The fruit for 2009 Pinot Noir Spirithouse was sourced from the Knudsen Vineyard in Dundee Hills. It is rounder, richer, and more unctuous than the Nuthouse bottling but not with the latter’s precision focus. All about pleasure, it will drink well though 2019. As usual, Argyle’s sparkling wine offerings are among the best made in the USA.Tel. (503) 538-8520; www.argylewinery.com

The fruit for 2008 Pinot Noir Spirit House was sourced from the Knudsen Vineyard in Dundee Hills and is also scheduled for a Spring 2011 release. It is a bit tighter than the Nut House but possesses all the right stuff for a graceful evolution of 5-7 years. Concentrated, focused, and beautifully balanced, it should easily achieve its 20th birthday in fine form.Visiting with Rollin Sole, the head man at Argyle, is always a great learning experience. He is currently focused on Riesling, but that is a story for another day. As usual, the sparkling wine offerings are among the best made in the USA.www.argylewinery.com

The 2006 Pinot Noir Spirithouse Knudsen Vineyard is medium/dark ruby with a splendid aromatic array of mineral, earth, cedar, spice box, and red and black fruits, Silky smooth, layered, bordering on opulent, and very sexy, this Pinot Noir will evolve for 2-3 years and be at its best from 2010 to 2018.While the focus of this report is on 2006 Pinot Noir, it is undeniable that Argyle Winery is producing among the best sparkling wines made in the USA and they cannot be ignored. Argyle is also the hangout of veteran vigneron Rollin Soles who knows as well as anyone what’s happening in the Oregon wine scene. Argyle’s Pinot Noirs have a bit more competition than the Sparkling Wines but they have been up to the challenge for quite some time.www.argylewinery.com