2021 Bergström Pinot Noir Cumberland Reserve

This is a blend of all five of Bergström's vineyards: Bergström, Silice, La Pré du Col, La Spirale and Winery Block. They have been making this cuvée since 2001 – it is made before any of the single-vineyard wines, with the barrels that most express the character of the Willamette Valley (over the character of the vineyard site). An average of 15% new French oak. Pale ruby in colour. Bright and fresh – red-cherry fruit on the nose with spice and orange-oil aromatics woven in. Elevated acidity on the palate – lithe and linear. Fine, silty tannins. Incredibly elegant and well balanced. Lightweight, complex and long on the finish, with a spice and cedar character and a touch of loamy earthiness. (SCJ)

Medium ruby-purple, the 2021 Pinot Noir Cumberland Reserve offers generous aromas of cranberry sauce, floral potpourri, blood orange and wafts of dried herbs. The medium-bodied palate is youthfully gregarious and focused on generous allspice flavors, although its chalky, tensile frame and long, latent finish suggest this has more to give with additional time in bottle.