Winemaker Notes
#73 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2019
Whole-cluster fermentations by native yeast and extended aging in French oak are the hallmarks of the Cristom winemaking style. This wine ages in barrel for twelve months, and can stylistically be the most fresh and approachable of the Cristom Pinot Noirs in its youth.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An attractive array of rich red to dark cherries that delivers a fine layer of perfume and a wealth of bright raspberries and red cherries. The palate is subtly earthy and gently spicy with a very plush and assertive core of blueberries and red cherries. Smooth, supple and very energetic. Drink over the next six to eight years.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive strawberry blossom and raspberry aromas open to elegantly structured cherry and spicy cinnamon flavors that build richness toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tom Gerrie, second-generation owner and winegrower at Cristom, says the Mt. Jefferson Cuvée is now found in about 30 countries, "so it's a major focus for us." About 9,000 cases are made annually. It has always been a Willamette Valley wine, but that may be changing soon. "This 2017 may be the last time it's Willamette Valley," Gerrie says. "It's about 95% Eola now, mainly from Eileen vineyard, and we may begin to label it as Eola. I think it will be the right call for the future of this wine, to be more focused on Eola."
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.