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The Eyrie Vineyards, “Three Barrel Cuvée” Pinot Noir

Oregon, United States 2016 (750mL)
$42.00
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The Eyrie Vineyards, “Three Barrel Cuvée” Pinot Noir

A little over a year ago, the SommSelect team barnstormed Oregon’s Willamette Valley on a tasting (and buying) trip. Of course, no such visit would be complete without a stop at Eyrie: This is the home of Willamette Valley’s first Pinot Noir vineyards and is still the region’s much-loved benchmark.
Winemaker Jason Lett, son of the late, legendary David, led us through a fascinating barrel tasting of his 2016s, which led to an intrepid proposal from us: Would he consider doing a special bottling for SommSelect subscribers? Well, not only did he say yes, he did us one better—he offered my colleague David Lynch and I the opportunity to create the blend ourselves! Like kids in a candy store, we selected lots from different Eyrie estate vineyards and clones, then fiddled with the proportions of each to come up with a wine we think epitomizes Willamette Valley finesse and fragrance. How gracious (and confident!) of him, after an entire season’s work, to allow us to take the reins for the final blend of this wine. It’s a little like your dad catching a fish and letting you reel it in, but we’re thrilled with how our “Three Barrel Cuvée” turned out—and proud to share it with you today. This is a one-time offer, and there’s not much of it (i.e. three barrels’ worth), so now’s your chance to get some before we drink it all!
Given our longtime love of Eyrie’s wines, their story should be familiar: David Lett effectively created a whole new category of fine wine when he planted Pinot Noir in Oregon’s Willamette Valley in 1965; since then, this region has been recognized as one of the world’s greatest terroirs for the grape, and as we’ve noted repeatedly, its wines remain exceptional values. Since David Lett’s passing in 2008, son Jason has carried on the family legacy with humor, humility, and, most important of all, the “light touch” he ascribes to the Pinot Noirs crafted by his father. Eyrie wines are bright, high-toned, and typically incorporate very little new oak for aging—their hallmarks are purity and precision.

Lett’s vineyard holdings span some 60 acres across five distinct sites, all of them in the Dundee Hills subzone of the Willamette Valley. Rooted in mostly volcanic basalt soils and now certified organic, these vineyards—including the original, 20-acre parcel so named for an “eyrie” (“nest”) of red-tailed hawks that still lives at the site—contain a multitude of different Pinot Noir clones, as Pinot Noir-growing in Oregon (and anywhere else, for that matter) is an ongoing quest for the “right” clone in the right place. Like all vitis vinifera grapes, Pinot Noir vines have a tendency to mutate; the best-performing of these mutations are propagated and given a name or a number, such as “Pommard” or “Dijon,” and then vintners go about searching for the right plant material for their situation.

Today’s Three Barrel Cuvée contains wines from three different clones planted in two different vineyards. From the “Sister’s Vineyard,” a lower-elevation site planted in 1990 that features a mix of sedimentary and volcanic soils, we chose two barrels—one from vines of the Wädenswil clone, the other from the Pommard clone. Our third barrel came from the original Eyrie Vineyard, from a clone called Pinot Droit; upon seeing our choice, Jason raised an eyebrow, as Droit is the “least fashionable” of Oregon’s commercial Pinot Noir clones. It was originally classified by UC Davis as “Beaujolais,” leading David Lett to believe he was planting Gamay way back when—only to discover later that it was indeed Pinot Noir. It is a later-ripening clone and only successful in hotter years such as 2016, according to Jason, and I’ve got to say it was very successful here: We loved the floral aromatics and delicacy it brought to the blend.

Much like the 2015 we offered from Eyrie earlier this year, this 2016 hardly tastes like the product of a hot vintage (Jason did note that while the summer was indeed quite hot, things cooled off nicely come September). In the glass, it’s a translucent ruby moving to magenta and pink at the rim, and it announces itself immediately after the bottle is opened with aromas of black cherry, wild strawberry, black tea, sandalwood, underbrush, and damp violets. Medium-bodied and lushly textured, it’s a wine to drink now and over the next few years. It doesn’t need lots of aeration, simply pull the cork about 15 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees. Since this wine arrived in our warehouse, I’ve snatched a few bottles to share with friends, and its energy and fruit-forward personality makes we want to cook coq au vin—especially as the weather gets cooler. Attached is a high-impact recipe that’s sure to impress. Enjoy!
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Country
United States
Region
Oregon
Sub-Region
United StatesDundee Hills
Soil
Basalt
Farming
Certified Organic
Blend
Pinot Noir 100%
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
Mostly Used French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Coq au Vin

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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