The Eyrie Vineyard is home to the original Pinot Noir vines planted in the Willamette Valley by Eyrie founder David Lett back in 1965. It is also home to the hawks that inspired the name of the estate—an eyrie is a bird of prey’s nest—and that grace the label of each wine. The seven-acre site is home to three clones (Wadenswil, Pommard and Upright) of own-rooted Pinot Noir vines, planted between 1965 and 1974. The sloping site faces south, rolling east to west and rising to 125 metres at its highest point. Like the other sites in the Eyrie stable, this vineyard is farmed organically and regeneratively to ensure a healthy network of soil organisms to support the wizened vines.
The Eyrie Pinot Noir is one of five identically produced wines from Eyrie’s vineyards. The collection represents a fascinating journey from 67 metres (Sisters Vineyard) to 260 metres’ (Daphne Vineyard) elevation in the Dundee hills, viewed through the Eyrie lens. Jason Lett describes the 2019 autumn as one of the most Burgundian he has ever seen in the Valley, meaning the rain and cooler days that usually occur in the winter arrived earlier and were more evenly spread. It was a moderate season with good acid retention across the board, something Eyrie values deeply. Handpicked fruit was destemmed and fermented naturally in small open-top, 11-hectolitre fermenters. Ferments were hand-plunged twice daily before being lightly pressed and aged in primarily old oak (12% new) barrique and foudre for 23 months.