Argyle Blanc de Noirs Spirit Hill Vineyard Brut Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley 2020

Argyle’s cool factor claim to fame is being named to Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list for their Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and sparkling wine – the only winery in the world to make the list for all three styles. It’s safe to say they know precision winemaking and trusting in their terroir in the hills of Willamette Valley, Oregon. Rollin Soles founded the winery in 1979 as one of the region’s first pioneers to recognize its incredible potential for wine. Today, winemaker Kate Payne Brown and vineyard manager Erica Miller form a power duo to forge wines of incredible balance, depth, and purity from the winery’s home in Dundee, Oregon.

The 2020 Spirit Hill Blanc de Noirs comes from the winery’s largest vineyard, planted towards the top of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA and shaped like a bowl, receiving cooling gusts from the Van Duzer Corridor to allow for grapes with stunning elegance and acidity. Made from a blend of 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Pinot Meunier, the wine spends six months in a mix of barrel and stainless steel, and another three years aging on the lees before a scant dosage of just 3 grams per liter for the utmost freshness and fullest fruit expression.

And to that point, this wholly delivers in the best possible way. The nose and palate offer rich and vibrant fruit – from red cherries to starfruit to papaya and apple compote – adding in refined touches of bread pudding, juicy canned mandarin oranges, and pine needles. It’s bright and zippy, yet smooth and luscious, with more depth and intricate layers than you’d anticipate in a $24 bottle of bubbly. It’s a zesty, vibrant, perfect mix of fruits, spices, and velvety creaminess that only great sparkling wines deliver, for a decidedly wallet-friendly price. Here’s to a fridge stocker you won’t be able to get enough of!