Winemaker Notes
One of five cuvées that Eyrie produces identically, with the same fermentation regimes of wild yeast and small fermentation vessels, followed by aging in blends of cooperage with 12% new oak in each.
Named for a very dear and longtime friend of Eyrie, this 1.5 acres of Pinot was planted to Pommard clone in 1974 and produces intense wines of herbal fruit and stones from very small clusters.
2019 was perhaps the most "Burgundian" autumn yet. Well-timed rains increased sweetness while still retaining acidity - which leads to some of the best qualities a wine can have: refreshing and food friendly when young, but with superb cellar potential.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Pinot Noir Daphne is juicy, highly aromatic and irresistible! Medium ruby, it has pure scents of raspberry and strawberry preserves, tangerine peel, Earl Grey tea leaves, star anise and tar. Light-bodied with powdery tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity, it features perfumed, crunchy red fruit and detailed floral and spice accents that fan across the finish.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Mediumb odied, with silky tannins and 4th of July fireworks-like acidity, Daphne has a long life ahead of her. Cranberry and hibiscus tea aromas are accented by lighter touches of grilled meat and figs. Dark raspberry, rosemary and black tea with lemon flavors soar.
-
James Suckling
Some attractive, spicy and herbal complexity on the nose. Medium-bodied with fine, soft tannins. Linear and complex on the palate. Black tea, blackberry, black cherry, ground clove and allspice. Refined and light-footed, whilst remaining savory. Lovely. Best after 2024 and onward.
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.”
Home of the first Pinot noir vineyard of the Willamette Valley, planted by David Lett of Eyrie Vineyard in 1966, today the Dundee Hills AVA remains the most densely planted AVA in the valley (and state). To its north sits the Chehalem Valley and to its south, runs the Willamette River. Within the region’s 12,500 acres, about 1,700 are planted to vine on predominantly basalt-based, volcanic, Jory soil.