2012 Eyrie Vineyards “Original Vines” Pinot Noir Reserve, Willamette Valley, Oregon ($80)
I was in Oregon last week, paying my first visit in, oh, 15 years or so! I was an early advocate of Oregon Pinot (say, around 1980), but got somewhat disheartened as the 80s and 90s wore on…because the style seemed to be changing from Burgundian to Californian (to richer and hotter). So, just before New Year, I visited two of my early heroes, to see what was up. I had a great talk with Oregon legend David Adlesheim, at Adelsheim, about the ups-and-downs of style in Oregon. He agreed that Pinot-makers started going over the top in the 90s, making richer, higher-alcohol wines…but argued strongly that the pendulum swung again, 5-6 years ago, and elegance is back (he cited the back-and-forth path of Beaux Frères as an example). His own 2011s were vivid testimony to Oregon elegance. But one winery that never swerved off the path of elegance…in fact, the winery that made the first Oregon Pinots in the 1960s, elegant then and elegant now!—is Eyrie Vineyards, based in the town of McMinnville. I visited with Jason Lett, whose dad David had started it all, and tasted enough wine to know that elegance still rules the roost at Eyrie. This Pinot—made from vines planted between 1965 and 1970!—is a lightish ruby garnet in the glass, with a gorgeous gathering on the nose of cold-weather red berries, chocolate, and a bit o’ funk. Lovely delicacy on the palate, with a long, soft but lively finish stuffed with subtlety.
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I’d be hard pressed to think of a better roast chicken wine in the world!
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