The Eyrie Vineyards Fiftieth Anniversary Tasting
Portland Art Museum
Tasted Sunday, February 22, 2015 by subtlet with 783 views
Introduction
On February 22nd, 1965, David Lett began the first plantings of Pinot Noir and other varieties in the Willamette Valley. Exactly fifty years later, we experienced a well curated once-in-a-lifetime tasting of Eyrie wines spanning five decades.
In a large room at the Portland Art Museum, flanked by casts of famous Greek and Roman sculptures, The Eyrie Vineyards team had gathered a large group of fans, friends, and family to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The room was filled with equal parts excitement, awe, and gratitude as Diana and Jason verbally shared parts of their story, and fantastic treasures from the cellar made their own statements in the glass. 
Early in life, David Lett had become captivated by wine. In an old letter, shown during the event, he described the depth of his new commitment to a friend, “… I had discovered the only real thing which would fulfill my life and satisfy my ideals. Thus, to quote you, I ‘turned winewards.’” This turn was deliberate and determined. Much was discussed and shown of the extensive research David had done as a young man. He pored over old French research on grapes and climate, going so far as to hand-copy pages from hard to find texts for later reference. He compiled a personal library of Oregon soil and climate records, using them all to find candidates for his first plantings. The extent of his investigations was impressive, as was his decision to document so much of it. Throughout the afternoon, many sketches and writings were shared from his notebooks, adding a personal touch to the discussion of difficult decisions made fifty years ago.
The full room demonstrated the range of lives touched during the last five decades. In the seats were fellow pioneers, who took similar long-shot chances with planting literal roots in the Willamette Valley. Other seats were filled with club members across generations, a handful held international professional press, and fortunately, a few held some amateur local bloggers. Also present were members of today’s staff, including Javier Garcia. Javier is the vineyard manager who has worked these vines side by side with the Letts for all but the first fifteen vintages. His efforts were represented in all but five of the wines tasted at the event. Let that sink in for a moment: Thirty five years of continuous vine management for the same winery would be a notable career in the established wine regions of the Old World. Given the challenge of growing vines in an un-tested region with no market precedent, it’s another impressive and little known piece of Eyrie’s history.
Thank you to Diana Lett, Jason Lett, Javier Garcia, and everyone at The Eyrie Vineyards for this amazing trip through wine history.
Flight 1 - The 70's (4 Notes)
This flight was a look back into the first years of production for The Eyrie Vineyards. In previous write ups, Dan has addressed the amazing longevity and balance of these old Pinot Noirs, and how remarkable it is that this was achieved by a young and inexperienced wine maker. This event made clear that David Lett was devoted to research and records, and his studies served him very well. This was the first chance that we've had to taste such old white wines, and they were quite remarkable. As far as we know, theirs was the only Pinot Gris growing in the New World during these years. And, if that’s the case, the wine poured at this event represents 2% of the New World's production of Pinot Gris in 1977! It was a different time indeed. The Barrel Reserve Pinot Noirs were specific barrels that David had set aside for extended aging in barrel. This was typically due to more intense tannic structure that he wanted to give more time to develop. Only a single barrel of the 76 Barrel Reserve was created.
Flight 2 - The 80's (4 Notes)
In the 80's, success had begun to materialize. Remarkable blind tasting results in France had brought them to the attention of international press and wine estates. The local community was slowly growing, and attracting interest, and Jason said that a result of this was that his father kept even more wine in the cellar for aging.
Flight 3 - The 90's (4 Notes)
During the 90’s, still under David’s direction, the growth of the winery continued. During these years the dreaded Phylloxera was diagnosed in other Dundee Hills vineyards, but fortunately, The Eyrie stayed free of this parasite through the entirety of the 90s. The provided brochure pointed out an interesting fact. Did you know that 1992 was the hottest in the Eyrie’s history? The grapes for the South Block Reserve that year were harvested on September 5th!
Flight 4 - The 2000's (4 Notes)
The first decade of the new century was a time of transition, and the stories told were full of emotion. The 05 Pinot Noir estate was Jason’s first as the head of Eyrie Vineyards, and he spoke of fear and responsibility as he took over the many complicated tasks and decisions involved in running the winery. David continued to make the South Block Reserve wines, until his last one in 2007. Jason told the story of David considering the pressed juice in 2007, and slowly walking over to pick up a beach ball sized bundle of stems from the destemmer, and adding them to the wine to contribute structure and depth in this challenging year.
Flight 5 - 2012 Single Vineyards (5 Notes)
This flight gave us a taste of the present, and a look toward the future. Of the five single vineyards in the Dundee Hills, only the Daphne and the Original Vines have had their own single vineyard Pinot Noir wines. In 2012 Jason made five single vineyard Pinot Noirs, to showcase the character of each. The labels are all adorned with water color paintings of the vineyard the wine came from.
