Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby red in color, the 2005 Premier Cuvée opens with lifted aromas of red berries, violets, vanilla and a hint of savory spice. Black cherry, currant, pomegranate and blueberry notes mingle on the palate with mulling spices, anise and clean earth. The wine is precocious and bright with layers of mineral, flint and spice surrounding a seductive black cherry core. There is balance and good concentration here; tannins are rich but restrained, revealing a wine with depth of flavor and clean lines.
Elegant and focused, this wine is ready for enjoyment now, however may improve with proper cellaring over the next five to eight years.
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
In 1993, Archery Summit set its sights on creating wines of real purpose in the Willamette Valley. Since, the Dundee Hills winery has helped establish the region as the cradle of cooler-climate American wine. Winemaker Ian Burch and his team achieve bar-raising wines by way of earned instincts—the familiarity gained from many shared vintages, tending sites they know personally.
As responsible stewards of the land, Archery Summit engages in minimal-impact agriculture. Sustainability is a dynamic and vital part of growing wine, a practice that ensures both the industry’s future and the overall health of the trade. They practice sustainability wherever possible, from responsible farming in the vineyard to energy-sensitive approaches in the cellar.
Many of the vineyard sites are LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology) certified, meaning they adhere to an internationally-acclaimed set of sustainability standards. These guidelines are site-specific and look to strengthen the well-being of the vineyard through minimal spraying, careful clone selection, heightened biodiversity, and more. Archery Summit endeavors to ensure that the soils and biodiversity of each site are as healthy and vibrant as they were when they found them.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.