Cristom, St. Innocent, Johan Vineyards

The main impetus for my trip was the release of the 2008 Johan Pinot Noirs, and I figured while I was out there I'd try Cristom and St Innocent's current releases, and I hadn't visited in over a year.

Cristom generally makes a larger styled Pinot Noir that just doesn't resonate with me. They offered me a list of tasting notes by Josh Raynolds to read as I tasted... I guess to let me know what they were suppose to taste like. Josh loved all these wines, with pretty big scores, but I just generally don't see it. They're perfectly good and palatable, but I guess just not my style. Still worth exploring though, and I'll continue to come back as I certainly do enjoy it.

• 2008 Cristom Pinot Gris Estate 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Soft, lemony, and soft light melon on the nose. There's vibrant acidity on the palate, coupled with a creamy texture which is overall quite soft. The finish shows spice, nice acid, creamy nice texture, and lemon lingers.

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• 2008 Cristom Chardonnay Germaine Vineyard 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Some oak funk on the nose, nice soft flavors. Very creamy on the palate, with strange little bubbles full of daggers that are a little harsh, with this weird, rocky, chunky texture that isn't very pleasing. More spice and oak flavors on the finish.

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• 2008 Cristom Pinot Noir Mt. Jefferson Cuvée 85 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Fairly light magenta color, expressing a little off balanced green notes on the nose. The palate shows some tart fruit, light green herbaceous flavors, and tart drying tannins. Dry tartness hits hard on the finish. This isn't bad, but kind of lacking that '08 punch of fruit that I like. Feels more like a typical 2007 than '08.

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• 2007 Cristom Pinot Noir Sommers Reserve 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Similar experience for me as the 2006. Light green notes on the nose, but generally it is quite soft. There's vibrant acidity on the palate, with some green flavors. Tons of gree apples on the finish, tart acid which is nice, but overall the finish is quite flat.

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• 2007 Cristom Pinot Noir Eileen Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Much bigger fruit here than the Sommers, but it's still soft and elegant. Quite pleasing on the nose. Soft and pretty fruit on the palate, and nothing green; just tart and elegant. Nice acidity and very tart on the finish; quite nice, but not much fruit at present, just very light bright red fruits. I think this will blossom with age.

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• 2007 Cristom Pinot Noir Marjorie Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Some green stems on the nose, a strange charred marshmallow, but again fairly light nose. Larger fruits on the palate, and none of the green flavors noted in the previous wines. This one's tart, bright, and expressing some light herbaceousness. The green veggies do show up on the finish, which is tart, as awesome acid begins building and carries deep into the finish. The more this lingers the more I enjoy it.

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St. Innocent is a winery that's always up and down for me. Some wines I love and others not so much. This batch of Pinot Noirs was quite good; I figured they'd do well with 2008. Though still, a larger styled wine, and as you can see from my notes vs the community, they still aren't quite as good to me as they are many. Their Pinot Gris was one of the better Gris' I've had in the Valley, though. I'm always impressed with both the Zenith and the Whistling Dog wines that are poured here.

• 2009 St. Innocent Pinot Gris Vitae Springs Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  I really hated on the 2007 rendition of this wine, but this is awesome. One of the better Oregon Pinot Gris I've had. Very fresh on the nose; tart acid, green apples, lemon, and just beautiful and delicious smelling. It's soft on the palate, some nice acid, green apples, and good balance. The finish has impressive acid carrying into the finish that really makes me enjoy this wine.

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• 2009 St. Innocent Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Soft nose, with some green apples present. The palate is creamy in texture, tasting of some white jelly bean shell (but not the gummy center). Tart acid with mild flavors on the finish. The acid on the finish really lingers deep, and penetrates my senses. The palate and nose aren't too interesting, but the finish brings it all home.

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• 2007 Zenith Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Much improved since the last time I had this over a year ago. Today I get some soft green aromas, though there is some light red fruit poking through. The palate is really nice though, with impressive, almost Burgundian texture. Silky, with perhaps some stemminess and light red berry flavors. The finish kicks hard with vibrant acidity and stemminess on the finish. It builds and lingers really nicely... lots of little zingers going off on my tongue. I kept raising my score long after I finished tasting it as the length and flavors that linger are awesome.

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• 2008 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Villages Cuvée 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very soft, and elegant nose, but light in complexity. Good acid on the palate, with impressive balance of juicy red fruits. Really nice acid and juicy red fruits on the finish as well. A solid wine at a reasonable price.

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• 2008 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  I have to scratch my head at the scores here. This was good, but for me, fairly monolithic today. Basically just showing big ripe fruits on the nose and palate, though some tartness showing up. Very pleasing texture. The finish shows nice acid and good tannic clout. Good for sure, and will age well, but not an all out stand out. More on the modern side.

