Eyrie Vineyards

The story

Pinot Noir Against Burgundy

In 1980, the Letts' Pinot noir became the first American example to compete successfully with the renowned wines of Burgundy. The result earned a little fame for Oregon. David Lett had moved to the state after studying viticulture and enology at UC Davis, and his early planting work included Pinot noir and Chardonnay, along with the first Pinot gris commercially planted outside Europe. The 1980 Pinot noir placed those varieties and the Dundee Hills estate inside Oregon's wine history.

From the atlas

Eyrie Vineyards

The Eyrie Vineyards farms organic estate vineyards in Oregon's Red Hills of Dundee and makes Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Chardonnay, and limited bottlings from other cool climate varieties.

At A Glance

The Producer

The Eyrie Vineyards is a family estate in Oregon's Red Hills of Dundee, founded by David and Diana Lett in 1966. All wines are estate grown and produced. The range includes Pinot noir, Pinot gris, and Chardonnay, with limited bottlings of Pinot blanc, Pinot Meunier, and Muscat Ottonel.

David Lett's early plantings included the first Pinot noir and Chardonnay in the Willamette Valley, along with the first Pinot gris commercially planted outside Europe. Jason Lett became Eyrie's winemaker and vineyard manager in 2005, continuing the family connection between vineyard work and winemaking.

Place

The Red Hills of Dundee are part of Oregon's Willamette Valley, where the original Eyrie estate was established in the Dundee Hills. The Estate Pinot noir and The Eyrie Chardonnay carry the Willamette Valley appellation, linking the bottles to the wider valley while the producer's home site remains the Dundee Hills.

The original site faces south. Its slope was selected partly because it allows damaging spring frosts to drain away from the vines.

Soil And Site

The vineyards stand in red volcanic soil on a sloped Dundee Hills site. A slope can move cold air away from vines during spring frost, protecting new growth from freezing conditions.

The vineyards have never used herbicides, pesticides, tillage, or irrigation. Water is not added through irrigation, and the soil is worked through hand farming and the natural conditions of the site.

Story

Jason Lett became Eyrie's winemaker and vineyard manager in 2005, taking responsibility for both the vines and the cellar. The current wines come from an estate where those two roles remain joined under one family name.

Eyrie's cellar uses natural, slow fermentations, native yeasts for reds, skin contact for whites, and full natural malolactic fermentation. The succession therefore sits alongside a defined set of cellar practices, with red and white wines handled through different fermentation choices.

Vineyards And Cellar

All five Eyrie estate vineyards are certified organic. The vineyards have never received herbicides, pesticides, tillage, or irrigation. Jason Lett and his crew visit approximately 50,000 vines 12 to 15 times each year, with work from pruning through harvest performed by hand.

Fermentations proceed naturally and slowly. Reds use native yeasts, whites receive skin contact, and malolactic fermentation is allowed to proceed fully and naturally. The wines receive minimal racking, extended lees contact, no fining, and minimal filtration. Lees are the yeast sediment left after fermentation, and extended contact can add texture to a wine.

New oak is used sparingly, with only one barrel in every 25 receiving new oak. Depending on the vintage, Pinot noir may ferment with up to 5% whole clusters, leaving some stems with the grapes during fermentation and allowing stems to contribute perfume, spice, and tannin.

Wines

The portfolio includes Estate Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Chardonnay, and limited bottlings of Pinot blanc, Pinot Meunier, and Muscat Ottonel. Estate Pinot noir is a red wine from the Willamette Valley. The Eyrie Chardonnay is a white wine from the same appellation.

All wines are estate grown and produced. The range therefore moves through several grape varieties while remaining tied to the estate vineyards and the Dundee Hills home site.

In The Glass

Estate Pinot noir opens with dried roses, strawberries, wild berries, and herbs, followed by saline minerality. Its palate carries berry, earth, and spice in a light body with concentration, vibrant acidity, and softly astringent tannins. Grippy tannins continue through a spicy finish.

A Bottle To Understand It

Open the 2021 Estate Pinot noir first. It is the red Willamette Valley wine in the range, made from estate grown Pinot noir and marked by a single vintage and appellation.

Delicate cherry and cranberry meet green tea and dusky spices, ending in refined tannins. The bottle puts Eyrie's red wine, Oregon appellation, and Pinot noir grape into one clearly defined wine before the range moves to Chardonnay and the limited bottlings.

Anecdote

On February 22, 1965, David Lett planted his first Willamette Valley vines. He had moved to Oregon after earning a degree in viticulture and enology from UC Davis. The planting established the first vines of a project that would become The Eyrie Vineyards, and it placed Pinot noir and other cool climate varieties at the centre of Lett's work in Oregon.

Final Word

The Eyrie Vineyards is a Dundee Hills family estate where Pinot noir, organic vineyard work, estate grown production, and slow natural fermentation remain closely connected.

Sources

1. https://eyrievineyards.com/ 2. https://eyrievineyards.com/envisioning.shtml 3. https://eyrievineyards.com/grapegrowing.shtml 4. https://eyrievineyards.com/winemaking.shtml 5. https://oregonwinehistoryarchive.org/regions/willamette-valley/the-eyrie-vineyards-collection/ 6. https://www.polanerselections.com/producers/eyrie-vineyards/ 7. https://www.saratogawine.com/product/eyrie-pinot-noir-estate-2021-750ml/