The Eileen Vineyard is named for Cristom’s co-founder, Eileen Gerrie, mother of second-generation winegrower-owner Tom Gerrie. Original planting of the Eileen Vineyard began in 1997 and was later expanded in 2006, resulting in a total of 16.61 acres. Perched atop the Cristom estate, Eileen is also our highest-elevation vineyard, with commanding views of Oregon’s Cascade Range to the east, and Coastal Range to the west.
The Jessie Vineyard, named for winegrower-owner Tom Gerrie’s great-grandmother Jessie Sommers, was established in 1994 after the Gerrie family saw great potential in planting a steep, east-facing hillside. 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 in Oregon, and the most challenging to farm on the Cristom Estate.
Planted in 1993, Louise Vineyard was named for Cristom winegrower & owner Tom Gerrie’s great-grandmother, Louise Dinkelspiel. The lowest elevation Pinot Noir planting on the Cristom estate, Louise Vineyard can be distinctly separated into an “upper” and “lower” section, divided by a 150 ft. (45.7 m) slope. Because of this unique topography, Louise typically has both some of the earliest and latest fruit harvested each year.
Cristom began experimenting with Syrah in 2002, by grafting over plantings of Chardonnay on the lower slopes of our estate. We carefully selected which vines to graft over, choosing a low-lying block on our hillside where heat accumulation is at its highest on the estate, giving our Syrah the best opportunity to ripen in a moderate maritime climate.
The famed Marjorie Vineyard boasts Cristom’s oldest estate plantings, predating the company back to 1982. Named in honor of winegrower-owner Tom Gerrie’s grandmother, Marjorie is distinctive at Cristom both for being own-rooted, and for its lower-density plantings, (605 vines/acre; 1,495 vines/hectacre), with 6 feet between vines and 12 feet between rows. Because of these low density plantings, Marjorie is left with 18-22 clusters per vine, each weighing 70 - 80 grams/cluster depending on the vintage – a testament to the fact that this vineyard produces very small, highly concentrated clusters, and exceptionally dramatic wines.
Jessie Vineyard tends to produce Pinot Noirs that we recognize by a savory aroma that often calls to mind rare-beef. It also tends to have a very fresh and appealing scent of minerality, along with some higher tone lavender—purple flower notes. On the palate, Jessie tends towards a full mouth-feel and a deeper—darker—rounder impression. We find a certain ‘nervosity’ in this wine that describes some part of the tension between the ripe fruit and the structure of the wine.
Louise Vineyard is typically the last single vineyard wine to be released. The wine is more heavily textured, dark-fruited and more concentrated in flavor than any of our other estate Pinot Noir. We often find creamy-mocha latte notes on the bouquet co-mingling with dark red fruits that are reminiscent of fresh mulberries, very ripe blackberries, plums and black cherries along with hints of chocolate. We recognize Louise by a delightful velvet texture and a full and persistent finish.
