2014 Cristom Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Eola-Amity Hills (375 mL) Half-Bottle

Demand is off the charts for the wines from what many consider to be Oregon’s all-time greatest Pinot house, and this estate release competes with top-end Burgundy for elegance and finesse. Their 2014 Estate Pinot Noir is deliciously in line with the Cristom legacy, claiming 95 points from Vinous, which noted “The interplay of power and finesse here is really something.” 

We couldn’t agree more. The ruby-hued 2014 impressed us even more than Cristom’s newer releases: Bursting with fresh cherry, violets, and exotic five spice, a single sip made us understand the critical frenzy surrounding this bottle.

The plaudits achieved by Cristom Vineyards could fill a book, making their wines harder to come by than ever before, especially for less than $30 and direct from the estate. Decanter has crowned them “Top Oregon Pinot,” and Cristom wines have made five appearances on the Wine Spectator Top 100 in the last decade. In its annual restaurant poll, Wine & Spirits found that Cristom was the “#1 Pinot Noir on restaurant wine lists in America.” 

Cristom’s second-generation winegrower-owner & co-winemaker Tom Gerrie (who has made wine in Meursault, Alsace, and Australia with Decanter’s Man of the Year Brian Croser) combined his talents with winemaker Steve Doerner (formerly of Calera and Burgundy’s Domaine Dujac) in this fantastic release, and their decades of experience are taste-able.

Gerrie was raised on the Willamette Valley estate from the age of eight, and from that young age, he worked the land and absorbed the lessons of his father, Paul. The climate is a study in moderation, with warm days balanced by cool nights, and gusting 25 mph Pacific Ocean winds helping to even out hotter summer temperatures, resulting in fruit with bright acidity and superb structure and length. The estate Pinot Gerrie now crafts is a blend of vineyards, with various altitudes, slopes, and exposures that contribute balance and depth to this gorgeous snapshot of the 2014 growing season. 

Now, with five years of aging under its belt, this Cristom release is coming into its own, showcasing “spice box and dark tea flavors that gain momentum toward polished tannins,” as Wine Spectator put it in their effusive review.

The lucky Wine Access members who claimed our allocation of the 2015 Cristoms have already glimpsed the glory of what this special site can put forth in a great vintage. We suspect they’ll be first in line for the 2014s, so don’t delay.