Argyle | Willamette Valley, Washington

THE CONNECTION:
Argyle is synonymous with Rollin Soles, the affable “cowboy philosopher”, founding winemaker at Argyle, and the only winemaker to make white, red and sparkling wines to reach Wine Spectator’s Top 100…but every philosopher has an apprentice and who knows when pupil might surpass professor? In 2013 Rollin handed the torch of head winemaker to Nate Klostermann, graduate of the University of Minnesota in Food Science. After getting a taste for winemaking at Falconer Vineyards along the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Nate went west to the Dundee Hills, started at Argyle as a harvest intern, was quickly promoted to enologist, and then assistant to none other than Rollin Soles. Now at the helm Nate is proving a keen-eyed captain making wines every bit as moving.

argyle-winery-view-sf13THE PRACTICE:
Prospecting the New World’s coolest latitudes, Brian Croser and Rollin Soles staked a claim in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, a place ideal for late ripened Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit. Since 1987, Argyle Winery has produced world-class methode champenoise sparkling wine, barrel fermented Chardonnay and ‘silky’ textured Pinot Noir from low yielding vines on winery farmed hillside slopes. As an estate winery where they work the fruit themselves, it comes as no surprise that environmental stewardship is a core value at Argyle as proven by their status as LIVE Certified Sustainable and Certified Salmon Safe. Argyle was named “OREGON’S PREMIER WINERY” by Wine Spectator in 2000.

As an estate winery where they work the fruit themselves, it comes as no surprise that environmental stewardship is a core value at Argyle…

ARGYLE_Tall_1000px12001THE WINES:
Argyle’s vineyards define their wines. At 120 acres, Knudsen combines old vine blocks with new high-density blocks planted to “Old World” Dijon clones at high elevation in Dundee Hills -proving key components in Argyle’s sparkling wines. Just south sits the warmer Stoller planted in 1995 using state of the art viticultural techniques producing some of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Fifteen miles away sits Lone Star, a 160 acre site in Eola-Amity Hills. Their newest is the 135 acre Spirit Hill, a high-elevation site in the gusty Van Duzer corridor of Eola-Amity ideal for sparkling wines. All grapes are hand harvested into small baskets, chilled overnight to 35F, and crushed the next day. Chilling preserves ripe fruit characteristics and naturally limits oxidation yielding superlative wines.

THE OFFERINGS:
BLANC DE BLANCS | BRUT | BRUT ROSÉ | CHARDONNAY WV PINOT NOIR | RESERVE PINOT NOIR | RIESLING NUTHOUSE: PINOT NOIR, CHARDONNAY, RIESLING

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