The Eyrie Vineyards

David Lett earned his viticulture and oenology degree at the University of California, Davis in 1964. Against the prevailing advice of his UC Davis professors, who held that Pinot Noir would not perform well in the warm California growing zones, Lett looked further north for a cooler climate. Lett spent late 1964 and early 1965 surveying potential sites in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, with consultations including Charles Coury (who would plant in Forest Grove the same year) and others. Lett planted his first vines in February 1965 at a temporary nursery he rented near Corvallis, the first Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines planted in the Willamette Valley. In 1966 the Letts found a south-facing 20-acre slope in the Dundee Hills, a former prune orchard with deep red Jory volcanic clay and a cool maritime climate, and transplanted the Corvallis cuttings there to establish The Eyrie Vineyards. Eyrie stands among the very first Willamette Valley estates, planted alongside Oregon pioneers such as Charles Coury at Forest Grove. The estate's oldest vines date to 1967 through 1973, and the historic South Block Pinot Noir was planted in 1968. Lett expanded the property over the following decades to roughly 55 to 62 acres. The early years were difficult. Lett produced his first commercial wine in 1970; his 1970-1974 vintages went to market in small quantities and modest critical attention. He continued planting, refining viticulture, and building distribution through the 1970s. By 1975, the vineyard's older plantings were producing concentrated, structured wines; the 1975 vintage included the South Block Reserve Pinot Noir from Eyrie's oldest block, made in small quantity and held for several years before release. The 1975 South Block Reserve would become the wine that established Oregon's international reputation.

• David Lett earned viticulture degree at UC Davis 1964; pursued cool-climate Pinot Noir in Oregon against prevailing UC Davis advice; surveyed Washington/Idaho/Oregon in 1964-1965
• First vines planted Feb 1965 at a Corvallis nursery (first Pinot Noir + Chardonnay in the Willamette Valley); 20-acre Dundee Hills estate established 1966 on Jory volcanic clay + cool maritime climate
• Eyrie is among the very first Willamette Valley Pinot Noir estates, planted alongside Oregon pioneers such as Charles Coury at Forest Grove
• First commercial vintage 1970; 1975 South Block Reserve made from oldest block, held for several years before release; would become the wine that established Oregon's international reputation

The 1979 Gault-Millau Wine Olympiad was a comprehensive blind tasting in Paris pitting French wines against international competitors across categories. The Pinot Noir category included established Burgundian benchmarks alongside California and other international entries. David Lett submitted the 1975 Eyrie Vineyards South Block Reserve Pinot Noir; the wine placed in the top 10 (some accounts say top 3) among hundreds of entries, the highest American Pinot Noir placement in any major international blind tasting to that point. Robert Drouhin, head of Maison Joseph Drouhin in Beaune, was sufficiently impressed (and skeptical) that he organized a follow-up Beaune retasting in 1980 to verify the result. Drouhin invited David Lett to Burgundy and arranged for the 1975 Eyrie to be tasted blind alongside Drouhin's own Burgundy bottlings. The result: the 1975 Eyrie South Block Reserve placed second only to a 1959 Maison Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny, ahead of several other Drouhin Burgundies. Drouhin reportedly told Lett afterward: "You have done something remarkable." The 1980 Beaune retasting result triggered Robert Drouhin's decision to establish Domaine Drouhin Oregon in 1987, the first major French wine family investment in Oregon and the moment of international validation for the Willamette Pinot Noir industry. Lett never traded on the retasting result commercially (he refused to put Wine Spectator scores or competition results on his labels), but the historical significance of the 1979-1980 sequence places Eyrie in the same narrative position for American Pinot Noir that the Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon holds for American Bordeaux varieties from the 1976 Judgment of Paris.

