J. Christopher Nuages Pinot Noir 2011
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Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced, as it was last year, from Adams, Lia’s and Olenik Vineyards – all adjacent to J. Christopher’s facilities, and reflecting their straddling of the volcanic-sedimentary soil interface as well their relative warmth – the 2011 Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains Nuages delivers pungent blond tobacco and fresh ginger in the nose as well as on a bright but silken palate, inflecting fresh, succulent cherry and purple plum, and underlain by both suggestions of chalk and a mouthwatering evocation of marrow-rich beef stock. In Burgundian terms, I imagine this as a Morey-St.-Denis, halfway between Chambolle’s high-toned, spicy brightness and the deep cherry and meatiness of Gevrey. Interestingly, while he agonized over the corresponding Dundee Hills bottling, Somers says one blending session and this Nuages was definitively done. This will likely continue to delight through at least 2018.
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Located in Oregon’s Northern Willamette Valley, J. Christopher Wines is a boutique winery that specializes in Pinot Noir made in the traditional style of Burgundy, and in Sauvignon Blanc modeled after the superlative wines of Sancerre. The winery is owned by world renowned Ernst Loosen, of Weingut Dr. Loosen in Germany. Erni’s lifetime passion for the wines of Burgundy has led to a philosophy to produce elegant, nuanced wines in a distinctly Old World style with an emphasis on lower alcohol and a modest amount of oak. The wines have garnered an international reputation for their purity, balance and food-friendly drinkability.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.