Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017 - 40

Jay Somers

King Estate
After 25 vintages, the King family remains the country's preeminent producer
of pinot gris.

J. Christopher

TOP 100 WINERIES 2017

J. Christopher is the vision of Jay Somers, who's been making focused,
reserved wines in the Willamette Valley for 20 years, aided recently by a new
partner, Mosel legend Ernst Loosen.
A New Perspective: J. Christopher typically draws from at least three
of Oregon's sub-AVAs every vintage, and sometimes more. The house
style, and perhaps Somers himself, are sometimes quiet enough to be
overlooked. Indeed, their quietude is what attracted Ernst Loosen, of
Dr. Loosen in Germany's Mosel. Loosen, who was already working
on the Eroica riesling project in Washington and made regular trips
to the Pacific Northwest, was introduced to Somers by their mutual
friend Kirk Wille, and they hit it off so well that by 2010 Loosen
agreed to come on as partner, investor, blending consultant and
cheerleader.
Subtle Pinot: Somers has garnered long-term contracts in the Dundee
Hills and Chehalem Mountains, and in the Eola-Amity Hills. He
makes interpretive appellation wines and a number of single-vineyard bottlings, but lately his focus has been on Appassionata Vineyard, a new estate site on a steep volcanic south-facing slope in the
Chehalem Mountains that he planted in 2010. His first harvest from
the site was 2014, 50 cases of a beautiful, autumnal pinot noir that
expresses the warmth of the vintage in its subtle, velvety texture.
Restrained Exuberance: J. Christopher's 2014 pinot noirs represent a
modest departure for Somers, thanks to the vintage's irrepressible,
sunny warmth, which he channeled into wines of generosity and
exceptional balance. Those characteristics are especially on display in
the Dundee Hills wines from Abbey Ridge Vineyard, one of the oldest vineyards in the Hills, and, at 700 feet, one of the highest. Both
Sandra Adele as well as his vineyard designate feel sunny and vibrant,
with radial energy coursing through them, tethered by the grip of
Dundee's red dirt hills. -P.J.C.

DETAILS & TOP WINES
Founded: 1996 * Winemaker/viticulturalist: Jay Somers
Owners: Jay Somers, Ernst Loosen * Acres owned: 22
Annual production: 10,000 cases * Estate grown: 45%
Location: Newberg, OR * Website: jchristopherwines.com
93 2014 Dundee Hills Sandra Adele
Pinot Noir $50 (6/17)
93 2014 Dundee Hills Abbey Ridge
Vineyard Pinot Noir $60 (6/17)
92 2014 Chehalem Mountains Estate
Appassionata Vineyard Pinot Noir $60 (6/17)

W ILLAMETTE V ALLEY
40

WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2018

Willamette Stewards: Twenty-five years ago, Ed King, Jr., and his son
Ed III founded a brand built largely on the hunch that pinot gris was
a variety waiting to catch fire. They established a 1,000-acre estate
on the southern edge of the Willamette Valley, a good hundred miles
from McMinnville, its heart, and planted about half to pinots noir
and gris. As part of their commitment to their region, they converted
to organic viticulture more than 15 years ago; in 2016, the estate
became the largest Demeter-certified biodynamic vineyard in the
country. Viticulturist Ray Nuclo has been largely responsible for this
last effort, and aims to make the entire estate self-sustaining; for him,
that includes producing all of their own biodynamic preparations to
apply to the vines.
Southern Vineyard Character: King has always drawn from vineyards
across the Willamette Valley as it established a level of production
that would allow nationwide distribution of Oregon pinot gris. Many
of these-like Antiquum, Croft and Johnson School-are in otherwise unknown pockets of the southern Willamette Valley. And there's
Pfeiffer, a cool vineyard west of Eugene that reaches as high as 700
feet in elevation, which King has drawn from since 1992. In 2015, it
put out an earthy, umami-laden pinot gris with a bright, lemony top note-a serious gris deserving of decanting
before dinner. That same vineyard also contributed
fruit to the 2015 Unity, a blend with estate fruit
that's both plump and crisp, saline and apple-y.
Kings of Pinot Gris: King's home vineyard
seems to be an especially good place for
pinot gris: At 800 to 1,000 feet in altitude,
it's higher than most in Oregon, and closer
to the ocean than the sub-AVAs to the
north. The team also harvests the gris in the
early morning and ferments the juice on the
Brent Stone
cool side in steel tanks to preserve freshness
and aromatics. As a result, retaining acidity in
the wines is not a problem, even in warm vintages.
In 2015-warm until September, when things cooled
demonstrably-the vineyard delivered an exceptional gris.
Left on its lees for seven months, the wine possesses amplitude without overripeness, with a splendid tension between brisk citrus and apple fruit and the wheaty savor of extended lees
contact-nervy, complex and satisfying. -P.J.C.

DETAILS & TOP WINES
Founded: 1991 * Winemaker: Brent Stone * Viticulturist:
Ray Nuclo * Owner: The King family * Acres owned: 1,033
Annual production: 350,000 cases * Estate grown: 40%
Location: Eugene, OR * Website: kingestate.com
93 2015 Willamette Valley Domaine Pinot Gris $29 (8/17)
90 2015 Willamette Valley Pfeiffer Vineyards
Pinot Gris $24 (8/17)
90 2015 Willamette Valley Unity Pinot Gris $24 (8/17)

O REGON

http://www.jchristopherwines.com http://www.kingestate.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017