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• 2008 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Zenith Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Lighter nose than the other St. Innocent wines, and I get this very strange helium balloon component. The palate shows larger fruits than the nose leads on, but there's still tart tannins building and it's quite sharp in texture. The finish shows impressive acidity, tart ripe tannins, and some red apples. Really pleasant fruit lingers.

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• 2008 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Momtazi Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, McMinnville

  Light nose, big ripe fruits, tart and tasty. Good acid on the finish.

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• 2008 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Good fruit, but very monolithic. Not nearly as interesting as some of the other wines here. This was just big and juicy throughout without much structure. Tasty, sure, I could put a straw in it, but not really complex or interesting.

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• 2007 Whistling Dog Cellars Pinot Noir NSV 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  I'm glad I asked them to open this... it was impressive stuff. Fairly tart and green on the nose, but also soft and balanced. There's much larger fruit than I'd expect from a 2007 on the palate, with really nice acid. Quite tart. Awesome, rich and complex on the finish. I look forward to exploring a full bottle in greater detail soon.

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The whole point of the trip today. The 2008 Willamette Valley was tasting a bit strange to me... I couldn't quite put my finger on it, though. The Nils Reserve on the other hand was beautiful. I can't wait to try the Three Barrel later in the year.

• 2008 Johan Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Really succulent nose, honeysuckle, some barrel funk, and really rich and big overall. The palate is almost mild and soft, showing some really tart green apples. The finish shows good acid, though here too it's quite mild and soft. The oak is barely there, and I'd never suspect it's as much new oak as it is. I had this from barrel a year and a half ago and found the acid much more vibrant at that time. This is not quite on par with the way the 2007 was tasting at this stage. Still, this is a wine that will age very gracefully.

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• 2008 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Fairly light, soft, fruity nose. Tart, bitter fruit on the palate... the fruit is larger in scale than is typical here, and I get this strange rubber ball component with slight herbaceousness. I get a strange puckering acidity on the finish that leaves my mouth confused. A little bit off balanced right now, and a little confused by the flavors.

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• 2008 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Nils Reserve 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  As this was poured for me I could smell it from 5 feet away. Fairly primary in its aromas, but it's pretty awesome, vibrant fruit. More vibrant fruit on the palate, which is really soft with a massive tannic clout building. Impressive structure on the palate, but the wine is showing very nice balance of acidity, tannin and fruit, despite it's soft, shut down nature on the palate. The finish kicks with really nice tart fruit and spice. Really good balance. I'm an acid whore so I could go for some more acid here (as the 2007 presented), but the fruit here is larger and tastier than the previous vintage. Both are impressive wines. I think this will be open for business a few years before the 2007 is, as the fruit is certainly more at the forefront. As I swirled this in the glass and had a few sips the finish depth kept slowly revealing itself. I really enjoyed how it lingered. Again, fairly shut down at present, but you can tell it'll be a beauty in 5 years. 91+

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• 2007 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Three Barrel 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Fairly light, tart nose. The palate shows vibrant fruit, and absolutely massive tannic grip builds rapidly on the palate. The nice thing is it doesn't ever get too big, as I could hold it on my tongue for 30 seconds, as the tannins hold without becoming bitter or overpowering the fruit. Nice tart fruits on the finish. Big structure and quite drying on the finish. This is drinking VERY young... I honestly wouldn't expect for this to be fully approachable until 10 years from now, but at that time it should be a gorgeous wine. There is nothing out of balance here, it's just really tight and closed. Really impressive. Wines aren't often made like this around here, but I'm appreciative for it.

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Being that I was married here in 2009, I am very interested in how the '09 vintage is progressing. I'm hoping to put some larger format bottles away for a while. I asked how they were progressing and Dan offered to allow me to taste through some barrels. I didn't take any notes, but just payed attention to a general impression with the wines. We started with a few barrels of the 2009 Chardonnay. The first was a little lack luster for me, but the second barrel, which was actually a 1st year barrel as apposed to the previous, actually showed less oak influence, which really allowed the fruit to blossom. It was some of the most deliciously pure Chardonnay fruit I've tasted. Very impressive.

We then moved to some of the Pinot Noir barrels, likely headed to the Three Barrel blend. Overall I was quite impressed. I've heard a lot of bad things about the vintage (e.g. the heat made lots of alcohols skyrocket), but here things were much cooler and the alcohols of these barrels were all around 12.5%. Awesome. These were showing as very well structured, balanced wines. The whole cluster barrels were my favorite as was the case with the 2008s. Dan also showed a few barrels that still hadn't seen any sulfur. These were most impressive, with an awesome eruption of pure fruit. In comparison, all the sulfured barrels seemed slightly muted in aroma, though softer yet thinner on the palate. This of course could also partially be due just to the difference in the fruit/barrel itself. Overall though I think these too will be very age worthy Pinot Noirs, which fits right in line with what I plan to do with them.

Dan pulling some 2009 Pinot Noir from barrel.