Cristom Vineyards: Top Oregon Pinot

See tasting notes & scores for Cristom's range of Pinot Noirs...

Now just over 25 years old, Cristom has blossomed into one of Oregon’s top names.

Famous for its Pinot Noir, it also grows Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Gris and Syrah on 25ha of vineyard which surround the winery, producing around 18,000 12-bottle cases per vintage.

Situated roughly 10 miles north of Salem and a similar distance west of Dundee, the estate lies between the Pacific coast (43 miles to the west) and the Cascade Mountains (65 miles to the east).Cool afternoon breezes blow in from the Pacific, following the Van Duzer Corridor – a break in the coastal range – to provide a cooling effect on the vines after warm summer days, locking in the acidity in the grapes.

Scroll down to see John’s tasting notes & scores for Cristom’s Pinot Noirs

Cristom was founded by Paul and Eileen Gerrie in 1992 and is now run by their son Tom Gerrie, who also took over as vineyard manager last year following the departure of long-serving Mark Feltz.

Tom Gerrie also oversees production alongside winemaker Steve Doerner, who has been at Cristom since its inception.

Doerner originally came to Cristom having worked under Josh Jensen at Calera. Since then he has refined the Cristom minimalist winemaking approach – which is summarised by the phrase ‘more about the land than the hand’.

The vineyards are planted at a density of 5,600 vines per hectare and the estate has recently converted to biodynamic farming methods; a move driven forward by Tom Gerrie, according to a spokesperson for the property.

In the winery, Doerner’s Pinot Noir techniques include the use of whole-cluster fruit – generally, the Mount Jefferson Pinot Noir has around 40% whole-cluster fruit, while the single vineyard Pinots have around 50% – cold soak maceration, open-top fermenters, native yeasts, gentle pressing, and gravity-fed transfer of the wines into barrel.

Its Pinots are all aged in a variety of Burgundian oak barrels sourced from a wide range of coopers.

Updated 30 August 2018: Production at the estate has risen to 18,000 cases, rather than the 13,000 originally stated. In addition, Tom Gerrie’s role as vineyard manager and in overseeing production has been clarified. 

Tasting the Pinots:

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