108, 2011
Wine Enthusiast Scores: August 2011
In the August 2011 Issue of the Wine Enthusiast several of Grapevine's wines earned excellent scores. Call you local independent retailer to order some of these wines: Amizetta 2007 [...]
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Deep red color with a hint of ruby near the rim. A delicate aroma of wild berries. Medium bodied, the flavor tends toward tart cherry with a hint of dark chocolate. A delicious young wine that develops velvety softness with bottle aging. - Bright ruby color with aromas of fruit and oak. In the mouth it is soft and harmonious with cherry and plum flavors and a subtle oak finish.
- Argyle Pinot Noir is an honest representation of the Willamette Valley. Fermented entirely in small lots, and blended for purity, it toes the line between red and dark cherry, while offering spicy forest floor and hints of black tea. The palate is lively and graceful, building density and focus as the silky tannins build into the long, energetic finish.
- Nuthouse Pinot Noir comes from the low-elevation, warm, southeastern slope of our Lone Star Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Brilliantly garnet in color, the aromas are initially delicate and ethereal, hinting at fresh rose petal and red earth. As it opens up, more complex aromas emerge of dark chocolate, anise, and wild cherries. The mid palate is deep and creamy, poised against firm tannins and long, savory acid. You'll want to drink it right out of the gate, as this wine comes to you fully assembled, but don't sleep on aging this little beauty, as she's got many, many years to go in the bottle. Grilled venison loin with saffron white beans, almond romesco, and bone marrow toast.
- Spirithouse Pinot Noir returns! Crafted entirely from the high elevation slopes of the Knudsen Vineyard, Spirithouse Pinot Noir requires a long, well-balanced growing season to achieve its distinctive power and elegance. Grown at elevations between 600 and 700 feet, this Pinot Noir rides the line of red clay mineral edge and voluptuous depth. Elegant red cherry, wispy floral, and savory spice, the middle palate is based in silkiness and youthful acidity. Framed around delicately firm tannins, the length is long and pure, begging for at least a decade of cellaring for her to truly open up. We recommend a companion dish: tea-smoked duck.
- At the top of Knudsen Vineyards, at 950 feet of elevation, is where you'll find our 2.5 acre planting of Pinot Meunier. We take advantage of the late ripening spot to retain bright, fresh acidity and mineral edge. This blend is 25% Pinot Meunier, 70% Pinot Noir, and 5% Chardonnay. Its color is bright, pale salmon pink, while its bouquet is full of rose petal, anise, and pink peppercorn. The barrel aging of the red wine component contributes to its savory complexity, while its delicate, creamy bead leads to a long textural finish only enhanced by food... salt-cod fritters and smoked piquillo aioli.
- This is one-of-a-kind for American Sparkling Wine: 100% Dijon Clone Chardonnay from a single block in the famed Knudsen Vineyard - a very sophisticated and pure Blanc de Blancs. Notice aromas of citrus blossom, pear brioche, honey with a modicum of quince paste. The texture is creamy yet balanced on a delightful mineral edge. Fruit flavors of Meyer lemon and Anjou pear are framed with a lovely essence of hibiscus blossom. Penultimate balance abides. The finish is long lasting of pear, honey, and a touch of yeasty coconut.
- The Solomon Hills Vineyard in Santa Maria sits adjacent to hwy 101 just due east of Orcutt. It’s gently rising west facing slope is primarily comprised of very sandy ocean bottom soils. Planted in 1998 and 1999 to a multitude of clones. This wine is a California pinot noir made in a Burgundian style, the baires are fermented using a whole cluster fermentation technique which adds to the aromatic and texture of this wine.
- The grapes undergo a tremendous amount of triage (sorting) both in the vineyard and in the cellar. I consider this to be one of the most significant practices we employ. We can truly say only the best grapes go into our fermenters. Once they are received into the cellar we subject them to another sorting on the table and then into the fermenters. This whole cluster fermentation technique we believe contributes significantly to the aromatics and texture of our wines. It is the gentlest manipulation of Pinot Noir grapes possible. Once in the fermenters we cover the cap in dry ice to arrest any spontaneous fermentation that may occur. We prefer a pre fermentation maceration (cold-soaking) allowing the color and flavor to be extracted in the absence of fermentation for two or three days. During this time we pigeage (foot tread) twice a day increasing to five times a day at peak fermentation. The wine is usually pressed of at 1 or 2 brix into François Freres barrels from the Allier forest in the center of France. The wine will remain in barrel for 16 months without racking and will be bottled without fining or filtration. This wine received an additional six months of bottle ageing before release.
- Vivid red. Deeper and smokier than the Sleepy Hollow, showing scents of black raspberry, cherry skin, Indian spices and dried rose. Fleshy dark berry flavors are firmed by chewy tannins and deepened by notes of black pepper and candied plum. Gains freshness with air and finishes with very good thrust and lingering sweetness. This will benefit from more cellaring but could be drunk now after an hour or so in the decanter.
