Argyle Reserve Pinot Noir

Description

Tasting Notes A fantastic cross section of the Willamette Valley’s finest offerings, our Reserve Pinot Noir is truly a celebration of balance. The fruit profile rides the line of red and dark fruit, and can lean in either direction depending on the day. Black cherry and Howes cranberry embraced by subtle, toasted hazelnuts, and vanillin. While the tannins are firm, but rounded, there is an underlying earthy minerality which drives the mid-palate through the long finish. While delving for pure fruit flavors and juicy acidity, we hang our phenolic hat on our trademark silky texture which has been enhanced through cold soaking in small lot fermenters, along with aging 16 months in French oak barriques.Vintage Notes We could say that Mother Nature made the wines in the 2012 Vintage. Bloom and fruit-set traveled from normal to well below normal. Cold weather and some negative effects from hail drove yields generally down. But, that can be a GOOD thing as smaller clusters and good dry weather leads to ripe fruit.The key challenge to the successful farmer this year was the fact that the period of July through October was the driest since record keeping began in the late 1800s. Potential desiccation was further exacerbated by very dry, east winds coming out of Eastern Oregon & Washingtons high desert. This wind period was the longest in memory in Argyles 27 years of Oregon winemaking. Vines already starved for moisture will not fair well under these late fall conditions.For us, a balanced crop and belief in the weather forecast, caused us to give our vines a nice drink of water just before the east wind event. This allows the vines to continue to photosynthesize and for the berries to stay plump and fruity. At Argyle, we were allowed to pick fruit under lovely fall sunshine at a leisurely pace with perfectly dialed-in maturity, excellent ripeness & fresh natural acidity. – Argyle