Sour cherry up front giving way to tasty red and blue fruit with a mouthwateringly savory, whole-cluster finish that goes on, making you want to take another sip and so it goes...
My only gripe (and a somewhat of a nitpicking one) is that the finish has ever so slightly too much heat at this stage of development... perhaps something that will calm with further cellaring. Chinese spice and subtle florals on the nose complete the alluring profile.
Josh Raynolds' impeccable reporting provides us with historical background:
"...Cristom's Steve Doerner, who was a pioneer of the [graceful Oregon] style, has become a sort of wizened visionary for a new generation of winemakers. Doerner, who worked at Burgundy's Domaine Dujac in the late 1970s, began to hone his style, which emphasizes whole-cluster fermentations, at Josh Jensen's Calera Winery in the early 1980s and has further refined it since moving to Oregon to help establish this winery [Cristom] in 1992. While Doerner's style of spicy, highly floral Pinot is now commonplace, that was not the case when he first began to make his mark, a fact that he acknowledges with a shrug and slight embarrassment. While he has made small tweaks here and there to his winemaking style over the decades, he told me he still has the same philosophy, "which is to get elegant, complex wines that show their place..."
Paired deliciously with teryaki tuna steaks, Lebanese rice and broccoli-pear salad.
Postscript:
It is entirely possible that my sensitivity to slight "heat" on the finish is due to degradation of my palate from the high pollen count that we have this spring.
Producer Notes
Vineyard Overview
Jessie Vineyard was established in 1994 after founder of Cristom Vineyards, Paul Gerrie, saw the potential of a steep, wooded, east-facing hillside when the property was purchased in 1992. When planting began in 1994, the vineyard was named after Paul’s paternal grandmother Jessie Summers.
Jessie Vineyard tends to produce Pinot Noirs that exude an enticing scent of purple and blue floral notes that make the wine instantly appealing. Drawn in by the deep floral aromas and minerality, Jessie can also be recognized by savory aromas that often call to mind rare-beef. On the palate, black fruits and a deeper-darker-fuller mouth-feel and alluring texture can often characterize Jessie Vineyard Pinot Noirs.
The views from the top of the east-facing Jessie Vineyard are some of Cristom’s most spectacular. On a clear day, the Cascade Mountains (including Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Adams) sparkle. First released with the 1998 vintage, Jessie is typically deep, rich and floral with multiple layers of flavor.
Soils
Ranging in elevation from 320 ft to 550 ft (98 m to 168 m), this 11.53 acre (4.67 hectare) site is one of the steepest planted in the Willamette Valley and our most challenging to farm. The entire vineyard is planted at the high density of 2,311 vines/acre (5,710 vines/hectare) and is notorious at the estate for its shallow soil at the top of the hillside. The strategy to plant densely creates competition among the neighboring vines and forces the roots deep into the topsoil, yielding smaller clusters and producing more concentrated flavors. The shallow, 15.5 million year old Columbia River Basalt soils known as Witzel and Ritner run the western edge of the vineyard at the top of the hill and are the most shallow soils on the entire estate. The vines struggle here - these soils have a natural devigorating effect on the vines, slowing vegetative growth and focusing the plants energy on fruit production. Deeper basalt soils including Jory and Nekia, that both have greater water holding capacity, extend down the steep hillside and the eastern edge of the vineyard boasts some of the deepest soils on the Cristom estate.
Clones & Rootstocks
Planting for the 11.53 acre Jessie Vineyard began in 1994 with Pommard and Dijon clones 115, 114 and 777. By 2000, Pinot Noir clones 113 and 667 were added and the vineyard now has six different clones of Pinot Noir grafted on three different rootstocks: 2.54 acres (1.03 ha) or 22% of the vineyard is planted with Dijon clone 115 grafted on 3309C rootstock; 2.31 acres (0.93 ha) or 20% is Pommard on Riparia Gloire; 1.85 acres (0.75 ha) or 16% is Dijon 114 on 3309C; 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) or 13% of Jessie is planted to Dijon clone 667 on 101-14 rootstock; 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) or 13% is Dijon 777 on 3309C; 0.92 acres (0.37 ha) or 8% of the total vineyard is Dijon 113 on Riparia Gloire, and the remaining 0.92 acres (0.37 ha) or 8% is Dijon 667 grafted on Riparia Gloire.
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