Eyrie Original Vines Pinot Noir 2016

Eyrie Original Vines Pinot Noir 2016, Dundee Hills, Oregon 14%

(£80-90, Savage Selection)

This was a lockdown wine to remember.

And remember we did, because we only had about 100ml of the stuff (whole bottles tend to interfere with memory, we find).

That’s because this wine was part of a proper, grown-up wine tasting with 67 Pall Mall, comparing Pinot Noirs from New Zealand and Oregon.

This wine, in some pretty respectable company, not only held its own but positively shone.

Of course, Eyrie has long been famous for its elegant, perfumed Pinot from Dundee Hills in Oregon. David Lett was the founder, the first vintage being 1970, and his son Jason now holds the reins. These guys are thinkers. Not to mention responsible farmers, pursuing environmentally friendly practices with an eye for detail.

This wine has the most entrancing aromas. It’s mouth-filling but also somewhat ethereal. Gorgeous, sexy, utterly winning.

(Peter & Susie, 8/10, June 2020)

ps it would be churlish not to mention a New Zealand Pinot after this tasting – we were both wowed by the Valli Bannockburn Pinot 2017 (£55, New Generation McKinley), a wine brimming with energy, tangy fruit, savoury spice and elegant texture.