The Eyrie Vineyards, Pinot Meunier 2018

Eyrie Vineyards are Oregon’s original Pinot pioneers. Founded in 1965 by David and Diana Lett, who arrived in the Willamette Valley with the bold idea that this cool, relatively unknown corner of Oregon could produce world class Pinot Noir. Fresh from his studies in California, David Lett saw in the valley’s climate and soils a closer echo of Burgundy than anything he came across in California back at the time. His decision to plant the first Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay vines here was considered a pretty big gamble but one that paid off big, turning out to become the foundation of an entire wine region.

The first Eyrie vintage was released in 1970. Before the end of the decade their 1975 South Block Reserve Pinot Noir would stun judges at the 1979 Gault-Millau Wine Olympiad, an international tastings organized in Paris, standing shoulder to shoulder with Burgundy's great. That moment didn’t just put Eyrie on the map, it gave credibility to Oregon Pinot Noir as a whole.

Today, the estate is run by David and Diana’s son, Jason Lett. Having grown up in the vineyards and cellars, Jason worked alongside his father for years before fully taking over in 2005. He now oversees five estate vineyards in the Dundee Hills, many planted by David himself and among them the oldest Pinot vines in the Willamette Valley.

Eyrie’s farming is organic, without irrigation, herbicides, or synthetic inputs. The goal is to let the vines adapt naturally to the land, preserving both resilience and authenticity. In the cellar, Jason continues the family’s minimalist philosophy: native yeast fermentations, gentle handling and almost no new oak. Wines are bottled without filtration, emphasising nuance over weight.

The focus remains tight and somewhat Burgundian with Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier and Trousseau- but all with the unmistakable Eyrie style. The wines are at their core shaped by finesse, restrain, a savoury character and extremely age-worthy. All wines, in their unique and individual expression are more about transparency and texture rather than flash.

At its core, Eyrie is still a family story. It began with David Lett’s radical decision to plant Pinot in a valley no one associated with fine wine and continues with Jason’s stewardship of those same vines. From past to present, Eyrie has defined what Willamette Valley wine can be.