After a 5 year hiatus, winemaker Jason Lett is once again releasing a Pinot noir from Eyrie’s most storied patch of ground – the South Block.
Planted in 1968, the South Block occupies a small corner of the first vines planted at Eyrie – a mere 10 rows of Pinot noir. As Jason’s father, Eyrie founder David Lett discovered, these ten rows came to express a magical spot on Oregon’s Dundee Hills – a place where 6 different soil types converge. The unique presence of the wine so captivated David that he first bottled it as a single block selection in 1975.
Placing in the top ranks of back-to-back French competitions in 1979 and 1980, The Eyrie Vineyards’ 1975 South Block Reserve Pinot noir further revealed its merit. It was the first American Pinot noir to stand shoulder to shoulder with some of Burgundy’s best vintages in competition. Not only did the results bring acclaim to The Eyrie Vineyards – it showed Oregon’s potential as a wine-producing region to the world.
David continued to craft his South Block Reserve for four decades. When Jason assumed winemaking duties from his ailing father in 2005, he requested that David continue to make the South Block. 2007 was David’s last vintage. Following his father’s passing, Jason decided to stop making new South Block wines in tribute to his father.
The original vines planted at Eyrie continue to produce stunning wines. Unfortunately, time has also brought the progression of phylloxera in the vineyard, a tiny blight that over the last two centuries has been causing devastation worldwide by attacking the roots of ungrafted grape vines. Seeing the slow demise of the South Block, Jason has chosen to make the most of the limited time this treasure has left. The best tribute to this unique site is the wine it creates.
Jason Lett and The Eyrie Vineyards are proud to reintroduce the bottling with the 2013 South Block Reserve Pinot noir.
The desire to stay true to place and limit our impact on nature educates Eyrie’s viticulture and wine-making practices. Insecticides, herbicides, and systemic chemicals are never used in the vineyards. In the winery, we refrain from unnecessarily manipulating the wines during their fermentation and maturation, allowing them to reflect the vintage. Eyrie’s attentive vineyard practices focus on rigorous training of the vines and on picking at the optimal time.
Globally, 2014 was one of the hottest years of the last century. Oregon
followed this trend towards warmer temperatures. Fortunately rainfall
was above normal in the spring and fall, so vines didn’t experience
drought stress. Summer temperatures were consistently warm, but without
any days of extreme heat.
Picking commenced on September 23rd,
making it our third earliest harvest ever. Ripeness was a fast-moving
target. We had to pick quickly in order to preserve the natural acidity
of the grapes. A year like 2014 offers easy fruit aromas and flavors.
The wines have the density and opulence to reflect the vintage but kept
their poise in the process.
