Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Brimming with jasmine and white peaches plus notes of Amalfi lemons, mandarin oranges, oolong tea and fresh yeast, this is a very complex dry riesling. Still very youthful on the medium-bodied palate, this has terrific structure and focus, and the fruit and minerality are tightly interwoven in the extremely long and pure finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.
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Decanter
A dry Riesling from Oregon's top Riesling house, the Ara is a wine comprised of two sites with varied soil types—Tingly aromatics of candied lime peel, mandarin skin and smoky crushed slate. The mouth-watering acids are draped all over the palate as grilled lemon and pineapple flavours meld perfectly together.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Riesling Ara is pretty with notes of candied lime, jasmine, white peaches, and rocky earth. It’s medium-bodied, linear, and laser-focused, with a beautiful finish. Drink it over the next 10 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
The Ara is a sentimental favorite of mine, and the latest vintage does not disappoint. Ara is an acid-lovers dream, with its dry Riesling charms and aromas of lemon balm, saline, Anjou pear and a faint wisp of petrol. My mouth puckered with flavors like lemonade powder, sunflower seeds and citusy yuzu.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The frisky 2022 Brooks Ara Riesling is crisp and satisfying on the palate. This wine offers aromas and flavors of vibrant stone fruits, tart citrus, and sundried rock. Shuck a few dozen raw oysters and call a friend or two to join for an outstanding food and wine moment. (Tasted: January 13, 2025, Cloverdale, CA)
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
One of Pinot Noir's most successful New World outposts, the Willamette Valley is the largest and most important AVA in Oregon. With a continental climate moderated by the influence of the Pacific Ocean, it is perfect for cool-climate viticulture and the production of elegant wines.
Mountain ranges bordering three sides of the valley, particularly the Chehalem Mountains, provide the option for higher-elevation vineyard sites.
The valley's three prominent soil types (volcanic, sedimentary and silty, loess) make it unique and create significant differences in wine styles among its vineyards and sub-AVAs. The iron-rich, basalt-based, Jory volcanic soils found commonly in the Dundee Hills are rich in clay and hold water well; the chalky, sedimentary soils of Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton and McMinnville encourage complex root systems as vines struggle to search for water and minerals. In the most southern stretch of the Willamette, the Eola-Amity Hills sub-AVA soils are mixed, shallow and well-drained. The Hills' close proximity to the Van Duzer Corridor (which became its own appellation as of 2019) also creates grapes with great concentration and firm acidity, leading to wines that perfectly express both power and grace.
Though Pinot noir enjoys the limelight here, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay also thrive in the Willamette. Increasing curiosity has risen recently in the potential of others like Grüner Veltliner, Chenin Blanc and Gamay.