Flight 6 - The Toast (1 Note)
To wrap up the event, and to toast the future, we were served the Pinot Meunier Rose Brut Nature. This is a blend of Pinot Meunier from 2009 and 2001. Tirage was performed in January of 2013, and disgorged in January of 2015, just before this event.
Closing
No discussion of Eyrie's library wines is complete without a discussion of their re-certification process. It's easy to see that their library wines sell for top dollar. For those in the know, the quality and rarity is certainly there to justify it, and Jason and his crew have undertaken an enormous task to ensure that nobody paying these prices for their library wines gets disappointed by a corked bottle, or one that oxidized more rapidly than the rest. Every single bottle is opened and tested, while being protected from exposure to oxygen. The healthy bottles are blended together, again under gas and the bottles are vigorously cleaned and then re-filled with the blend. This guarantees that all reconditioned bottles contain the same high quality wine, and minimizes the risk of bottle variation between tastings and purchased bottles. The bottles are then sealed with hi-tech DIAM 30 year corks. This is a large and very time consuming undertaking. One member of the staff, Jeremy, personally tasted over 1900 bottles himself leading up to this fiftieth anniversary event! To take it a step further, in the brochure, they published the failure rates of corks for each vintage tested in preparation for this event. It's a fascinating chart, and exposes the amount of heartache they have saved potential buyers of these special wines. A tragic fact is that the entire library of 1981 South Block Reserve was lost to TCA. Only rigorous testing of this nature would have caught this, and prevented lots of disappointment. This is remarkable commitment to quality, and to delivering an experience in line with what discerning wine drinkers expect from Pinot Noir at this price point.
Nobody in attendance can question the aging potential of Oregon Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, or Chardonnay. While this is certainly old news for long time fans of The Eyrie's wines, and expectations were already high for the Pinot Noirs, the quality of the whites was eye opening for both of us, and I expect, many other experienced wine enthusiasts and professionals.
At the beginning of the event, Diana Lett shared a message. She spoke of how many faces in the room had been friends for decades, and had worked so hard on their dreams of wine long before Oregon was hip. She acknowledged the spirit of helpfulness and teamwork that helped the pioneers survive. She expressed hope that everyone present would help to continue the growth of the region, and help today’s new endeavors find the same success the original pioneers found. Her request is worth keeping in mind.
“If you came here after Oregon was hip, you have to pay it forward.”
The Eyrie Vineyards Website
Written mostly by Dan
Photos mostly by Chas
of Wine Is Serious Business
1977 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris Willamette Valley 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
The nose shows some fresh apples, as well as dried apples showing the age of the wine. Scents of orange peel, bananna, and a sherry like aroma are present as well. It's very soft on contact with the palate. Young apple flavors start things out, and a touch of sherry flavor and saline minerality add complexity. Crisp apple textured acidity persists through the experience. The interplay between aged and fresh fruit flavors is quite engaging. A fascinating experience.
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1973 The Eyrie Vineyards Chardonnay 95 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Golden apple aromas are mixed with plenty of oak, drawing you into the glass. Scents of earth and roast ham add some complexity. Nothing here hints at the age of the wine. The fruit on the palate is fresh and engaging. This shows mind blowing youth! On immediate contact, it seems austere, and apple acidity starts a slow build. Crisp bright apple flavors quickly follow, building with the acidity, and gaining weight and ripeness. The oak is a polite companion to the fruit, and never dominant. The acidity lingers refreshingly with a delicate touch while the balanced and captivating flavors slowly fade. This is gorgeous!
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1976 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Barrel Reserve 87 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
The bouquet immediately reminds me of trees in the forest. Hibiscus flower scents mix with some cherries, a touch of some solvent aroma, and some seasoned salt. Cherries and a touch of oak show immediately when tasted. The fruit persists on the palate along with a touch of oak flavor, and a bit of funk. The acidity is fantastic, as I've come to expect in these old wines. Cherry pit flavors linger on the finish, with light cherry juice and acidity. The age shows itself as the mature tannins linger and grip slowly into the gums.
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1972 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 91 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
The nose is engaging and complex. Deep cherry scents are entwined with dried cherries, a touch of oak, and some red tea. The wine is gentle and pure on contact. The duo of dried and ripe cherries show themselves here as well. The age of the wine shows with the dried fruit, and a touch of oak on the mid palate. The acidity is just right, keeping the wine crisp, and settling into the gums on the finish. The red tea, dried cherries, and some oak linger, and the tannins build on the back of the tongue after multiple sips.
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