• 1979 Gault-Millau Paris Wine Olympiad: 1975 Eyrie South Block Reserve places in top 10 (some accounts say top 3) of blind Pinot Noir tasting against Burgundian benchmarks
• 1980 Beaune retasting organized by Robert Drouhin: 1975 Eyrie places second only to 1959 Maison Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny, ahead of several other Drouhin Burgundies
• Direct consequence: Robert Drouhin establishes Domaine Drouhin Oregon 1987 in Dundee Hills, the first major French wine family investment in Oregon
• Historical narrative parallel: Eyrie's 1979-1980 sequence holds the position for American Pinot Noir that Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' 1973 Cabernet holds for American Bordeaux varieties (1976 Judgment of Paris)

Eyrie's wine portfolio focuses on Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay from the original 1965-1966 plantings and adjacent Lett-family blocks. Production is modest, at roughly 10,000 cases annually and a fraction of larger Willamette neighbors like Domaine Serene or Stoller. The Lett family has historically resisted scale expansion in favor of maintaining the original vineyards and a hands-on operation. The Estate Pinot Noir is the entry-level wine, made from blended fruit across the various Eyrie blocks. The Original Vines Reserve Pinot Noir is the historical flagship, produced from the estate's oldest vines, including the 1968 South Block and adjacent old-vine sections, using older-vine fruit with naturally concentrated phenolics. The wine carries deliberate stylistic restraint: lower extraction, neutral to lightly used oak (Lett famously preferred older barrels to new), and slower aging that emphasizes the vineyard's structural character rather than oak influence. Eyrie Pinot Gris (from the 1966 plantings, the oldest commercial Pinot Gris vines in North America) is made in a structured Alsatian-influenced register: longer skin contact than typical New World Pinot Gris, neutral oak aging in some bottlings, and a more substantial mid-palate than the typical fresh-and-fruity American style. The Estate Chardonnay (also from 1966 plantings) sits in similarly restrained Burgundian territory. Pinot Meunier is a rare single-variety bottling from a small estate planting; the wine reads as a lighter, more aromatic counterpart to Pinot Noir and is among the few American Pinot Meunier varietal bottlings produced commercially. Vintage variations include rosé and Trousseau cuvées, the latter from Trousseau the Letts planted in 2012 as an experimental variety.

• Production scale: roughly 10,000 cases annually, all estate fruit; deliberate scale restraint to maintain original-vineyard focus
• Pinot Noir tier: Estate (blended), Original Vines Reserve (estate's oldest vines incl. the 1968 South Block, the historical flagship); deliberate restraint with low extraction + neutral oak preferred
• Pinot Gris (1966 plantings, oldest commercial Pinot Gris vines in North America): structured Alsatian-influenced register with longer skin contact + neutral oak aging
• Rare bottlings: Pinot Meunier single-variety (rare American varietal); Trousseau from 2012 estate plantings; vintage rosé cuvées

Jason Lett, son of David and Diana, grew up at the Eyrie estate and worked alongside his father from childhood. After studies at Reed College and time in other wine regions, he took over as owner, winemaker, and vineyard manager with the 2005 vintage. He runs the estate with co-owner Diana Lett, who remains active in the operation. Jason's winemaking has preserved the deliberate restraint of David's style while modernizing certain elements. He has restored older blocks that had declined in production, replanted some areas with cuttings from the original estate vines (preserving Lett-family clonal material that exists nowhere else), and continued the Original Vines Reserve program. He has also expanded the rare-variety experiments, releasing the Pinot Meunier and Trousseau bottlings that demonstrate the estate's historical depth. The estate's continuous Lett-family ownership distinguishes Eyrie from most other senior Willamette producers (Sokol Blosser, Ponzi, and others have been sold or partially sold to outside investors over the past decade). The Lett family has been explicit about preserving the estate as an ongoing family operation rather than scaling for sale. The 2020 release of David Lett's archived 1975 South Block Reserve from family cellar holdings (small quantity, retail at premium pricing) was a notable preservation moment that gave contemporary tasters access to the wine that established American Pinot Noir's international reputation.

• Jason Lett (son of David + Diana): grew up at Eyrie, took over as owner, winemaker, and vineyard manager with the 2005 vintage; co-owner Diana Lett remains active in the operation
• Winemaking continuity: preserved David's deliberate restraint while modernizing select elements; restored older blocks; preserved Lett-family clonal material via replanting from original-vine cuttings
• Continuous family ownership through three generations distinguishes Eyrie from most senior Willamette producers (Sokol Blosser, Ponzi sold or partially sold to outside investors)
• 2020 archive release of David Lett's 1975 South Block Reserve from family cellar holdings; rare access for contemporary tasters to the wine that established American Pinot Noir's international reputation