Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir
Maresh Vineyard
Our flagship wine, made from 100% Maresh Vineyard estate fruit. The vineyard is managed by Martha Maresh and husband Steve Mikami. Her son Jim makes the wine in a remodeled barn located among the vines. Grown, made, and bottled on the Maresh family’s farm.
As you scroll down the page you’ll notice that this wine consistently receives the highest praise and scores in reviews from Wine Advocate, Vinous, and Burghound.
2022 vintage
JIM SAYS:
From 50 year old vines. Rose petal, black tea, rhubarb. Bright red, harmonious and complete. A streak of grip evenly fills the mouth and frames the layers of energetic red fruit.
WINE ADVOCATE/ROBERT PARKER SAYS: 95 POINTS
2022 was “a freaky growing season,” Jim Maresh recalls. “The growing season was almost identical to 2008—the greatest season of all time. But in 2022, we had large cluster formation rather than a bunch of shatter like in 2008, so it was bigger clusters that hung super late. The cool vintage with bigger clusters combined to give really low sugars. This is around 12.7% alcohol—I picked it the day before Halloween.” While the 2021s are super concentrated and highly coiled, “the 2022s aren’t built like the 2021s,” he explains. “The 2022s are earlier drinking, rounder, more open.” Pale ruby-purple in color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard features soaring floral perfume on the nose complemented by layers of raspberry, cranberry, orange bitters, gravel dust and woodsmoke. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with succulent, floral fruit. Supple and refreshing, it offers a long, flavorful finish and is delicious straight from the bottle.
2021 vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 98+ POINTS
The 2021 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard is an arresting wine that grows in bottle over several days, offering singular expression, purity and a touch of magic. Medium ruby, the nose is very complex and offers something new with each return to the glass. A deep core of pomegranate and cranberry sauce blossoms to orange peel, tea leaves, mossy bark and lilac with an array of amaro-like undertones. The palate is medium-bodied and has tremendously concentrated flavors for its harmonious, velvety frame (this sits at only 12.8% alcohol). Layered, dynamic and very long, it stands out as one of the best expressions of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.
FROM THE WINEMAKER:
A continously unfolding nose of pomagranite, black plum, raspberries and black tea. It must be noted how rare it is to have this much material and intensity packed into the frame of a wine just under 13%. Long with firm tannins. The wine has everything you can ask for in Dundee Hills Pinot noir without the distractions of cloy, wood or heat.
- Dundee Hills AVA
- Pommard and Wadenswil
- Vines planted in 1972
- Non-Irrigated Vines
- 600 ft elevation
- 14 months in barrel.
- 0% new oak.
- DIAM cork.
2019 vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 98 Points
The 2019 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard comes from Pommard and Wadenswil clone vines planted in 1974 and was matured for 23 months in oak. Proprietor Jim Maresh says that, “The 2019s needed that extra polish.” It’s extraordinarily expressive and complex this vintage, with detailed cranberry, raspberry and tangerine aromas and nuances of rose petals and aniseed. The palate has a weightless feel from its bright acidity, silky texture and surprising fruit concentration, finishing very long and pure.
2018 vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 95+ Points
The 2018 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard is an incredible wine. It opens slowly to an arresting perfume of dusty earth, dried rose petals, tea leaves, licorice and amaro with a wealth of bright red berry fruit at the core. The palate is elegant, supple and juicy, with an expansive fan of layered, spicy flavors and a very long finish. It’s hard to resist now, but it will have more to offer with time in bottle.
2017 vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS
“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.
96 POINTS VINOUS
“Translucent magenta. Heady, mineral- and spice-accented red and blue fruit and potpourri aromas are complemented by exotic incense and Asian spice flourishes. Vibrant, palate-staining raspberry, red currant, boysenberry, candied rose and spicecake flavors suavely blend power and delicacy. Sneaky, polished tannins add subtle grip to a strikingly long, incisive finish that leaves resonating floral and spice notes behind.”
This Pinot is Jim’s personal favorite wine right now. He says:
“I really enjoy opening bottles of this wine – stylistically, it is exactly what I want to make and what I want to drink – light, bright, pretty, refreshing, drinking really well on release. You could cellar the 2017 and it will get better, gain weight in the bottle but you can crack one of these right now and it is drinking really well. Just a delight of a wine, one of the best Maresh Pinots I’ve made in a long time. A little prettier than ’16, a little less dense. A special bottling and one of my favorite Maresh Pinots ever. Tons of red fruit with just right about of acidity, well balanced and complex.”
“I felt the 2017 needed the extra time in barrel to round off and become seamless. Worked so well, I’m figuring out how I can do more of my production with 20 months in barrel. I’m very proud of the 2017 Maresh. Could be a ‘wine of the vintage’ type of bottling.”
