2012 Cristom Pinot Noir Marjorie Vineyard- USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (5/18/2015)
Decanted quite, good 8 hrs. Of air. Pretty high expectations on this one, big time hype of the OR 12 vintage along with a producer than can be pretty showy (in a good way) right out of the gate. Tons of exotic scents on the nose, flowers, and spices, all wrapped around a core of dark candied cassis fruit. Very Cristom. Deceptive wine on the palate, a big blast of black strawberry fruit announced it certainly wasn’t shy. For about half a glass, I was actually a little concerned that the wine was a bit simple, all fruit and nothing else. Fortunately that was not the case as a supporting tannic structure emerged along with some interesting mint and clove. Also began to develop a nice earthy, mineral streak on the finish. Low acidity, but plenty of verve. If you have a few of these, definitely worth cracking one open, should age well too, the track record is there. (93 pts.)
That’s the only “Lady” I don’t have in 2012. IIRC, Marjorie was priced higher than the rest due to replanting. Thanks for taking one for the team but I think I will give the girls a few more years in the cellar.
John, I’m normally a Jessie man myself, but I must admit, after Neal Martins glowing note and a good price at Total Wine ($55) I was in for a few bottles. It’s always hard to articulate a Cristom wine, they certainly would never be confused with a AFWE wine ala Belle Pente but they aren’t fruit bombs either. Anyway, I have always enjoyed them a lot and they are fun wines to open for non serious wine folk, as they usually get a few oohs and aahhhs.
Wow, I don’t think I would have put Belle Pente and Cristom on polarized ends of the AFWE scale. For the record, I Enjoy them both. Cristom tends to need age more than BP.
