Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1399
L / the tasting panel / july 2009 W I N E R Y Leigh Bartholomew, Vineyard Operations Director for Archery Summit, overlooks 16 acres of Pinot Noir vines at Archery Summit in the Dundee Hills AVA. Sagelands winemaker Frederique Spencer with B. J. Wakkuri, On-Prem- ise District Manager, Odom-Southern Corp. B. J. is holding a bottle of Freddie's Blend, a Co- lumbia Valley Bordeaux blend redolent with violets, pepper and ripe red fruit. Each of four vineyard sites used for the Pinot Noir–only Archery Summit winery is an experiment, according to Vineyard Operations Manager and co-GM Leigh Bartholomew, from root stocks to steep hill- side plantings, from fermenta- tion to barrel selection, from utilization of native yeast to organically farmed fruit. The fi ve-level winery is built into the hillside of the estate vineyard. An elevator system 60-feet below the vineyard plays a role in the 100-percent- gravity-fl ow process, lifting the tanks of blended wine to barrel or bottling level. D A r c h e r y S u m m i t W I N E R Y Montinore's Borealis "Northern Whites" is a Müller-Thurgau/Gewürztramier/Viognier blend with weight, aroma, balance, body and soul. A gorgeous, lingering beauty. SRP $13. M o n t i n o r e Archery Summit's Renegade Ridge is a 12-acre vineyard farmed biodynamically (since 2004) in the Dundee Hills. This focused Pinot Noir has a common thread with Archery Summits' other single-vineyard wines and its Premier Cuvée Pinot: age-worthiness. The 2006 Pinot Noir is a mouthfi lling, generous summer's offering of juiced plums, currents and melon. Floral notes, black tea, a hint of rosemary and a mineral-stony middle make for one focused wine with a profi le reminiscent of the Old World. Rudy Marchesi bought the prop- erty that is Monitore Winery in Wil- lamette Valley in 2005. The 15- to 90-foot-deep soils, mineral rich and moderately fertile, contain no rocks, due to the vineyard's location at the foothills of the Coastal Range. Last summer, the winery estate was certifi ed biodynamic. "Besides having full control over our grapes, we also have control over cost and style," explains Marchesi, whose value-driven wines are pretty and aromatic. He even makes his own yarrow-and-nettle tea that is sprayed on canopy fl owers to make the vines healthier. D