2016 vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 96 POINTS
This wine comes from Pinot Noir vines planted in the early 1970s. Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard is scented of lilac, violet, pure strawberry jam, rhubarb and cranberry sauce with layers of warm earth, red and black licorice and exotic spice. Medium to full-bodied, it floods the mouth with warm red cherries, strawberry and rhubarb jam notions and wonderful accents of dried violets, earth, licorice and spice. It has very, very fine, grainy tannins and juicy mouthwatering acidity, finishing epically long with spiced warm red fruits. This just sings! 371 cases produced.
VINOUS 95 POINTS
Translucent red. Vibrant, spice- and mineral-accented red berry liqueur and floral pastille aromas pick up succulent herb and smoky mineral nuances with air. Juicy and animated on the palate, offering expansive raspberry, cherry preserve, floral pastille and spicecake flavors that deepen and turn sweeter on the back half. Closes extremely long and floral, with resonating red fruit and mineral character and silky, enrobed tannins that lend subtle grip.
— Josh Raynolds
2015 Vintage
Jim describes the wine:
“I am excited to share this Pinot, a fruit forward wine with really good concentration and complexity, Very dark, probably the darkest Maresh I have ever made. It is big, beautiful, concentrated, structured, and will age a long time. A very complex wine, it took awhile for it to hit a higher gear and is in full stride right now, a quite impressive wine.”
WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS
This wine comes from Pinot Noir vines planted in the early 1970s. Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard features warm black cherries and currants on the nose with forest floor, black licorice, cardamom, mushroom and sweet wet leaves nuances. Medium to full-bodied, it’s packed full of red and black fruits with layers of sweet spice and savory mushroom, with a great frame of grainy tannins and juicy acidity, finishing very long with spice-laced sweet fruit notes. 1,200 cases produced.
VINOUS 94 POINTS
Vivid red. Sexy, high-pitched red berry, incense and candied rose scents are complemented by a smoky mineral aspect and a hint of star anise. Sappy and focused in the mouth, offering energetic raspberry liqueur, bitter cherry, blood orange and floral pastille flavors that put on weight and become sweeter with air. Conveys a suave blend of power and vivacity and closes on a subtly tannic note, displaying outstanding focus and floral-driven persistence. – Josh Raynolds
DECANTER 94 POINTS
The 2015 rendition of the Maresh Vineyard shows that the lessons learned in the warmth of 2014 were put to good use. A complex bouquet of red and black fruit, lilac, burnt orange and a nicely integrated framing of wood are followed by a deep, concentrated wine with fine, velvety tannins and juicy acidity. Serious juice. Drinking Window 2018 – 2030.
WINE SPECTATOR 94 POINTS
Refined and sensuous, with floral cherry and raspberry flavors, accented by black tea and dusky spice notes that build tension and structure on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2026.
2014 Vintage
Jim describes the wine:
“Not in barrel as long as Powell, it has lighter, brighter flavors than the 2014 Powell Hill. A bright, pretty wine with the characteristic flavors of pure Dundee Pommard fruit. Made from 65% Pommard and 35% Wadenswil clones.”
WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS
The 2014 Maresh Vineyard Pinot Noir has a beautiful bouquet with wonderful precision. The vine age does show through here (44-years-old now) with crisp detailed red berry fruit that just exudes Pinoté. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very well-judged acidity, touches of truffle and undergrowth tincturing the red berry fruit that fans out wonderfully towards the long and satisfying finish. This is a great Pinot Noir from an estate that seems to have thrived in 2014.
2013 Vintage
The 2013 Maresh Vineyard Pinot Noir was reduced to three barrels after Jim Maresh declassified a vast proportion of his fruit. It has a fragrant bouquet with earthy red berry fruit, hints of undergrowth and damp moss. The palate is medium-bodied with rustic tannin, ferrous in style with moderate depth, some dryness on the finish, but there is decent grip here. Served with food, this savory Pinot Noir should give 4-5 years of drinking pleasure.
2012 Vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS
The 2012 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1970, 1972, 1974 and 1978, therefore some of the oldest in the Willamette Valley (65% and 35% Pommard and Wadenswil clone respectively). Jim Maresh described it as the “prettiest Pinot I work with.” Matured for 22 months in used barrel, the bouquet is very well defined and intense with darker fruit than the Juliard: blackberry, fig, smoke and Provençal herbs, especially wild fennel. The palate is sweet, pure and intense on the entry with animated red and black fruit interlaced with rosemary and sage notes. I love the focus here, the personality encased in this Pinot Noir. This is pulled out from the top drawer, a superb Pinot that should age without too much trouble over the next decade, though it will need a year or two in bottle just to shave off those rough edges. Around 600 cases produced.
