Monument, Smithereens - NV
Fast Facts:
Winemaker(s): Tyler Magyar
Region: Eola-Amity Hills → Willamette Valley → Oregon → United States
Classification: Willamette Valley AVA
Varietal(s): Chardonnay, Muscat
Terroir: Volcanic basalt and marine sediment, Pacific ocean breeze
Serving Temp: 50-55°F
Monument is the gorgeous work of Tyler Magyar, who named his winery after "something small which stands for something larger." Charming guy. He caught the wine bug working in New York and Paris, then spent years selling other people's bottles in shops before he made any of his own. The moonlighting is what really did it, with two vintages in Andy Young's cellar at St. Reginald Parish under his belt he was off to the races! Now making wine in a small Portland cellar under the Monument label.
Tyler's has continued on about sincerity in winemaking: where the fruit comes from, how the wine gets made, the art on the label, the people he chooses to work with, all transparently for those engaged. His fruit comes from growers scattered across Oregon, the Applegate Valley in the south up through the Columbia Gorge, and his cellar work stays straightforward. Grapes get crushed by foot, ferments run on whatever yeast came in on the skins and the ambient yeast in the winery, and all of his wines rest in old barrels that have no flavor left to impart!
Smithereens has seen a short week of skin contact to get a bit of extra color and extra tug of tannin. The main body of the vino comes from the Chardonnay, and then the bit of Muscat brings the *essence and vibes* - the grapes get stomped on, and the skins macerate with the juice for a mere week before finishing in tank.
Why'd we pick it?
Tyler talks openly about life and wine and the unglamorous parts of being a winemaker, which is refreshingly honest in a looks-maxing world. Go read the technical page on his website sometime. It's where he gives a true and seldom discussed warning that wine reacts to time, to oxygen, to transit, and to Fiona Apple songs. He admits bottle variation is real, asks you to be patient with the bottles, and says the winery is small enough that if something seems off you can talk it through directly with him, unless you don't like Bonnie Raitt, then please don't email him. Love. Also there are only about a hundred cases of this every year, which is something we especially like to grab when the heart and soul is that palpable.
Field Notes
- Tastes like: super ripe pear and dried apricot, orange peel, and a big lift of honeysuckle off the Muscat. Dry, faintly grippy, finishing on chamomile and pith.
- Serve it after a quick few minutes of sitting post-fridge. It opens from 1D to 3D floral in about twenty minutes.
- Food Pairings: This one wants a little herb and a little heat. Pork laab with mint, cilantro, and plenty of chili. Fried hazelnuts with salt and rosemary for a cute snack. Roast delicata squash until the edges go dark, then throw-in some brown butter and crispy sage.
