2008 Archery Summit Arcus Estate Pinot Noir

Archery Summit is a 115-acre estate in Dayton, Oregon. It was founded in 1993 by the late Robert Gary Andrus, a former Olympic skier who started his winemaking career in 1978 when he founded Pine Ridge in Napa Valley. Andrus sold his interest in Archery Summit in 2001 to Crimson Wine Group, a Napa-based portfolio of small, artisanal wineries. Under Andrus and now Crimson, Archery Summit has built a reputation of outstanding Pinot Noirs. Wine Spectator has written that Archery Summit’s Pinots “rival Burgundy” in quality. Harvey Steinman of Wine Spectator has called Archery Summit “the Rolls Royce of Oregon Pinot Noir.”

Dundee Hills AVA is in Yamhill County, and it is entirely contained within the Willamette Valley AVA, Oregon’s best known appellation. Dundee Hills is about 30 miles southwest of Portland, and has 1,300 vineyard acres. It was awarded AVA status in 2004 and, like much of Oregon, is known for Pinot Noir. Several of Oregon’s 20th century wine pioneers established their vineyards and wineries in Dundee Hills, adding to its status as a region long-recognized for producing high quality, iconic Oregon wines. Eyrie Vineyards, Erath Winery and Sokol Blosser remain some of Oregon’s most celebrated producers, and all were founded in what is now Dundee Hills in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.