2011 Vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS
The Arterberry Maresh 2011 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard pours forth an ethereally high-toned combination of red berry distillates, fresh berry scents, and nut extracts such as I associate with Pinots from this site and some of its Worden Hill Road neighbors, and found also in the extraordinary 2005 that Maresh’s father Jim Arterberry crafted from these vines, which I tasted nearly alongside. (See my note in this report). Ginseng tea and bittersweetly perfumed iris waft across generously juicy cherry and red currant, while mineral salts, meat broth, mushroom stock and crustacean shell reduction all open the doors to umami and liberate the salivary glands in an incandescent and ravishingly rejuvenating finish. Also reminiscent in this 2011 of a perfectly resolved, mature wine is the silken-smooth palate texture, along with an almost airy sense of levity and elegance, yet all the while allied though to penetrating fruit and mineral intensity. I can’t imagine it proving less than amazing through at least 2027. Happily, there are around 350 cases, as opposed to the mere 250 there were of 2010.
2010 Vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS
Like all of his 2010 Pinots, bottled in January – early by Maresh’s standards – the 2010 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard takes us into a realm of high-toned red berry; mysterious underbrush; noble fungus; meat stock; and overall elegance fondly reminiscent of great Volnay. Piquant fruit pit and mouthwatering salinity lend a goosebump-inducing degree of invigoration to this satiny, sleek, ravishingly long Pinot that kept revealing new nuances and deeper, multi-faceted sweetness as it took on air. I suspect this will have a 12-15 year run and become a yet more profoundly satisfying along the course.
2009 Vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS
The 2009 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard was sourced from a vineyard planted originally in 1970 with two later additions. Yields in 2009 were less than 2 tons per acre and Maresh was able to keep the wine’s alcohol at 13.0%, unusually low for the vintage and the AVA. The wine spent 14 months in barrel, only 10-15% new, and was bottled without fining or filtration. The youthful Jim Maresh calls 1999, “a winemaker’s vintage” and said his goals were “to achieve succulence and seamlessness”. With the advantage of old vines and low yields, Maresh was able to succeed. The wine offers up a captivating nose of exotic spices, incense, rose petal, black cherry, and black raspberry. Dense and sweetly-fruited, it displays a velvety texture, unusual depth and concentration for the vintage as well as a sense of elegance. This beautifully proportioned effort will evolve for 1-2 years and drink well through 2021+. It is one of the stars of the vintage.
2008 Vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS
Even better is the 2008 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard, sourced from 40-year-old vines. Dense ruby red in color, it offers up a sensual perfume suggesting that much more is to come. Asian spices, incense, rose petal, black cherry, and black raspberry aromas lead to a loaded, focused, and impeccably balanced, seamless Pinot with 6-8 years of aging potential. It’s all there, but for best results, patience is required.
BURGHOUND RATING 92 AND OUTSTANDING
This is more elegant still though noticeably more reserved with excellent complexity to the pretty red and dark pinot fruit cut with briar notes. The rich, full and quite generous flavors possess admirably good mid-palate density as well as a seductive mouth feel, all wrapped in a sappy, dusty and lingering finish. This is overtly austere at present and is very much in need of cellar time as this is indisputably built to age. Drink: 2016+
2007 Vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 91 POINTS
Remarkably, Jim Maresh did not pick the fruit for his 2007 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard until October 29 when he “?caught the sun window.” Medium ruby in color, it exhibits a nose of racy red fruits, cherry blossom, savory spices, and incense. Lean, elegant, and well-balanced, this high-toned effort admirably reflects the best traits of the vintage, moderate pH and low alcohol. This seemingly delicate Pinot is likely to drink well through 2019.
2006 Vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS
The 2006 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard spent 18 months in neutral oak. Dark ruby-colored, it displays a nose of violets, black cherry, black raspberry, plum, and spice notes. Round and plump on the palate in the style of the vintage, it is persistent and rich with layered, savory flavors and more focus and precision than most 2006s. It should drink nicely for another 6-8 years.
2005 Vintage
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS
The 2005 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard was the first wine that the then 21-year-old Jim Maresh ever made. It was picked on 23 October and he remembers the berries tasted “unreal.” It was made in five Alliers barrels where it matured for 20 months. It has a very intense bouquet, very well defined with cranberry, wild strawberry, iodine and subtle undergrowth scents that remain vital after ten years. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a touch of leather on the entry, mushroom and almost soil-like notes towards the finish, which has great depth and length. It was a great debut and this 2005 will continue to mature over the next 10-15 years, no problem. This is Oregon Pinot from the top drawer.
BURGHOUND 92 POINTS AND OUTSTANDING
An extra year of bottle age has definitely contributed some admirable complexity as this offers a really beautiful perfume as the very fresh, red, blue and violet aromas complement to perfection the delicious, supple and refined flavors that possess a silky texture and lovely mouth feel on the lingering finish. This is a wine of finesse and purity and will best please those who enjoy understatement and subtle harmony.
