J.C. Somers Abbey Ridge Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 2022

This young wine has great grip and concentration, with a mid-palate that is absolutely bursting with cherry fruit. One quarter of the barrels were new with medium to light toast, adding a proportionate frame of butterscotch around the core fruit. The richness is immediately obvious, and the layering suggests more development through the finish over time. I’d hold off a bit and drink this starting in the back half of the ‘20s.

I have worked with this vineyard since 93 (with Adelsheim) 94 to 99 (with Cameron) and with my own production since 2001.

We think it is one of the greatest vineyards of the Willamette. It always makes very elegant yet powerful wines, my job is not to screw it up.

The Willamette Valley had a typical start with bud break in early April followed by a hard frost soon after. We lost several of the primary buds in the warmer sites however the secondary shoots developed nicely giving us a a small but high quality crop. The Season continued to be cool and we began harvesting in October under ideal conditions. The resulting wine have balance and elegance allowing me to do great work. For me it is the best vintage since the great 2019 vintage.

20 months in barrel, native fermentation, both primary and malolactic. 25% new medium to light toast barrels (Gillet and Rousseau).

J.C. Somers is the collaboration between Jay Christopher Somers and his longtime part-ner and wife Ronda Newell-Somers. The label displays the New Moon which signifies a new phase in their winemaking adventures.

Owner and native Oregonian Jay Somers has been making wine in the Willamette Valley for more than 30 years, and established the J. Christopher brand in 1996. Working with great winemakers like his mentor John Paul of Cameron Winery and time spent at Ad-elsheim and Dry River in New Zealand Jay’s wines are hand-crafted in small lots and are sourced from some of the best vineyards in the Willamette Valley. The philosophy at J.C, Somers is to produce wines in an Old World style that emphasizes focus, length and Balance. As Jay puts it, “We do not make fruit bombs. We want wines that have a fine bal-ance of fruit, acidity and texture. We want wines that give you more than just a big mid-palate blast — wines that are complete.” The key to this, Jay firmly believes, is patient winemaking — it is vital not to rush things and allow the wines to develop naturally. The wines should evolve at their own pace, with a minimum of intervention. He is taking in-spiration from wines of the Old World and applying it to the terroir of the Willamette Val-ley. When Jay is not busy making wine he is usually playing guitar and composing new music for his band Portland Cement, check out their new album "The Road to El Groove" on your favorite streaming app.