Oregon Pinot lightens up

Oregon Pinot Noir is shifting back towards the lighter style upon which it originally built its reputation, according to the son of the winemaker who originally put this US state on the world wine map.

Visiting the UK on the 46th anniversary of his father David Lett’s pioneering first vineyard plantings in the Willamette Valley, The Eyrie Vineyards owner and winemaker Jason Lett suggested of his compatriots: “We might have taken the wrong turn a little with our Pinot Noir style.

"We swung very far in the direction of extract and power, with alcohol creeping towards 15% and the colours you’d associate with a Cabernet.”

However, Lett now observes: “Estates which associated with that style are shifting back.” He attributes this change to the situation where “owners are gaining the trust of their investors,” adding: “I always felt the winemakers never wanted to make those wines; it was the guys with the purse strings.”

Moreover, Lett is confident that Oregon can maintain its reputation for quality, thanks in part to blending restrictions which are the strictest in the US. While other states are allowed to include up to 25% of different grape varieties to the one mentioned on the label, the Oregon authorities stipulate that this level can be just 10%. “And I don’t know anyone who blends any at all,” adds Lett, observing: “I think we do feel compelled to represent the high ground.”

On top of this legal enforcement, Lett is also reassured by the nature of the individuals who feel drawn to make wine in this part of the world, pointing out: “Oregon is a difficult environment to grow grapes. Many of the people making wine are still like my parents’ generation were – it’s their first love, but their second job. It means they’re very involved in every stage of production and that’s very important to give the wines individuality and character.”

Having carried out his first vintage in 2005, Lett maintains the approach at Eyrie itself remains almost entirely unchanged to his father’s era. “I’m doing everything that dad did, but less of it,” he remarks. Indeed, he adds: “The more I invest in making the wine, the more I realise how much it took dad to hand me the keys.”

The extent to which Eyrie remains true to David Lett’s vision back in 1965 was brought home when Jason Lett recently discovered his father’s original business plan. “The number of barrels he projected is exactly what we have today,” he confirms.

With Eyrie production resting at the 8,000 case mark, Lett is content to keep it that way. “Any bigger and, as my dad said, you just get more zeros on both sides of the balance sheet.” He describes Eyrie’s current size as “just about what one person can manage.” As “the only employee who can be described as full-time”, Lett feels “the fact that it is still made by an individual means that we can still have individualised wines.”

Nevertheless, Lett has implemented a few changes, primarily in the vineyard. Copper sulphate treatment against mildew has now been replaced with powdered milk whey, which Lett read about in a paper written by “a guy growing cucumbers in Brazil.” Satisfied that this less harmful treatment is also effective, Lett added: “When you walk behind the machine it smells like a latte!”

Rejecting the claim by some producers that these biodynamic methods diminish the need for spraying, Lett pointed out that each of his 40,000 vines is treated “12-14 times a year. It’s a lot of work.”

What’s more, Lett now plans to add to this workload by planting a further five acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, which will increase Eyrie’s total vineyard area by 10%. “It’s not that we’re trying to increase production,” he explained, “it’s just that our older vines really don’t yield adequately to keep us at that level.”

In the winery, Lett has revisited his father’s unsuccessful experiments with wild yeast fermentation during the 1970s, which were eventually abandoned in favour of neutral Champagne yeast. Lett attributed the improved results 40 years later to the fact that “enough of a wine yeast culture has built up in the cellar and there are more wineries around. That’s one advantage I have over dad.”

As for the future direction of the Oregon wine industry, Lett is reluctant to speculate too wildly, although his own visit to Europe was due to include an investigative mission to the Jura.

Reserving any detailed comment until his research has progressed a little further, Lett would only comment: “The Jura grows varieties I’m very familiar with – Chardonnay and Pinot – but there’s a completely different culture to how those wines are made.”

Casting his eye homewards to new varieties currently establishing a presence in Oregon, Lett feels that warmer weather in recent years could open the door for Riesling. “When my father started he planted Gewürztraminer and Riesling, but it never ripened,” he recalled, but acknowledged: “I’m seeing a lot of good Rieslings coming out now and people are planting Grüner Veltliner too.”

As Oregon gears up to celebrate its 50th anniversary in a few years time, both the state and the winery that started the whole ball rolling are evolving in a steady, low-key, but nonetheless quietly intriguing direction.

Gabriel Savage, 24.02.2011