Expensive wine 96: Eyrie Vineyards Original Vines Pinot Noir 2013

The Eyrie Vineyards Original Vines pinot noir speaks to more than 40 years of Oregon winemaking tradition

Once, wine was about history and tradition, and not descriptors. The story of the wine was what mattered, and not whether it was redolent of graphite and cigar box aromas. It’s the latter that makes the Eyrie Vineyards Original Vines Pinot Noir so special.

The Eyrie Original Vines pinot noir ($80, sample, 13%) is made with grapes from the vines that the late David Lett planted more than 40 years ago when he came to Oregon to grow pinot noir. Lett, who pioneered the grape in Oregon, was considered crazy for doing so – why would anyone leave California for the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest to make wine with a grape that only the French did well?

This wine answers that question. It speaks to Lett’s vision and passion – an elegant and graceful effort that reminds us that wine can be about terroir and the people who make it, and not focus groups, sales charts, and price points. It also shows that winemaker Jason Lett has taken his father’s vision and updated it to the 21^st century

Look for elegance and grace, a wine that can hold its own with any of the world’s best. It has Oregon’s telltale brambly cherry fruit, but so much more – layers and layers of complexity, black pepper interspersed with the fruit, tannins that hang around just long enough but not too long, a memory of oak that is just enough to do the job, and who knows what else going on. It will age well for the next several years at least, and maybe even longer.

Highly recommended, the kind of wine to buy for someone who loves wine and will appreciate the effort and history that went into it.