Cristom Sommers Reserve Pinot Noir 2007
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Wine & Spirits
Drawn from five blocks on the Cristom property, this complex pinot has savory scents of olive and dried leaves, Christmas spice and black cherry. There's a definite fleshiness to the strawberry flavors, the earth and herb notes contrasting bright fruit, suggesting a pairing with roast salmon.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Pinot Noir Sommers Reserve is a barrel selection aged in 60% new oak. It exhibits an expressive nose of cinnamon, allspice, smoke, black cherry and black raspberry. On the palate it has plenty of succulent fruit, good depth and concentration, and enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years. It will be at its best from 2011 to 2019.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
While it may not be the biggest or most muscular of Christom's line-up of Pinots, this wine earns our nod as the most complete of the bunch. Its very solid, nicely concentrated, ripe-cherry fruit is enriched by a careful complement of sweet oak, and, while quite well extracted, it has the balance to seem always light on its feet. Its bias to firmness makes us believers in its future, yet it is eminently tasty right now and is never so stiff as to dissuade early drinking.
Other Vintages
2012-
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Cristom Vineyards is a family-owned and operated winery that has established itself as a top producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Eola-Amity Hills district of Oregon's Willamette Valley. Second-generation proprietor Tom Gerrie leads the production team, which includes long time winemaker Steve Doerner and recently arrived vineyard manager & winemaker Daniel Estrin. Each bring experience from working at top Pinot/Chardonnay producers in California: Doerner from Calera and Estrin from Littorai. Tom’s parents, Paul and Eileen Gerrie, founded the winery in 1992.
The estate is divided into five single vineyards: Jessie, Eileen, Marjorie, and Louise (all named for Matriarchs in the Gerrie family); and the newly added Paul Gerrie vineyard, acquired in 2012. There are 95 acres on vine throughout the 240-acre property. The majority vineyards are planted at a high density of around 2,300 vines per acre and heavily cropped to produce about 2 tons of fruit per acre.
Cristom farms its estate vineyards according to the biodynamic practices originated by Rudolph Steiner. In 2017 Tom began to implement biodynamic principles to bring the true expression of the vineyard into its wines. Cristom has been a leader in natural winemaking practices, including native yeast and an early pioneer of whole-cluster fermentation in the US. The vineyards and winery are Certified Sustainable by the Oregon LIVE program (Low Input Viticulture and Enology).
Vintage after vintage, Cristom produces top-quality wines, no matter how easy or challenging the elements make it. This consistency is a testament to the deep knowledge of the vineyard, the respect for the land, and a light touch in the cellar. Recognized globally as a leading producer in the beloved Willamette Valley, their wines continue to be a unique blend of tradition, modernity and finesse.
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.