When do you think is the right time to open aged Oregon Pinot Noir like the Archery Summit Arcus Estate 2011? Do you think five years is enough, eight, ten? Longer?
Archery Summit Arcus Estate 2011 is one of the longest Oregon Pinots we held on to before opening it. 2011 was a cool vintage in Willamette Valley. It’s recommended to give cooler Oregon vintages some time to mellow the wine acidity and develop complex character. We experimented with that notion on more than a few occasions, and it seems to come true most of the time.
Archery Summit Winery
Archery Summit is known to produce a more substantial and bolder style of Willamette Valley of Oregon Pinot Noirs.
They achieve it in several ways. One of them is a fruit thining up to 40%. It’s a process of reducing the number of grape bunches on the vine by dropping (cutting down) a portion of them while they are still green. It concentrates the flavor in the remaining grapes and results in more intense wine.
Another way is macerating grape juice on the skins before starting the fermentation or after, or both. Also, they age a substantial portion of the wine in new French oak barrels.
These and other methods help to concentrate flavors and add richness to the wine. It makes them more expensive as well.
In the Bottle: Archery Summit Arcus Estate 2011 Pinot Noir
The grapes for this 2011 Archery Summit Pinot Noir came from a single vineyard Arcus Estate in Dundee Hills AVA of Willamette Valley of Oregon.
Wow! That’s a lot of words. Let’s decipher it for you.
While Oregon state produces solid Pinot Noirs, Willamette Valley is the premier region for it. You can taste the difference if you try them side by side.
Next, let’s talk about Dundee AVA. Like in Burgundy of France, where the Pinot Noir grape comes from, some smaller areas within the region are known to produce better wines. The same goes for Willamette Valley.
It still to be determined, but some consider Dundee Hills AVA (Agricultural Viticultural Area) the best part of Willamette Valley. Future would tell.
In Burgundy, the quality goes up as the grapes’ source is narrows to a particular area. It goes from generic Bourgogne wine to Village wine and to single Vineyard – the region’s best.
Winemakers of Willamette Valley try to emulate Burgundy in that regard.
In the 2011 Archery Summit case, the wine is produced with fruit from the Arcus Estate vineyard located in Dundee Hills AVA of Willamette Valley of Oregon.
So what did we get in a glass after waiting for ten years?
In the Glass: Archery Summit Arcus Estate 2011
In some way, the Archery Summit Arcus Estate 2011 reminded us of Pinot Noirs of Burgundy.
Generally, the Willamette Valley of Oregon is a warmer region. In cooler vintages like 2011, Willamette’s Pinots acquire a reminiscent character of its French counterpart.
The scents of rainy autumn forest and mushrooms come through as they did in the 2011 Arcus Estate. We even sensed some barnyard notes, characteristic of better Bourgogne.
Still, the Archery Summit Pinots character came through in aromas of ripe strawberry, cherry, and even some dark chocolate. The vanilla and cedar also reflected Archery’s style of winemaking. The age of wine manifested itself in tobacco, dried flowers, and dark berries.
On the palate, the 2011 Arcus Estate was just as impressive and sophisticated. Despite the cool vintage, we tasted ripe sour cherry, strawberry, raspberry jam, and black cherry. Yet, raspberry leaf and black tea tannin revealed the challenging season and colder weather.
The effects of the new oak barrels came through with notes of vanilla and toast.
Finish
Was it worth the ten-year wait? We say yes.
Archery Summit Arcus Estate 2011 is a well-balanced and rounded Pinot Noir that demonstrates that skilled winemakers of Willamette Valley can produce excellent wines even in challenging years.
The only caveat is that we might have waited too long. There was a slight oxidative note on the nose. It didn’t get in the way of enjoying this wine, but we wondered if we should’ve opened it a year or two earlier.
Still, we enjoyed and savored it a lot. We paired it with Wild Alaskan Salmon pan-fried with hand-ground spice mix we make ourselves.
They complimented each other just as we expected.
If you want to try Archery Summit wine and live outside of Oregon, your best bet is their website because availability is limited. They are expensive too. 2011 Arcus Estate was $85 when we got it after release. Now it probably sells for a lot more than that.
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