Bergström Pinot Noir Cumberland Reserve

WHY WE LOVE IT

  • The Cumberland Reserve is their longest standing label, first created in 2001, and is a blend of their finest Pinot Noir barrels from their Biodynamicaly farmed estate vineyards in the Dunde Hills, Chehalem Mountains, Ribbon Ridge and Yamhill Carlton AVA’s.
  • The Cumberland Reserve is one of their hardest wines to make as it involves 5 months of tasting every single barrel in the cellar multiple times and then figuring out through blending trials how these barrels can come together to best showcase the vintage, the valley, and the Bergstrom style.

Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir

Elaboration: A blend of whole cluster and destemmed fruit fermented and aged for 12 months in 10% new French oak barrels.

Tasting Notes: Dark ruby in color with bright crunchy fresh fruit, earthy intensity, a reductive flintiness, mushroom-laden and an almost Barbaresco-esque aromatic profile with dried herbs, flowers, meat, and pipe tobacco. It has succulent acidity and really fine tannins.

PRESS

2015 – 90 Wine Advocate

2017 – 91 Wine & Spirits | 93 Wine Advocate

2018 – 94 Wine Spectator | 94+ Wine Advocate

PRODUCER BACKGROUND

The Bergström family business traces its roots to John Bergström’s Swedish heritage and the love he developed for the Pacific Northwest. John grew up in a small agricultural and logging village in northern Sweden. As a young teenager, he set out by himself for Oregon, eager to follow the American dream of creating a life better than the one he knew as a child. Ultimately, he became a surgeon, created a successful medical practice and raised five children in his new homeland. After many years, John decided to return to his agricultural roots and pursue his dream of winegrowing, eventually founding Bergström Winery.

In 1999, Josh Bergström, the fourth of five children, returned home to Dundee from a postgraduate program in Viticulture and Enology in the Burgundy region of France. With him, he brought his fiancée Caroline, and the two were married that fall in the Bergström Vineyard. Bergström Wines was also born that fall as the young couple harvested their first vintage of Pinot Noir from high-quality fruit purchased at a neighboring winery. Currently, Josh is general manager, winemaker and vineyard manager at Bergström Wines, and Caroline manages the sales team.

Bergström Wines consists of five estate vineyards totaling 84 acres that span across four of the Willamette Valley’s best appellations: The Bergström Vineyard, Silice Vineyard, Winery Block, Gregory Ranch and Le Pré du Col. Each estate vineyard is farmed without the use of harsh chemicals, systemic or fertilizers.

Print Shelf Talker
Print review Shelf Talker (2017 – 93 Wine Advocate)
Print review Shelf Talker (2019 – 94 Wine Spectator)