One of the better kept secrets of the wine world are the pinot noirs from Oregon. Well, they are not a total secret – connoisseurs and aficionados have been discovering these gems for a couple of decades now, but compared to the celebrity status of the chardonnays and cabs from its larger and more glamorous neighbor to the south, California, they are still pretty much flying under the radar.

Partially this results from the extremely low level of production – more European than Californian – with many producers not even bothering with traditional distribution channels being content to sell their few thousand cases to their enthusiastic mailing list customers and a handful of restaurants in Portland and Seattle.

Thankfully Cristom in the Willamette Valley function on a somewhat larger scale because their pinots are among the very best around so it’s good to be able to actually find them on wine shop shelves.

Steve Doerner

Many Oregon producers define themselves, accurately if somewhat defensively I feel, as the the non-Californians, and Steve Doerner epitomizes this attitude. He made wine in California for 14 years before moving to Oregon in 1992 as Cristom’s first winemaker in search of the opportunity to produce pinot noir in a cooler climate and on a smaller scale. He practices hands-off, old-world winemaking, employing limited use of new oak and, as he enthusiastically points out, especially important is whole cluster pressing, a practice that gives the wines structure and backbone, what he calls “nervocity.”

This all results in wines that are more elegant and restrained, and in style fall somewhere between California’s blowsy opulence and Burgundy’s intellectual, slow-maturing wines.

This is especially true of Cristom’s entry level Mt. Jefferson Cuvée 2006 ($30). A beautiful balance of fresh, lively fruit, bouncy tannins and real minerality all integrated into a fine classy wine for grownup tastes.

It shows a remarkable complexity and great texture for a pinot at this price. As Doerner told me it “has a more European kinda style to it. New world pinots are normally so fruit driven but in this one the fruit’s restrained and other things are coming through, the minerality and texture. You can taste the earth.”

Yes please!