Bow & Arrow Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022

Bow & Arrow Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022

Regular price$ 24.95
/
  • Buy any 12 bottles or Build a Case® and save!
Your Purchase Option
From Scott: The style I have been pursuing came into clearer focus the past year as I have become more and more charmed by the fresher, youthful expressions of Pinot coming out of Burgundy from the "next gen" of young producers.  There's more whole cluster and red fruit character for sure.  

The wine's primarily a blend of Arbre Vert in the Chehalem Mtns, Johan in the Van Duzer (I can't say "corridor" yet... what is it, an industrial park?) and Hughes Hollow in the South Salem Hills

2017 vintage notes

Did you know we might be the only wine shop in the country with an actual winery in the basement, and with a floor-to-ceiling window that looks into the winery? Our downstairs neighbor, Bow & Arrow, rocks out (during harvest, sometimes too loudly!) a very nice line-up heavy on Loire varieties and lighter on Pinot. Their first "Willamette Valley" bottling, the 2017 is snappy, bright, and fruit-filled.

Bow & Arrow's chief archer, Scott Frank: "Bow & Arrow is my interpretation of the Willamette Valley’s humble terroir. The most important parts of that equation are the Willamette Valley and “humble.” Our growing region is frequently approached as a grand terroir destined to produce prestigious wines with an implicit Burgundian influence. I’m honored to make wine here. Still, the valley I know and love is as much a blue-collar agricultural area as it is a boutique wine destination. It’s as much a collection of relatively simple, clay dominated soils as it is home to multi-generation family estates and renowned AVA’s. Bow & Arrow uses a different template to explore this different, simpler side of the Willamette Valley. Instead of Burgundy, we pay homage to the refreshing and decidedly working class wines of France’s Loire Valley.

I’m certainly not the first person to have this notion. Loire Valley grape varieties like Melon, Chenin Blanc, and Gamay were planted in the Willamette Valley decades before I moved here from New York in 2001. As a newly immigrated grocery store wine buyer in Portland, I was always excited when local winemakers shared their interpretations of these less typical grapes. I fantasized about creating my own winery devoted exclusively to such wines. Even after one of Oregon’s great contemporary Pinot Noir and Chardonnay masters, John Paul of Cameron Winery, drafted me as his unproven assistant winemaker in 2007, the thought of bottling Loire Valley varieties was never far away."

Make sure you always get a discount by using our Build a Case® program. 

How it works:

If you haven't found a full case (12 bottles) to buy today, start your Build a Case® order now by purchasing a few bottles online, by phone or email. If you order online, select the Build a Case® option. If by phone or email, just ask us to add the bottles to a Build a Case® order for you. You'll receive order confirmation and we'll cellar the wines for you at no charge.

Add to your case whenever you see wines you can't resist. Each time you add to your Build a Case® order you'll be charged the discounted price.

When you complete your case, we'll apply a shipping rate and contact you to schedule your case for shipment.

Because of finite space in our warehouse, we kindly ask that you complete your Build a Case® order within six months. Please email or call us with any questions. 

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Build a Case® 

Make sure you always get a discount by using Build a Case® How it works:

If you haven't found a full case (12 bottles) to buy today, start your Build a Case®  now by purchasing a few bottles online, by phone or email. If you order online, select the Build a Case®  option. If by phone or email, just ask us to add the bottles to a Build a Case®  for you. You'll receive order confirmation and we'll cellar the wines for you until you reach a full case.

Our Wine Advice

Life's too short to drink bad wine.

We taste as much or more Oregon wine in a given year than anyone on the planet. We look for the needles in the haystacks, the wines you won't find in your local wine store. Wineries have long sought our help to sell their most limited, unique bottlings.

We are picky. We like to sell wines that we like to drink. We refer to taste the wines sell over several days; we want to know how a wine will evolve, how it pairs with food. We want to know if it truly belongs in your cellar, in your glass, and we want to provide you with guidance on how and when it'll be its best.

Our goal is to describe wines in ways that you can actually relate to. We battle against overly flowery tasting notes. You know the kind. The ones that mention things that no one has ever smelled or tasted. They're mostly B.S. and they perpetuate snobbery that we don't like.

We give you the unfiltered truth about a wine.We believe wine isn't one-size-fits-all. We get to know your tastes and preferences so that we can recommend the right wines for you.

Testimonials

★★★★★

Avalon is a gem. The wine selection is both excellent and expertly curated. Better yet, Marcus and Andy invest the time to get to know their customers personally. So their recommendations fit you like a well-tailored suit (just more reasonably priced!).

Sam P.
★★★★★

Marcus and Andy's knowledge of the wines, wineries and winemakers of the area is encyclopedic and, in my experience, second to none. They have a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of the industry and a knack for recommending wines that are 'in my wheelhouse,' but also the insight to direct me toward new discoveries. I wholeheartedly recommend them to both those in the know and those who would
like to be.

Bob S.
★★★★★

Andy and Marcus only sell wines they would drink themselves, they sell them at reasonable prices, and they take exceptionally good care of their customers. Ethics, value, service…the reasons we buy all our wine from Avalon.

Lynne M.
★★★★★

These guys do an outstanding job of sourcing great wines at terrific prices. Their reviews are fun to read and quite on point without all of the nonsense. Whose ever tasted squirrel dung or asphalt anyway? Get on their email list and savor the experience; then tell a friend. That's how I became a dedicated customer of Avalon Wine.

Karl K.