The Arbre Vert Vineyard, at the
northern end of the Willamette Valley, is managed by Bob Grimes. Bob used to live in
California and actually hired us for our first full-time, real wine jobs at Lambert Bridge
Winery. To be closer to family, Bob moved to Oregon within a few years of hiring us and,
liking what we were doing with Pinot Noir, began selling us grapes.
The Arbre Vert Vineyard is just up the hill from Bob’s house. This obviously allows him to
carefully watch over the vineyard making certain that every little thing is done to perfection.
One of our favorite things about the Arbre Vert Vineyard is the mix of old Coury Selection
Pommard (see the sidebar) and grafted 115 clone Pinot Noir. We believe that we are able
to blend these two differing clones together to produce a more diverse and complex wine.
In 2006 the blend is 64% Pommard and 36% Clone 115.
The 2006 Arbre Vert Pinot Noir displays ripe raspberry fruits along with hints of sweet
plums and a creamy, vanilla flavored texture. The finish is long and the wine is really quite
pretty. It is not a blockbuster by today’s standards but, rather, is a wine of balance and
complexity. It is also one of our favorite wines with food, especially fish on the grill.
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