Argyle Winery- Dundee, OR
Willamette Valley is a wine wonderland. But with over 500 wineries, and 715 vineyards, choosing even a subset to visit can be overwhelming. A good place to start is Dundee Hills. Home to some of the oldest vines in the valley, the rich volcanic soil and high elevation prove perfect for Pinot Noir. Here you will find over 40 excellent wineries, including one of my all time favorites, Argyle.
Founded in 1987, Argyle was the brainchild of iconic Australian winemaker Brian Croser, and protege Rollin Soles. The two worked together at Croser’s Petaluma winery before deciding to take the show on the road; a worldwide search of cool latitude locations perfect for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes led them to Willamette. The new venture was named Argyle after an Australian diamond mine, symbolic of the quality wine they would produce. It also sounded sufficiently Scottish, which they felt suited a wine produced in Dundee, Oregon.
That first year, in a repurposed hazelnut roasting house, they focused on making méthode champenoise sparkling wines from grapes grown in the high elevation Knudsen Vineyard. These crisp and fresh wines were an immediate commercial and critical success. Still wine production followed, including Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; by 2000 they had been named “Oregon’s Premier Winery” by Wine Spectator Magazine.
Over the years they acquired new vineyards and increased their production, eventually outgrowing the original facility. In 2014, processing operations moved over to a 70,000 square foot property in Newburg, allowing the nuthouse to once again be repurposed. Designers would reimagine the space, transforming it into a modern, open tasting room. Wood from the original building can be found throughout the new venue, preserving a bit of the past. The old, supposedly haunted, Victorian farmhouse tasting room, Spirthouse, is now used for functions, leaving larger crowds to the new space. There is no word about which location the ghost prefers.
Unlike most tasting rooms, Argyle’s is right in town, just off Oregon 99W. It is the perfect location if you are staying in Dundee, which itself is a fabulous central location for exploring the region. By all means, start with their bubbly, especially if it is a hot day; their Brut is legendary, as is their Brut Rose, and their Blanc de Blancs. Sparkling wine is what put them on the map, and they do it incredibly well. Some say the best outside of the Champagne region itself. This is all true, but I still favor their Pinot Noir. Their incredibly smooth, immensely drinkable Pinot.
I will admit, if I ever see an Argyle Pinot on a wine list, I will order it. It is one of my all time favorites, a dependable go-to wine. There has not been a year I have not enjoyed. Which brings us to another benefit of the new tasting room- storage space. They have an immense collection of vintage bottles. If there is a year you like, and it has been released, they will have it. Although we did not enter with this intention, we left with a 2006 Nuthouse Pinot Nior. And it was amazing. Produced from the vines at the Lone Star vineyard, it was smooth, fruity, spicy, and rich. It did not make it home.
There are so many wonderful Willamette wineries to visit, but Argyle should be at the top of any list. Although it lacks the bucolic views found at other area tasting rooms, and you won’t walk among their vines, the wine shines. A true innovator in New World Sparking varieties, theirs are worth a taste even if you prefer their Pinot Noir. Go later in the day to avoid crowds; an hour before closing we had the place to ourselves, allowing for an intimate, unrushed tasting, with nary a bridal shower in sight.
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