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Cristom Estate Pinot Gris 2018

Cristom Pinot Gris 2018

From vines planted in 1993, Cristom’s 2018 Estate Pinot Gris is limpid sunbeam yellow, with lilting aromas of Asian pear, comice apple, granulated honey, pea tendril, and wet shell. In the mouth, there’s weight and flesh from full-malolactic fermentation combined with six months aging on fine lees—a taught vein of acidity wells up from the […]

Cristom Jessie Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017

Cristom Jessie Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017

Cristom’s 2017 Jessie Vineyard Pinot Noir is sourced from the winery’s steepest estate vineyard. Jessie’s blocks are planted in high-density and range in elevation from 320 ft to 550 ft—it unfurls slowly in the glass to reveal deeply perfumed aromas of red and blackberries, crushed lavender and rose petals, with a savory top note. It’s […]

Brooks Bois Joli Vineyard Riesling 2017

Brooks Bois Joli Vineyard Riesling 2017

From 35+-year-old own-rooted vines, Brooks’ 2017 Bois Joli Riesling opens with heady aromas of Opal apples, honeycomb, Hawthorne flower, and kerosene. Juicy and lush, with a kind of glowing piquancy—anchored by a firm mineral spine that splays out on the finish, leaving a plume of sea salt, clover honey, lemon pith, and slowly dissolving fossil […]

Beaux Frères Zena Crown Pinot Noir 2014

Beaux Frères Zena Crown Pinot Noir 2014

Diurnal flux, and cooling marine breezes can be felt in the 2014 Beaux Frères Zena Crown Pinot Noir. The wind-driven terroir of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has graced it with a degree freshness—vivid red and blue fruit rest beneath a garland of crushed lavender, exotic spice and freshly grated nutmeg. The palate delivers focused acidity, […]

Cristom Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015

Cristom Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015

Eileen is Cristom’s highest elevation vineyard, a 16-acre parcel that benefits from cooling marine breezes and low fertility Witzel and Nekia type soils. Raspberry and black cherry notes glide beneath with lighter tones of fragrant roses, hibiscus tea, and exotic spice. Lifted fruit, and racy acidity lead into silken tannins perched at the front palate, […]

Lingua Franca Mimi’s Mind Pinot Noir 2015

Lingua Franca Mimi's Mind Pinot Noir 2015

Mimi’s Mind, so named to honor the work of Mimi Casteel, and her east-facing vineyard site of Woodburn, Nekia, and Jory type soils planted in the 1970s. I am told that the vines are own-rooted and phylloxera-free, making them a rarity in the Eola-Amity Hills. The 2015, dressed in a translucent ruby robe, is poised […]

Lingua Franca Mimi’s Mind Pinot Noir 2015

Lingua Franca Mimi's Mind Pinot Noir 2015

Mimi’s Mind, so named to honor the work of Mimi Casteel, and her east-facing vineyard site of Woodburn, Nekia, and Jory type soils planted in the 1970s. I am told that the vines are own-rooted and phylloxera-free, making them a rarity in the Eola-Amity Hills. The 2015, dressed in a translucent ruby robe, is poised […]

Brooks Rastaban Pinot Noir 2014

Brooks Rastaban Pinot Noir 2014

Showing beautifully, Brooks’ 2014 Rastaban is named after one of the stars in the Draco constellation, derived from an Arabic phrase “Rās al-Thu`bān, or head of the serpent. 2014 is a riper, lusher vintage than the 2011, the last I sampled under this label—this striking estate-grown Pinot Noir presents a broad sensory arc of ripe […]

Brooks Sunset View Eola-Amity Hills Riesling 2014

Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola-Amity Hills

Brooks is one of a handful of Oregon wineries to have mastered Riesling. Every year, they offer small lots of single vineyard Rieslings like this beauty from Sunset View Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA—the vineyard that sits at a 290′ elevation on a south-facing slope. It’s expressive, deliciously layered in white peach and golden […]

Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard Summum Chardonnay 2014

Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard Summum Chardonnay 2014

A pinnacle Oregon Chardonnay, the 2014 Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard Summum hails from a single block at the heart of the Seven Springs vineyard where the soil is thin and a stony basalt outcropping can be seen. The vines, all Dijon clones, were planted in 1984, and are naturally low yielding. Summum is stunningly […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com