- Ruby-red. Exotically perfumed nose features vibrant cherry and dark berry scents complicated by black olive, tobacco and smoky herbs. Tactile dark fruit preserve flavors display impressive depth and sweetness, with suave tannins adding grip. Spiciness builds on the long, juicy finish, which shuts down quickly.
- The grapes undergo a tremendous amount of triage (sorting) both in the vineyard and in the cellar. They were crushed using a Demoissey destemmer / crusher and were inoculated and punched down immediately to get relatively warm fermentations. We wanted to bring out as much of the natural earth and spice flavors that the berries contained. The total fermentation time was 12 days the resultant wine went directly to barrel and was aged 22 months before being bottled unrefined and unfiltered.
- Bright red. Lovely, floral-dominated scents suggest fresh red berries, kirsch and Asian spices, with sexy rose and magnolia adding complexity; seems to expand in the glass while maintaining focus. Silky and packed with sweet red fruit flavors, picking up floral pastille and bitter chocolate character with air. A very grown-up style of Syrah that finishes with superb clarity and persistence.
- Greenish-yellow color. Pungent pineapple, tangerine and peach aromas are complicated by smoky minerals and brown spices. Rich and weighty but energetic too, offering sweet citrus and tropical fruit flavors and a chewy texture. Nervier on the finish, which features a note of lemon peel and very good clarity and persistence.
- Made from fuller-bodied Pinot Noir and fine-structured Chardonnay from Knudsen Vineyard, this is simply an astounding (big!) bottle of Argyle's best bubbly. The aromas foretell a wine of concentration. Look for ripe red apple and yellow plum fruit blended with a hint of grapefruit citrus. The yeast complexity holds toasted baguette, jasmine petal, and subtle spice of coconut, sandalwood, and teak wood aromatics. The texture is rich and viscous. This is not for the faint of heart, part-time sparkling drinker, and the wine will smack down even the biggest red wine Pinot Noir!!
- Argyle Chardonnay is an exercise in purity. No bells or whistles, this 100% Dijon Clone Chardonnay is fermented half in stainless steel and half in neutral oak barrels. Argyle Chardonnay is all pure fruit focus and precision. The middle palate is ripe with melon and peaches, balanced with an underlying, subtle creaminess. The natural acidity is buoyant and fresh, finishing long and clean. Totten Inlet mussels steamed in sweet corn, chilies, cilantro and lime.
- Nuthouse Chardonnay is all about the interplay of savory texture and mineral edge. There is a satisfying and long lasting richness that is hard to define in words. A chord which travels from the back of the palate, through the spine and into the crust of the volcanic soil of the Willamette Valley. Fresh cut wheat, lemon sabayon, crêpes suzette, and delicate flake pastry. There is a degree of convection, the concerted, collective movement of groups or aggregates of molecules within this chardonnay, one may say the third dimension. It brings dreams of char-grilled crustaceans and blackened squid.100% barrel fermented.
- Farmed and sourced entirely from our Lone Star vineyard, 2012 brings Argyle it's first ever Nuthouse Riesling! After 10 years of growing Riesling on this particular plot of land, we are beginning to learn the intricacies of what it means to make Eola-Amity Hills Riesling. 85% of the blend was fermented in stainless steel to retain laser-sharp freshness and acidity. 15% of the blend was fermented in our oldest neutral oak barrels to enhance subtle texture, yet also maintain fresh fruit flavor. Both components were left on lees 9 months before blending and bottling. The nose is full of fleshy white peach, lilac, meyer lemon, and faint white pepper. The palate is sleek and graceful, a light plumpness lurking in the shadows, waiting to build increased depth with time. The ever complicated acid/mineral interplay keeps the finish sailing on and on. Just a young pup, all the hallmarks of true age able Riesling are here. Break out the Bibimbap!
- Intense color, complex aroma of red fruits (plum and black currant), hints of tobacco and leather. Elegant with ripe tannins but very obvious characteristic of the soil from which it derives.
- Despite being a pure Sangiovese, this wine combines the longevity of the vine to its ready drinkability at a young age due to the cultivation of this noble grape variety on a ground which gives a looser more soft and silky tannins. The fruity, full of red berries, makes it suitable for prompt consumption.
- Delivers plenty of Kiwi character with a little extra complexity and focus - possibly from 10% Riesling co-fermented with the Sauvignon! Juicy, bright, and vivacious with generous flavors of pink grapefruit, passion fruit, lemon, lime, and fresh grass. There's a nice minerality on the mouthwatering finish. Generous, but nicely in control, this will be just as at home on the table as it is by itself on the back deck.