Winemaker Notes
The 2018 growing season was one of the driest years in the agricultural history of the Willamette Valley, and the driest year in Cristom’s 27 years of farming this land. The overwhelming majority of the Cristom Estate is dry-farmed, thus creating challenges with low water availability. Fortunately, the older vines fared well, their deep roots driving down into the volcanic hillsides, seeking out the water held there. This allowed more "hang-time" for the fruit, creating brighter, blue-fruited wines. Showing surprising complexity and firm structure in their youth, these wines will age well for years to come.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has some earthy aromas, as well as dried red flowers, lightly leafy tones and a gently herbal edge. Complex pinot. The fruit aromas and flavors sit in the ripe red-cherry and red-plum zone. Smoothly rendered tannins and fresh acidity to keep the red fruit fresh across the finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pinot Noir Paul Gerrie Vineyard comes from the youngest vines at Cristom, planted in 2014 and dry farmed. It was made with 46% whole clusters and aged in 50% new French oak for 17 months. Pale ruby, it offers bright licorice and spice on the nose with savory blackberry and rhubarb fruit. The palate is medium-bodied, savory and firm, with just enough soft freshness to lift the spicy finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Cristom Paul Gerrie Vineyard Pinot Noir dazzles with its lovely and bountiful fruit. TASTING NOTES: This wine presents aromas and flavors of ripe red and blue fruits. Enjoy its smooth and persistent textures with a lightly-seasoned, oven-roasted Porchetta. (Tasted: October 28, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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.