Winemaker Notes
Planted in 1993, Louise Vineyard was named for Cristom winegrower &owner Tom Gerrie’s great-grandmother, Louise Dinkelspiel. The lowest elevation Pinot Noir planting on the Cristom estate, Louise Vineyard can be distinctly separated into an “upper” and “lower” section, divided by a 150 ft. (45.7 m) slope. Because of this unique topography, Louise typically has both some of the earliest and latest fruit harvested each year.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
I like the richness and freshness on the nose with strawberry and floral aromas and some rose-hip tea. It’s medium-to full-bodied with round tannins and a creamy-textured finish. Lightly chewy, showing the structure and seriousness of the wine. Drink after 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Pinot Noir Louise Vineyard has a medium ruby color and takes some time to open up its delicate scents of wild red and black berries, prosciutto, aniseed and potpourri. Seamless and ethereal, the palate is light-bodied and silky with a flourish of dark spices and a long, savory finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
The first planted estate vines comprise this block, yielding a bright, tangy wine bursting with crushed raspberry fruit. There’s a spicy note and a lick of cinnamon, and the overall freshness is compelling, although it’s built to age. Drink now and over the next decade. Cellar Selection
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.