When I first smelled this wine it evoked memories of serious red Burgundy. Upon learning it was from Evening Land, in Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills, I can’t say I was surprised: First started up in 2005 by world-famous Burgundian Dominique Lafon (Domaine des Comtes Lafon), the name “Evening Land” was inspired by an alluring paradise in the last chapter of Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey.”
Lafon’s American odyssey led him to one of Willamette Valley’s best sites—Seven Springs Vineyard—a Pinot Noir sanctuary shared by a slew of top producers, including Adelsheim, Domaine Drouhin, Cristom, Evesham Wood, and Penner-Ash. But 2014 marked two major events: the 30th anniversary of the Seven Springs Vineyard and the first year that Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman became its joint owners (Lafon has since moved on to other projects). Parr, one of the best-known sommeliers in the world, and Moorman, the Santa Barbara-based winemaker, have collaborated on several high-profile California projects, including Domaine de la Côte and Sandhi. Adding Evening Land amounts to an embarrassment of Pinot Noir riches, and they haven’t squandered the opportunity: This 2014 bottling from Seven Springs is a home run, a reference-point wine in the ever-more-impressive Willamette Valley. Raj Parr himself had this to say about the site: “It is a privilege for Sashi and me to be gatekeepers for such an historic estate. Our goal is to make the Seven Springs Estate an even better place than how we found it.”
Stepping into vineyard territory in Western Oregon is a massive leap into the ancient past. For 35 million years, the land here served as the placemat for the Pacific Ocean. When the land finally came up for air, its soils were rich in volcanic and marine sediment. In the past few decades, winemaking has erupted here, giving birth to Willamette Valley and sub-appellations with distinctive terroirs, like the iron-rich, volcanic Jory soils of Eola-Amity Hills. Within this sub-AVA, you’ll find the sun-soaked, east-facing vineyard of Seven Springs, which has been farmed biodynamically for the past decade (it is certified by LIVE, an organization that oversees environmental and responsible winegrowing). Moreover, Seven Springs has been “dry-farmed”—i.e. not irrigated—since the beginning, which is always a roll of the dice. The water stress the vines experience helps limit vigor and infuse a smaller crop of grapes with greater concentration.
The Eola-Amity Hills also sit in the Van Duzer Corridor, a natural break in Oregon’s Pacific Range which shuttles a constant stream of cool air like a bullet train throughout the summer. This lengthens the growing season and helps preserve the all-important acidity that distinguishes great, age-worthy Pinot Noir. This, combined with some significant vine age, really distinguishes Seven Springs: As mentioned, the 2014 vintage marked the 30th anniversary of the site’s original plantings of Pinot Noir clones that originated in Pommard and Switzerland. Only the vineyard blocks from 1984 were used for this bottling. Everything was painstakingly harvested and sorted by hand. Approximately 25% of the picked fruit was not destemmed, which helps contribute to that classic Burgundy style I salivate over. A gentle punch-down regimen was implemented during the entirety of its fermentation and the juice was rested in 30% new French oak for 16 months. Not too much, not too little. When it came time for bottling in 2016, they eschewed fining and filtration. This is precise winemaking without masking the wine’s true character with full-blown oak or over-purification.
In the glass, the 2014 Seven Springs shows a dark ruby core with slight pink, roseate reflections on the rim. On the nose, it displays both density and lift: The fruit core reveals black cherry, black plum, wild strawberry, over which notes of dried leaves, underbrush, leather, wild lavender, sage, and dried mushroom. There’s a savory, ‘umami’ component that takes you into a lingering and deeply satisfying finish, which is perfectly balanced between fruit and savory notes. This wine should be treated like a great Red Premier Cru Burgundy. It’s a pure joy to drink right now, but it does indeed have a lengthy life ahead. In 3-5 years it will be blazing, in 10-15, a crackling bonfire that burns through the night and into the morning—alive and well, but tamed and calm. This is a top buy for those building up their cellar because you won’t be doing the wine justice if not tasting at the various stages of its life. So while you’re waiting on those to mature, pop a few now by decanting for 30 minutes and drinking at 60 degrees in large Burgundy stems. I just can’t think of a more perfect combination than duck confit cassoulet. Sometimes you just can’t beat one of the great French classics. Enjoy!
