Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2,700 cases of Evening Land's flagship 2011 Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard – comprised of around half Pommard and half Dijon clones – is striking for its immediate display of carnal and mineral dimensions: smoked and roasted red meats, saline and alkaline sea breeze emerge already in the nose, accompanied, to be sure, by ripe dark berries. Tart-edged elderberry and blackberry inform a polished and vivaciously bright palate and correspondingly exuberant, sustained finish. There isn't an ounce of fat or of superficial sweetness here, and an undertone of forest floor and wet stone sets a somewhat somber contrast with the refreshing juiciness of fruit acidity; but the upshot of this dark-light paradox is both intrigue and sensual appeal. Look for high performance through at least 2022.
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Wine & Spirits
Coming off polished and suave, this well-built pinot needs several days to unfurl, to reveal the layers beneath its impressive veneer. After two days, the wine relaxes and opens, its black cherry core gaining a spicy filigree; after three, its graceful evolution feels like a great performance. Built to cellar, then to serve with duck breast.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a medium-bodied wine, showing tangy flavors of rhubarb and red berries. There’s a strong herbal streak, reminiscent of pine needles and lemon oil. But the balance and length are just right, and the wine is complex and interesting.
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Wine Spectator
Taut and aromatic, with firm tannins around a core of cherry, currant, cinnamon and mineral flavors, persisting expressively on a light frame and showing savory details on the finish.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.