Winemaker Notes
Tasted after one year in bottle. Brooding dark-raspberry and dark-cherry dominate the nose of this youthful and zesty Mt Jefferson. The wine is still very primary on the bouquet and it reminded us of a freshly filled oak barrel as creamy vanilla scents came wafting out of our glasses. True to form, Mt Jeff is juicy and ripe on the palate with delicate mouth coating tannins. This is a seriously notable edition of Mt Jeff that shows tremendous promise over the medium term.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine & Spirits
This pinot leads with an exotic mélange of stem spices—caraway, anise, licorice—adorning fresh, bright cherry flavors. There’s beautiful tension between the bright fruit and savory elements, the finish focused and lifted at once, its lasting concentration a match for the complex flavors of fennel-roasted pork.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Dark ruby red, it offers up aromas of rose petal, spice box, incense, cherry, and raspberry. On the palate it displays medium body, sweet fruit, plenty of spice, and enough ripe tannin to evolve for 1-2 years. However, it can be approached now and over the next 6-8 years. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, continuity and consistency are the keys to Cristom’s success. The winemaking team led by Steve Doerner rose to the occasion, taking full advantage of the great raw materials provided by the 2008 vintage.
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.