Drinking the 2005 Cristom Mt. Jefferson Cuvee Pinot Noir
Before I left for Finland last week, I had the opportunity to try the 2005 Cristom Mt. Jefferson Cuvee Pinot Noir. I have tasted one other Cristom wine before; my notes for that wine are located here.
The 2005 Mt. Jefferson Cuvée release is the cheapest of the bunch from Cristom, but I don’t mean to suggest this wine is “cheap.” Cristom is a fine winemaker to be sure, and even their entry-level Pinot Noir is worth seeking out. But is the wine worth the money? That’s really the question for me. I was happy to see that this particular wine comes in half bottles, should you want less than an entire bottle of wine with dinner. Like me.
We went out to BOKA, a restaurant that is inside a hotel in downtown Seattle. The restaurant itself is pretty fun, with a nice bar area and lots of relatively intimate booth seating sections. We had a booth in the back and, after a moderate wait tempered by a nice margarita, we sat down to dinner. Here are my thoughts on the 2005 Cristom Mt. Jefferson Cuvee Pinot Noir that we shared:
- Aroma: Intensely earthy at first, with slight undertones of fresh black plum and blackberry combined with woody mushrooms. Opened up into a black cherry extravaganza. A very nice bouquet overall.
- Flavor: Lots of vibrant acidity, probably too much which seems likely given how young this wine was when we drank it. Some deep raspberry and black cherry flavors, but these were outweighed by the acidity. Did not deliver on the promise found in the bouquet.
- General impression: Disappointing. Way too acidic to drink yet, and this from a half bottle. This wine needs at least a few years to settle and integrate with the fruit and tannins.
So, what happened here? I think this wine is either too young, or just not quite the type of Pinot Noir vineyard blend that appeals to me. There was way too much acidity, which seems to me to symbolize the lack of appropriate aging. That’s fine: I think this wine just needs a couple more years to even out. Or, it’s just a really acidic wine. The 2004 release contained 13% alcohol and I think the 2005 was similarly light on the alcohol, so perhaps this wine just needed more sugar or the grapes needed more hangtime. Who knows? Clearly it’s too soon yet to drink the 2005 Mt. Jefferson release.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I also have not liked Cristom wines so much when they’re young. Too big and brawny for me, although the 04 Jefferson was actually kind of nice I thought. I had the chance to taste the 96 Jefferson the other night at my pop in-law’s and it was really really good.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:54 am
i also am not a huge fan of Cristom wines when they’re young (although i liked the 04 Jefferson as a young wine). Too brawny for me. I tasted the 96 Jefferson the oher night at my fatjher in-law’s and it was really impressive, much improved with age.
April 30th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Hey, a fellow New Yorker! Sweet. Yeah, Cristom wines seem built to age a bit, although this particular bottle wasn’t that great. It didn’t seem like it had any potential, so perhaps the half bottles aren’t the ones to try. If you have any 1996 Cristom you’d like to donate for my consideration, I can give you a mailing address…*)
April 30th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Sorry about the double comment above. I didn’t think it registered the first time.
I need the donation myself - it was my father in-law who cracked the bottle. I wrote a little something about it here:
http://brooklynguyloveswine.blogspot.com/
I thought you lived in Seattle - did you come up in NY?
May 1st, 2007 at 12:17 am
I do live in Seattle but I was born in NYC…St. Vincent’s, to be really precise. But I moved away when I was quite young; I went back a few times each year to see family, etc. So I feel like I have a lot of New York influence in me…*)