2016 Cristom Vineyards Viognier Eola Amity Hills Estate 750 ml

Cristom’s Steve Doerner: No American winemaker has worked with Viognier longer. And none does it better.

Cristom’s spectacular, collector-worthy wines are considered to be among the best in Oregon: The winery has landed on Wine & Spirits magazine’s Top 100 Wineries of the Year list five times in the past decade. But Cristom, which has taken home Decanter’s title for “Best New World Red,” quietly produces some of the most exquisitely aromatic white wines on the West Coast, and today, we are proud to offer the 2016 Cristom Viognier Eola Amity Hills Estate. Displaying a bouquet of white peach, pink lady apples, and lemon blossom, and a robe of Old World-style elegance, this is an under-$30 stunner—Oregon’s most revered aromatic white wine, and one that can stand tall against the legendary northern Rhône whites of Yves Cuilleron and Christine Vernay. We have it at the nation’s best price: Get it at $25 a bottle, while it lasts. Shipping included on 5.

Cristom Vineyards founder Paul Gerrie was a pioneer of Viognier in Oregon: When he began planting new vines in 1993, he set aside 1.25 acres for the grape, establishing himself as one of the first in Willamette Valley to do so. And he was so inspired by the success that Calera Wine Company had achieved with Viognier in the Central Coast of California that he hired their winemaker, Steve Doerner, to come north. Doerner had been cultivating Viognier for 14 years when he joined Cristom, and is now the nation’s longest-tenured steward of the grape, having produced it for the entirety of his 40-year career.

On top of Doerner’s prowess, Cristom has the advantage of the Eola Hills’ extraordinary placement: The winery enjoys a maritime climate that alternates warm days with chilly dark nights, which boosts acidity, aromatic delicacy, and freshness in the grapes. Winds from the Pacific sweep in through the Van Duzer Corridor, lengthening the growing season and refreshing berries in the hot summer sun. From day to night, temperatures can vary by as much as 35 degrees due to the altitude, a wide swing that slows ripening, leads to longer hang time, and elevates natural acidity.

Doerner directed the grapes from the low-yielding, concentrated 2016 vintage to be hand-harvested and -sorted, barrel-fermented in neutral oak and stainless steel, and rested nine months on the lees. The result is a gorgeous New World Viognier: Effusively aromatic, broad on the palate, refreshing and balanced. This is a stellar white wine from one of the top craftsmen in Oregon, and at the best price in the country. Don’t miss it.