While on a trip to the Oregon coast eight years ago, Kari and I spent a day visiting wineries in the northern Willamette Valley. It was our first trip to Oregon pinot noir country and to be honest I came away unimpressed with the wines. Looking back, I know why this was the case, for it was in that year, 2000, that I was fully immersed in full-bodied, high octane wines such as California zinfandels, Australian shiraz and Washington syrah, just to name a few.

On that fateful trip, I purchased a bottle of Argyle 1997 Nuthouse Pinot Noir (13%) at their winery in Dundee. Upon our return, I put the bottle down for a couple of years and then opened it one night with dinner not expecting much. Boy, were we in for a surprise. From the moment we tasted that first glass, Kari and I were completely smitten with this wine. Reading the tasting notes again, it is no wonder this wine appealed to us:

A ruby, red brilliant color. The aromas are all the best of Pinot Noir; bing cherry, red raspberry, earthy, fresh turned soil, and East Indian spices. A solid core of ripe fruit flavors share the spotlight with earth and mushroom nuances resulting in an elegant middle palate and a long and tasty finish.

This is what I enjoy about trying different wines, for every once in a while, a bottle comes along that creates a turning point, a different path that opens up a whole new world. As a result of our discovery, we started adding more Oregon pinot noir to our wine repertoire with dinner, leading to Willamette Valley wines becoming a mainstay at our table each week.

So it was with high expectations that we opened an Argyle 2004 Nuthouse Pinot Noir Reserve Series with a recent dinner.

Unfortunately, this bottle did not live up to its earlier vintage, fulfilling the label description as being "robust", if not exceeding it. The 14.5% alcohol was apparent on the nose and was fully revealed on the palate with a hot finish on the back of the throat. The tannins were also a bit much, which along with the alcohol made this wine hard to enjoy.

Although the tasting notes state that "this wine rewards the patient imbiber who lingers over a glass of wine while it develops in the glass!", no amount of time helped overcome the overpowering alcohol and tannins. We even tasted it the next day with no improvement.

The 2004 growing season in the northern Willamette Valley was marked by several high temperature spikes in the summer and early fall. This led to the Nuthouse pinot noir being 24 brix (e.g., sugar level) at harvest, versus about 23 for the 1997 vintage. Would a 1 point increase in brix result in a wine being 1.5% higher in alcohol?

With 55% to 60% of the fruit's sugars converted into alcohol, one can estimate a wine's potential alcohol using this conversion. At 23 brix, the potential alcohol could be anywhere from 12.7% to 13.8%, while at 24 it could be as low as 13.2% or as high as 14.4%. Knowing the adverse impact that 1 brix point can have on potential alcohol levels, I wondered why the fruit got to this level, was it by accident or intentional?

The reason may have more to do with the characteristics of the vineyard and less to do with intended ripening. According to their web site, the fruit for the Nuthouse pinot noir comes from Argyle's warmest vineyard site, the Lone Star Vineyard. Argyle states that "Lone Star catches the day's first rays of sun and the rocky soils retain heat at night." This would serve the grapes well during cooler summers, but is probably a downside in years when the temperatures get above average. And it poses an even greater risk when sudden heat spikes occur, such as in the early fall of 2004.

I've heard more than one winemaker lament on the changes that can occur within 24 hours tracking brix levels in the vineyard - one day brix is at 23 and then the next day it's suddenly 24 - whoops. It would be interesting to chat with Rollin Soles, the winemaker at Argyle about the challenges he faced in harvesting the fruit for the 2004 vintage.

Even though the 2004 fell short relative to the 1997 Nuthouse, I am not giving up on this pinot noir. The 2005 is out and I intend to buy a bottle, as I will do with the releases that follow in the years ahead. However, I may hesitate at buying another vintage that has an alcohol level of 14.5%.