Rose & Arrow Estate

The history

Mark Tarlov was not new to Oregon when Rose & Arrow Estate began. He had already founded Evening Land and then Chapter 24, so the Willamette Valley knew the name well before this project existed.

What made Rose & Arrow different was the company he kept. Tarlov brought in Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, a Burgundy producer, and Pedro Parra, a Chilean specialist in reading terroir, and the three set out to find soils in Willamette that could stand comparison with grand cru ground in Burgundy.

Their method was to measure rather than guess. Electric conductivity mapping, which reads how current moves through soil and rock, was used to pick apart the subsoil of the valley and isolate the fractured volcanic seams the team was after.

By 2018 the first wines were out, labelled first expressions, and the project was still being described as new. Tarlov was blunt about where things stood: the team hadn't yet found soil they would call grand cru, though one site, The Point, came close. That mix of ambition and public self-criticism is part of how the estate talks about itself.

The vineyards

Rose & Arrow Estate grows grapes in an area known as the small hillside folds, which is composed of eroded volcanic rock. It is neither a massive rock formation nor a sprawling vineyard. Rather, it consists of nine small plots scattered across the valley.

Dundee Hills is home to the Black Walnut vineyard, which was established on volcanic rock soil. In the Chehalem Mountains AVA, the Chehalem Highlands plot takes in The Point. Chardonnay grapes are produced in Eola Springs.

The decision to distribute the vineyards across multiple AVAs was not a marketing choice, but a natural outcome of the geological survey results. Since the volcanic rock in Willamette Valley is not neatly concentrated in one area, the plots were placed where the geological conditions were suitable, rather than where it would be convenient to mark them on a map.

The terroir

Willamette Valley is located approximately 50 miles from the Pacific and is bordered by the Coast Range to the west and the Cascades to the east. The soil on the valley's slopes falls into three broad categories: volcanic, loess, and sedimentary. Each type possesses distinct characteristics, and the formation of various small-scale microclimates throughout the valley means that each individual vineyard here has significantly different characteristics.

Rose & Arrow Estate focuses on just one of these types. Eroded volcanic rock, sufficiently fractured to allow roots to penetrate deeply, forms the entire foundation of this project.

In terms of latitude, this valley is located at the same latitude as Burgundy. Although summers are long and dry, there is always a risk of rain during harvest, making the timing of the harvest vital. The difference between a great vintage and an average one is a fine line.

Two grapes varieties

Rose & Arrow Estate uses only these two varieties representative of the Willamette Valley:

• Pinot Noir: This accounts for the majority of production and is the very reason this project exists.
• Chardonnay: Grown on the Eola Springs vineyard.

The wines

Most of the names on Rose & Arrow Estate's labels are place names. The Point comes from Chehalem Highlands, in the Chehalem Mountains, and was one of the earliest releases. Next to this wine are Hopewell Hills, Gathered Stones, Lafayette Heights, Stonecreek, Riverline, Highland Close, and Touchstone, and there is also a single bottle labeled simply as Red Label.

Chardonnay is the only white wine.

Because this winery cultivates grapes on a micro-parcel basis, production volumes are low, and the lineup varies from year to year.