Great lil lineup to celebrate a friend’s elopement
Great lil lineup to celebrate a friend’s elopement
by sid_loves_wine
6 Comments
sid_loves_wine
Cristom, Seven Springs Vnyd Chardonnay (Eola-Amity Hills, OR) 2022- Incredibly shy, borderline closed right now (especially compared to the “regular” ’22 Eola-Amity Hills cuveé we tried at the tasting room)- yet there’s some beautiful complexity lurking, with slightly toasty graham cracker tones, vibrant saline minerality, and some citrus oil to give it brightness. Sort of toes the line between a mineral/flinty style and a fuller, grainy barrel-fermented richness, right in the middle. Beautiful dense texture with plenty of acidic cut. Extremely reticent on the nose but it’s obvious this will be a gorgeous and complex chard with several years to unwind, and I get the sense it could age for quite a while. Of the 3 wines, this one definitely felt like it NEEDED to age longer compared to the others.
Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills (OR) 2023- Beautiful and engaging with earthy, leafy strawberry perfume, silky tannins, and nice bright acidity. It’s definitely on the shy side right now at this early stage also, and kind of *mostly* primary but you can definitely get a sense of the interesting herbal/stony mineral nuance that’ll emerge (with greater expressivity) before too long. This is their entry-level PN and it’s incredible value for $30-ish. Delicate and pristine.
Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley Cuvée) 2019- my second time trying the “second wine” by Dunn, after a killer experience with the 2018. Just like that one, this is really very similar in profe to the incredible Howell Mountain version, just smaller-scaled. And yes, of course it was a bit shy (kind of triple infanticide with this lineup), it definitely wasn’t closed. I’d say this was a bit “deeper” and darker fruit-wise than the ’18, less complex/earthy, but a bit fuller. Really precise and beautiful blackberry crumble on the nose, the perfect combination of ripeness, freshness, and multifaceted oak spices; pure allspice notes mingle with subtle cedarwood cabin and ripe, juicy woodland blackberries at the peak of the season. It’s not really a super-expressive nose yet but it’s very alluring and will definitely continue to blossom with time. Palate follows the nose nearly exactly, very harmonious. Deep blackened fruit and dark chocolate, with a surprising elegance and freshness. Tannins are certainly powerful but not coarse (just powdery); acidity feels vibrant without feeling out-of-place or puckery. Total beauty, she just wants a short cellar nap.
MetalStacker
Cristom Pinots have always been great! But ever since they acquired the new winemaker that was under Ted Lemon at Littorai, I feel their Chardonnays have increased in quality.
The Cristom is truly outstanding. A riper chablis with world class mineral texture but it definitely needs hours to open up and I’ve got several I’m excited to age awhile
Oldpenguinhunter
3 for 3, amazing producers and wines. Arterberry’s stuff is magic!
6 Comments
Cristom, Seven Springs Vnyd Chardonnay (Eola-Amity Hills, OR) 2022- Incredibly shy, borderline closed right now (especially compared to the “regular” ’22 Eola-Amity Hills cuveé we tried at the tasting room)- yet there’s some beautiful complexity lurking, with slightly toasty graham cracker tones, vibrant saline minerality, and some citrus oil to give it brightness. Sort of toes the line between a mineral/flinty style and a fuller, grainy barrel-fermented richness, right in the middle. Beautiful dense texture with plenty of acidic cut. Extremely reticent on the nose but it’s obvious this will be a gorgeous and complex chard with several years to unwind, and I get the sense it could age for quite a while. Of the 3 wines, this one definitely felt like it NEEDED to age longer compared to the others.
Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills (OR) 2023- Beautiful and engaging with earthy, leafy strawberry perfume, silky tannins, and nice bright acidity. It’s definitely on the shy side right now at this early stage also, and kind of *mostly* primary but you can definitely get a sense of the interesting herbal/stony mineral nuance that’ll emerge (with greater expressivity) before too long. This is their entry-level PN and it’s incredible value for $30-ish. Delicate and pristine.
Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley Cuvée) 2019- my second time trying the “second wine” by Dunn, after a killer experience with the 2018. Just like that one, this is really very similar in profe to the incredible Howell Mountain version, just smaller-scaled. And yes, of course it was a bit shy (kind of triple infanticide with this lineup), it definitely wasn’t closed. I’d say this was a bit “deeper” and darker fruit-wise than the ’18, less complex/earthy, but a bit fuller. Really precise and beautiful blackberry crumble on the nose, the perfect combination of ripeness, freshness, and multifaceted oak spices; pure allspice notes mingle with subtle cedarwood cabin and ripe, juicy woodland blackberries at the peak of the season. It’s not really a super-expressive nose yet but it’s very alluring and will definitely continue to blossom with time.
Palate follows the nose nearly exactly, very harmonious. Deep blackened fruit and dark chocolate, with a surprising elegance and freshness. Tannins are certainly powerful but not coarse (just powdery); acidity feels vibrant without feeling out-of-place or puckery. Total beauty, she just wants a short cellar nap.
Cristom Pinots have always been great! But ever since they acquired the new winemaker that was under Ted Lemon at Littorai, I feel their Chardonnays have increased in quality.
Title makes me think of this [banger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVo9CeuS9lY&pp=ygUTc2xlYWZvcmQgbW9kcyBlbG9wZQ%3D%3D)
The Cristom is truly outstanding. A riper chablis with world class mineral texture but it definitely needs hours to open up and I’ve got several I’m excited to age awhile
3 for 3, amazing producers and wines. Arterberry’s stuff is magic!
I love that Artberry