Arterberry Maresh
Wine Advocate Reviews
2017 Vintage
Plus 3 reviews of library wines from the 2010 & 2008 vintages
On April 23, 2020, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate published 810 reviews of Oregon wines, predominantly from the 2017 vintage.
Arterberry Maresh received one of the six 96 point scores, one of the two 95+ scores, and three of the 19 95 point scores given. In addition to the 2017 vintage wines, Brooks reviewed a 2010 and two 2008 vintage Arterberry Maresh wines.
2017 Arterberry Maresh • Chardonnay Dux Vineyard
Rating: 95+
Drink Date: 2020 – 2030
Bottled under Diam 30, the 2017 Chardonnay Dux Vineyard has an open nose of crushed stone, dried hay, tarragon, roasted hazelnuts, citrus blossoms and spring honey with notes of sliced mushrooms and a light framing of spice. Medium-bodied and silky, it gives layer after layer of ripe, spicy fruits refreshed by tangy acidity, finishing very long and minerally with tremendous tension. I can’t wait to taste this with a few years of bottle age!
2017 Arterberry Maresh • Chardonnay Maresh Vineyard
Rating: 96
Drink Date: 2020 – 2030
The 2017 Chardonnay Maresh Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1983. It takes its time to reveal mushroom, tree bark, raw almonds and honeycomb aromas with a core of apple pie and white peaches with a very savory, spicy undercurrent. The medium-bodied palate explodes with flavor layers and lively acidity, finishing incredibly long and minerally. This is stunning!
2017 Arterberry Maresh • Dundee Hills Chardonnay
Rating: 93
Drink Date: 2020 – 2030
This is Jim Maresh’s entry-level Chardonnay, barrel fermented and finished in stainless steel. It comes from Dijon 76 clone vines planted in 1991 on a steep, south-facing slope. The 2017 Dundee Hills Chardonnay has a lovely, open-knit nose of honeycomb, orange blossom, apple pie, crushed hazelnuts, clotted cream, baked peaches, hay and a unique umami-like undercurrent. The palate is medium-bodied and silky, tethered by tangy acidity and a hint of phenolic texture, finishing long and nuanced with incredible tension and energy. Even this “village” level Chardonnay manages class and hedonism. This could use another couple of years in bottle at least. It’s bottled under Diam 30 and should age well.
2010 Arterberry Maresh • Dundee Hills Chardonnay
Rating: 95
Drink Date: 2020 – 2025
“The 2010 vintage started out with very poor fruit set,” Jim Maresh says. “There was shatter everywhere, and it was a year of quality, not quantity. It was an incredible vintage, a cool, cool vintage where we picked the third week of October at about 22 Brix. It was cool, slow and beautiful with high acid.” The 2010 Dundee Hills Chardonnay is still incredibly youthful, offering Meyer lemon, clotted cream and honeycomb scents with notes of gingersnap, dried mushroom and loads of umami-like accents in the background. The medium-bodied palate is incredibly silky and slowly opens to pure, savory flavor layers enlivened by tangy acidity, finishing very long, mineral-tinged and energetic. This has plenty of life ahead.
2017 Arterberry Maresh • Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard
Rating: 95
Drink Date: 2020 – 2027
“I’m really happy with this wine,” Jim Maresh says. “It’s one of the earliest-drinking vintages of the Maresh vineyard I’ve ever made. I like it better than the 2016, although the 2016 will age longer without a doubt. The 2017 is a bit more tender and succulent.” The 2017 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard is a delicate wine without losing any intensity, scented of fresh tobacco leaves, underbrush, potpourri, peppercorn, citrus peel and saline with a core of cranberries and wild blackberries plus touches of dusty earth and crushed stone. It blossoms unexpectedly in the mouth, medium-bodied, concentrated, spicy and fresh, softly framed with a long, layered finish. A lovely wine.
2017 Arterberry Maresh • Pinot Noir Old Vines
Rating: 93
Drink Date: 2020 – 2027
Pale to medium ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Old Vines has classic scents of cranberry sauce, wild blackberries, woodsmoke and cola with accents of tea leaves, amaro, tar and graphite. It’s refined and delicate in the mouth, medium-bodied, spicy and fresh with a long, nuanced finish. Lovely!
2008 Arterberry Maresh • Pinot Noir Juliard Vineyard
Rating: 93
Drink Date: 2020 – 2022
The 2008 Pinot Noir Juliard Vineyard has a medium garnet color and opens slowly to graphite, mossy bark, underbrush and iron with dried blackberries and black cherries plus notes of tobacco, oolong tea, charcuterie, dried roses and amaro. It’s medium-bodied and minerally with a dark, broody profile, finely grained and still fresh with a long, ethereal finish. This is drinking beautifully right now.
2008 Arterberry Maresh • Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard
Rating: 95
Drink Date: 2020 – 2025
“2008 was a great vintage,” Jim Maresh remembers. “It was very similar to 2010 but riper. I was tasting the first week of October and thinking, ‘These are just about ready to pick.’ And then cloudy weather came in. Dark skies that didn’t rain a drop. The grapes were ripe enough to pick, around 22 Brix. The flavors were ready, and it was already a successful vintage. But it was 65 degrees and dry, and I let the grapes hang on the vine. Over a period of about three-and-a-half weeks, the grapes only moved one Brix. All that time, the vines are pumping flavors into the grapes and the sugars are moving at a turtle’s crawl. It’s the holy grail of what we’re trying to do and the definition of cool-climate viticulture. The wines were at 13% potential alcohol and they earned every little bit of that flavor. It was a glutinous, hedonistic vintage.” Medium ruby-garnet in color, the 2008 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard disguises its age well, offering blackberries, red currants, stewed cranberries and rhubarb aromas accented by mushrooms, graphite, orange peel, bitters and sweet spices. The palate is lively with nuanced flavor layers and super-fine tannins, finishing very long. A beautiful wine with plenty of life left.
2017 Arterberry Maresh • Pinot Noir Dundee Hills
Rating: 91
Drink Date: 2020 – 2025
Pale ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Dundee Hills opens with woodsmoke, crushed pink peppercorn, garrigue, dusty earth and dried leaves aromas with notes of cranberries, wild blackberries, red berries and a framing of cinnamon spice. It’s light-bodied and elegantly styled with spicy fruits, a soft frame and juicy freshness, finishing long.
