Introduction | Domaine Serene | Domaine Drouhin

Archery Summit Winery was founded by Nancy and Gary Andrus in 1993, and is the ‘sister’ operation of Pine Ridge Winery in the Napa Valley.

Both Nancy and Gary retired from active participation a year or so ago, and after a publicized divorce, Gary Andrus has remarried. George Scheppler, President and C.E.O. of Pine Ridge Winery, LLC, now handles the operation of the wineries.

Sari White (right), a lovely young lady whose smile lights up the room, warmly greeted us and since there was already a group of tasters in the room when we arrived, we grabbed glasses and jumped right in.

2001 Veritan – a Pinot Gris based white blend – gentle aromas of pear – lively and fruity in the mouth – flavors follow the nose – good acidity – a pleasant quaffer.

2000 Premiere Cuvee  Oregon Pinot Noir – somewhat subdued in the nose with hints of Bing cherry – medium weight in the mouth with pleasant spectrum of cherry flavors and slightly tart acidity - still has some tannins that need to resolve. Cleanly made, and finishes cleanly. Overpriced at $45.

2000 Pinot Noir  Red Hills – a single vineyard wine – corked. And, actually an interesting little vignette – we were tasting with a group of interns from neighboring wineries. Some from Australia, others from geographically diverse places, and with varying experience. Five or six other tasters had sampled the wine, and none suggested that it suffered from cork taint.

Do we lack the confidence to suggest a wine is flawed – especially when in the company of other “experienced” tasters? Are we too unsure of our own palates to be the first one to speak up?

2000 Pinot Noir  Renegade Ridge – lovely stemmy quality in the aromatics – very pretty in the mouth – bright and nicely balanced flavors – medium weight – clean with a long finish. Quite delicious.

2000 Pinot Noir  Red Hills – second taste, this from a new bottle. Again, that ‘stemmy’ character in the nose, that fades just a bit, revealing layers of rich black cherry and red plum fruits – lovely in the mouth with clean and well balanced fruit flavors that follow the nose – smooth tannins on the tip of the tongue that need just a year or so to integrate.

2001 Pinot Noir  Red Hills – from barrel – very restrained aromatically with wisps of menthol and licorice – very smooth entry with the tannins you might expect from a wine of this age – pretty in the mouth with lovely texture and delicious flavors.

2001 Pinot Noir  Archery Summit Estate - $115 for futures (Huh?) – loads of personality in the nose – layers and layers of darkly textured red and black stone fruits. It’s a nice wine, but I think they must have been smoking mustard when they decided on their pricing strategy.

Sari then led us through a detailed tour of the winery and aging caves. Another state of the art facility, it seems that no expense was spared in the design and construction. To avoid any pumping of wine, a hydraulic “elevator” was included to raise the blending tank to the level of the bottling line. This multi-level gravity flow winery is a delight to visit and tour, and I encourage you to visit the Archery Summit website, where the design and layout is explained in detail.

Many thanks to Anna Matzinger, Archery Summit’s winemaker, and Sari White, Hospitality Coordinator for making our visit memorable.

Archery Summit Winery
18599 NE Archery Summit Road
Dayton, Oregon  97114
503-864-4300
www.archerysummit.com

califusa

Left Coast Correspondent to the Gang of Pour

Introduction | Domaine Serene | Domaine Drouhin

BACK TO THE TOP

© Allan Bree March 2003