It had been several years since I had sat down in the board room at Cristom Vineyards and tasted their beautiful wines. A producer that is all about sustainability and taking care of their land, Cristom Vineyards hosted me for a tour and tasting last week. This is one of the beautiful spots in the Willamette Valley, with incredible views and soil diversity. Standing at the top of the vineyards, this windswept location looked nothing like the soils at the bottom of the hill where the winery sits. There has been more of a focus made on their Chardonnay program and I loved the releases that they crafted from the 2021 vintage (https://owenbargreen.com/blog/2023/5/15/cristom-vineyards).
But it is clear that Cristom is known for their Pinots. Their Mt. Jefferson Cuvee can be found at top restaurants across the world, and I have even seen this bottling at Daniel NYC. Back in 2019 they hired a new winemaker from Sonoma. Daniel Estrin serves as both winemaker and vineyard manager, having formerly served at Red Car as well as Craggy Range in New Zealand before landing his position Littorai. I am very excited to see his impact on the Cristom portfolio.
The new wines I tried were all from the 2021 vintage, one that had consistently warm weather during the summer. Check out their entry level 2021 Cristom Vineyards ‘Mt. Jefferson Cuvee’ Pinot Noir (OB, 92) which is a sensational value and packs a punch for under 50 bucks. I adored the new 2021 Cristom Vineyards ‘Louise Vineyard’ Chardonnay (OB, 95) which is already showing its depth and concentration, with citrus rind accents and a smooth texture. Check out more about these outstanding wines at https://www.cristomvineyards.com and here are my reviews of the new releases by Cristom.
2021 Cristom ‘Mt. Jefferson Cuvee’ Pinot Noir- Stored in 22% new French oak for 11 monnths,, this undercut 44% whole cluster fermentation. Always one of the great values in Oregon, the 2021 ‘Mt. Jefferson Cuvee’ shows really good aromatic range with dried herbs and cranberry notes alongside shades of teaberry. The palate is fresh and shows a smooth texture, with good length. Drink 2023-2031- 92
2021 Cristom ‘Jesse Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The outstanding 2021 Cristom ‘Jesse Vineyard’ Pinot Noir comes from this very steep site in the Eola-Amity Hills. Stored in 38% new French oak before bottling, and given 52% whole cluster fermentation, the Pinot Noir takes on layers of savory herbs alongside bright red currants, Nori and shades of freshly tilled salty soils. Very structured, with refined tannins, this beautiful wine is already showing brilliantly. This shows a ton of aging potential with its weight and bright underlying acidity. Drink 2023-2040- 94
2021 Cristom ‘Marjorie Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- Stored in 35% new French oak, this saw 46% whole cluster fermentation gorgeous ‘Marjorie Vineyard’ Pinot Noir shows dried cranberry with wild strawberry alongside blackberry tones. The palate is plush and soft with a seamless mouthfeel and great underlying finesse. Finishing long, this is lively, lovely stuff to enjoy now and over the next fifteen plus years. Drink 2023-2038- 94
2021 Cristom ‘Louise Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The 2021 ‘Louise’ is beautifully perfumed with red rose petals alongside Nori and shades of tart red fruits. The palate displays loads of mouth-watering acidity with serious freshness and lovely citrus rind flavors that combine with tart pomegranate seed and red raspberry. Showing serious tension, this is brilliant Pinot Noir that has a long way to go in the cellar. Drink 2023-2038- 95
2021 Cristom ‘Eileen Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- Stored in 34% new French oak before bottling. This comes from the highest portion of the Cristom Estate. The wine displays a dizzying array of red fruits on the nose alongside potpourri and shades of kumquat zest and baking spices. Very juicy and dense with loads of crunchy red fruit flavors alongside menthol, dried herbs and shades of orange rind, this is drinking beautifully already. Given its structure and flavor density this will easily go for another fifteen plus years. Drink 2023-2038- 95
2021 Cristom ‘Paul Gerrie Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- This was stored in 45% new French oak before bottling. This wine comes from the northern end at the Cristom Estate. The smooth texture entices as layers of boysenberry fruit combine with stony soils, white pepper, soy sauce and plenty of Umami accents. Finishing long with great power and verve, this is going to be a twenty year wine. Drink 2023-2043- 95