Winemaker Notes
Eileen Vineyard, named after co-founder Eileen Gerrie, is situated at the highest elevation on the original Cristom estate rising to over 735 feet with commanding views of the Cascade Range to the east and the Oregon Coast Range to the west. Perched at the crest of the Eola Hills, Eileen Vineyard is defined by the cold, Pacific Ocean winds and dramatic volcanic soil variation from ancient basalt flows. Among the most geologically complex sites on the farm and Cristom's most wind-swept vines, the fruit from Eileen can be structured, vibrant and persistent.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A deep saturated ruby, the 2021 Pinot Noir Eileen Vineyard is more aromatically reserved initially but opens in the glass to emerging notes of rocky earth, ripe black and blue fruit, and wild herbs. It already displays a tension aromatically that carries over to the palate, where the wine is full-bodied, with a weightless feel, ripe, well-structured tannins, and a tension-packed, ripe core. It has a nervous energy at this stage that bodes well for significant aging potential over the next 15 to 20 years. It’s a remarkable wine that demands aging time.
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Vinous
Deeply seductive, the 2021 Pinot Noir Eileen Vineyard opens with a burst of mentholated herbs, licorice and sweet autumnal spices. Juicy and broad upon entry, this envelopes the palate with ripe red and hints of blue fruit, giving way to suggestions of cola and lavender. Its mineral core comes forward through the finish, gaining tension through a blend of fine tannins and residual acids as spice and floral notes resonate throughout. The Eileen Vineyard is refined using 46% whole clusters and 34% new French oak barrels for eighteen months.
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James Suckling
Focused, dense, elegant and vibrant, with dominating aromas of sour cherries, cinnamon, dried herbs and mild spices. It’s medium-bodied with fresh acidity. Poised, with plenty of energy all along. Agile and succulent with some white pepper character kicking in toward the long finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Eileen Vineyard, is scented of cranberry sauce, forest floor, potpourri, mushrooms and cardamom. The light-bodied palate is chalky and vibrant with understated fruit and a long, spicy finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is my favorite Eileen since Dexys Midnight Runners. It fills the air with pretty aromas of bright red raspberries, violets and talc. It is superbly balanced with a buoyant mouthfeel and flavors like white peaches, raspberries, black tea and wet rocks. Come on Eileen, one more sip.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.