Iris Vineyards Arete Blanc de Blanc 2019
-
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Areté Blanc de Blancs is made from Estate Chardonnay, grown and harvested specifically to create this delicate sparkling wine. Fermented in mature, French oak barrels it offers aromas and flavors of pineapple, lime, and yellow grapefruit, and a crème brulée finish all well complemented on the palate by bright acidity and persistent mousse.
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Iris Vineyards Areté Blanc de Blancs is lively and delicate. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels with aromas and flavors of green apple, chalk, and mineral notes. Enjoy this with a tray of raw oysters. (Tasted: March 31, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
-
Wine Enthusiast
The fruit for this wine is the winery’s estate Chardonnay. The aromas are lively, with notes of pear, lemon and brioche. The flavors pop, showing vivacity, along with racy, lemony acidity. Editors’ Choice
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
One of Pinot Noir's most successful New World outposts, the Willamette Valley is the largest and most important AVA in Oregon. With a continental climate moderated by the influence of the Pacific Ocean, it is perfect for cool-climate viticulture and the production of elegant wines.
Mountain ranges bordering three sides of the valley, particularly the Chehalem Mountains, provide the option for higher-elevation vineyard sites.
The valley's three prominent soil types (volcanic, sedimentary and silty, loess) make it unique and create significant differences in wine styles among its vineyards and sub-AVAs. The iron-rich, basalt-based, Jory volcanic soils found commonly in the Dundee Hills are rich in clay and hold water well; the chalky, sedimentary soils of Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton and McMinnville encourage complex root systems as vines struggle to search for water and minerals. In the most southern stretch of the Willamette, the Eola-Amity Hills sub-AVA soils are mixed, shallow and well-drained. The Hills' close proximity to the Van Duzer Corridor (which became its own appellation as of 2019) also creates grapes with great concentration and firm acidity, leading to wines that perfectly express both power and grace.
Though Pinot noir enjoys the limelight here, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay also thrive in the Willamette. Increasing curiosity has risen recently in the potential of others like Grüner Veltliner, Chenin Blanc and Gamay.