This vintage is highly aromatic, with dense layers of lime, pea shoots, and white strawberry, finishing with a spicy uplift. The texture is round and full. The forepalate is dominated by ripe lychee and passionfruit that hint at sweetness - although the wine is absolutely dry. Flavors of dried sea grass, kiwi, and currants fill out the rich and very long finish. Complex, precise, and substantial, this latest release form Eyrie continues to define the best of Oregon Pinot gris.
Eyrie pioneered the variety in the New World and the New World’s oldest vines contribute to this cuvée. For the 2015 vintage, we incorporated some fruit from an adjoining vineyard farmed by longtime friends, which is roughly the same age and is farmed with the same organic standards as Eyrie’s certified vineyards.
We take a slow approach—our Pinot gris ages 3-4 times longer than most commercial versions, on its natural yeast lees and in the company of full malolactic. The result is textural suppleness to complement the acidity, and a surprising ability to age. (Recent tastings of 1977, 1983, 1989, and 1991 all showed continue to show amazing freshness.)
