Cristom 2021 Pinot Noir, Marjorie Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley

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. At least 50% whole clusters of hand-harvested and hand-sorted fruit 100% native yeast fermentations. The wine is then gently pressed in a pneumatic bladder press and moved to barrel by gravity before undergoing a full malolactic fermentation in the barrel. Finally, it ages for 18 months in Frech Oak, 75% new.

Founder and owner Paul Gerrie has used his skills as an engineer and avid researcher to pursue his passion for wine. On his travels to France, he was introduced to and embraced the traditional growing practices of Burgundy, an approach which his winemaker Steve Doerner also believes in strongly. In 2012, 20 years after founding Cristom, Paul made the decision to retire and pass the reigns to his son Tom. Tom joined the Cristom Vineyards production team full-time in 2007 and in 2012 he began overseeing all aspects of production, both in the winery and in the vineyard. He started transitioning the estate to Biodynamic farming in 2017 and is working hard to lead and build on the foundation of the great winegrowing team his father assembled, and inspire innovation to drive the company forward with a 100-year vision. Today, Cristom embodies this vision of "letting the land make the wines". In fact, the vineyards and winery are now Certified Sustainable by the Oregon LIVE program (Low Input Viticulture and Enology).