2002 Cristom Pinot Noir
Mt. Jefferson Cuvée
Willamette Valley
$22.99 (regularly $27.99)
www.cristomwines.com

I’ve never met Steve Doerner but if asked what kind of man he must be I’d figure him for a better listener than talker. The kind of person people pay attention to when he does speak, believing that what he has to say must be real important if he’s taking the time to say it. His pinots at Cristom are real good, but the winery doesn’t get all the press of say a Ken Wright Cellars or Archery Summit, so he must be more of a listener than a talker. It seems like people who talk a lot get lots of attention, but that’s what I think and I’ve never met Steve Doerner.

Mt. Jefferson Cuvée was a deep and transparent black cherry-red in the glass. This Willamette Valley pinot offers black cherry and raspberry fruits in a medium-textured wine full of good soft tannin. In fact, this pinot was downright grippy in ample fruit tannin and texturally pleasing from lack of fining or filtration. In many respects Cristom’s Mt. Jefferson Cuvée is the archetypal Oregon pinot noir: the wine shows medium concentration has a wonderful satin-texture and offers Oregon’s signature aromatics of forest-floor and leaf. In short, this is very good and well-made wine.

Unfortunately for me, I found Mt. Jefferson Cuvée too sweet while drinking with dinner. Certainly others will disagree, perhaps even preferring this sweeter style, but I believe this pinot would be better balanced, provide greater interest and satisfaction if it finished with less residual sugar. That’s simply my preference. Many will find this pinot’s rich mouthfeel and slightly sweet finish very satisfying indeed. Highly recommended!

2003 Atwater Estate Vineyards Pinot Noir
Finger Lakes
$16.00
www.atwatervineyards.com

What is it about good red wine that really puts a region on a map? Chances are, if Napa Valley wasn’t so successful with cabernet sauvignon her sauvignon blanc would fail to fill Yountville’s bistros and Calistoga’s mud-baths with throngs of America’s well-heeled. This isn’t to imply that Napa sauvignon blanc isn’t delicious but simply to state: white wine just doesn’t have the same appeal. Ah but Alsace, you say? How many of those in love with Alsace arrive at her doorstep tongue-tied from tannic Bordeaux and penniless from trysts with Burgundy? Most people, it seems, discover Alsace only after many years spent in frustration with other (and typically redder) appellations. Yes, from Willamette’s pinot noir to Walla Walla’s syrah, a region really causes a stir with a good bottle of red.

It’s widely known in the East that New York’s beautiful Finger Lakes have made great strides with riesling. In its June 15th issue, even that most revered (and often lambasted) Californian fount of wine authority, The Wine Spectator, shined a little bit of sunshine on this region highlighting a few of the area’s better producers. With that, most would agree that the Finger Lakes’ final frontier lie in quality red wine. Atwater Estate Vineyards, located on Seneca Lake’s scenic eastern shore, is part of the new vanguard attempting to raise the bar of quality for this region on the verge.

Atwater Estate Pinot Noir showed a pale raspberry-red in the glass being lightly extracted and brilliantly clear. To the nose light red fruits such as raspberry, cranberry and cherry were evident as was a light leafiness. On the palate this New York State pinot noir was lean and high in acidity offering little fruit extract. Although this pinot lacked depth and offered little texture to the mouth, it was a bright, pure and simple expression of the grape. While Atwater Estate was aromatically interesting and impressive for its purity, it was too thin and hard-edged, lacking in fruit tannin and suppleness. In short, it could strum a decent guitar but couldn’t carry a tune.

It would be foolish to dismiss this wine completely because it did show certain qualities well. Additionally, the wine-making seems quality focused, showcasing a lean, food-friendly style of pinot. Yet, one can’t help but hope for subsequent vintages yielding better, more convincing wine. Perhaps increased plantings of more diverse pinot clones will continue to improve Finger Lakes’ pinot noir. Better red wine will certainly benefit the region enormously. In the end, this wine is but a work in progress and recommended drinking only for those curious students and academic drinkers-of-the-vine. Hedonists will be sorely disappointed!