SOLD OUT! The Cristom Pinot Noir Mt. Jefferson Cuvee is brilliant this vintage. And Cristom’s hallmark “house style” is front and center is this rich, balanced, and complex Oregon Pinot Noir.
The 2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs are tremendous and this is always a personal favorite of mine. Ranked #73 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2019, this is a worthy wine for the Christmas dinner table.
2017 Cristom Pinot Noir Mt. Jefferson Cuvee
93 points James Suckling, 92 points Wine Spectator
SOLD OUT
For nearly 25 years, Cristom has been crafting some of Oregon’s most distinctive Pinot Noirs. This medium-sized, family owned and operated produce wines that balance power with elegance and boldness with balance.
Owners Paul and Eileen Gerrie along with winemaker Steve Doerner farm sustainably (usually organic) and make their wines using minimal intervention. Grapes are hand picked, 31% whole clusters are used, fermentations are carried out with native yeasts, and minimal additions of sulfur and tartaric acid are added. The wine is then bottled without filtration and aged in French oak (18% new) for 12 months.
The finished wine is one that will grab you by the senses and take you for a ride. James Suckling nailed it with his review: “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.” And Wine Spectator chimed in too: “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.”
And I’ll chime in too. What I love about this wine is the combination of earthy/spicy/savory with ripe and sumptuous fruit. There’s not too much of either. There’s just enough of each to make this both interesting and delicious. I suspect this would make a perfect partner to duck and turkey. But there’s enough body and intensity here to put it with beef and lamb. And mushrooms too!
My mouth is watering and yours will be too if you’re lucky enough to score some of this. The great press combined with Cristom’s stellar track record makes me think this one will be sold out in no time.
Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville