Friday Sips

One of the real masterpiece works at Cristom, one of Oregon's most prolific producers, is their Sommers Reserve and right now it is on a most outstanding special! Sourced primarily from Cristom's 4 estate vineyards (Jessie, Marjorie, Eileen & Louise) and then augmented with purchased or traded fruit from several other premier sites in the Willamette Valley this wine is treated with the same excellence as the estate's highly south-after single vineyard wines.

2011 is a marvelous vintage for this wine and is a Pinot that seemingly has no hairs out of place. Burgundy-inspired but Oregon through and through this poised Pinot delivers alluring, refined aromas of strawberry, sorrel, smoke, flowers and spices with an underlay of earth and red-hot candy pepper tones. Texturally, the wine is silky and incredibly balanced with beautiful transparency and exquisite finesse along with lacy depth and ultra-fine tannins. All of the spices that are on the nose are very present on the drawn-out finish that seems to go on for days. Not inaccessible at the moment but typical of a Cristom wine, this will cellar impeccably and will be best 2016 – 2023.

Founded in 1760, Delamotte, the sister house to Salon, is located in the Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil sur Oger and quality is of the utmost importance including their unquestionably delicious and classy Brut. This blend of 55% Grand Cru Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir & 10% Pinot Meunier joins together to give a Champagne of subtle power, appealing freshness, soft curves and a precise, fresh fruit finish; this is a dry and extremely attractive champagne, balanced and elegant.

Each grape plays a part, as Chardonnay sets the wine in place, its foundation and roots. Pinot Noir helps give the wine more breadth and depth. A small portion of Pinot Meunier brings its aromatic charm to produce a pure and intense Brut. Unlike many larger Champagne houses, who wish to get their non-vintage out on the market as soon as possible and age for the minimum of 15 months on the lees, Delamotte's Brut is aged on the lees for 30 to 36 months. What this provides is a stunning level of complexity both on the nose and on the palate where it really stretches out and lasts. At its regular pricing this wine is superb, at this special price, the wine is a sublimine steal.