delicious, this is a seriously good effort that has both the stuffing and finesse to live on for another fifteen years to come. Despite the heat of the vintage this checks in at only 13.0% alcohol. Drink 2023-2038- 94