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2011 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (5/6/2020)
Upon opening this was a little spritzy, but that went away with a few minutes in the glass/decanter. Very light in color, translucent, super light, but good intensity of flavor. Crisp red berries, minerality, and some earthiness for complexity. Excellent balance on the acid, which is present but doesn’t overpower the fruit. Very elegant, immensely enjoyable. (92 pts.) -
2010 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (5/6/2020)
Much better than previous bottles… I had given up hope on these, I guess I just needed to wait a little longer. Darker color than the 2011 I opened the night before, but still translucent. Darker berries, but no over-ripe flavors. Sourness of the acid in previous bottles has disappeared. More funk and earthy flavors have emerged, which were in great balance with the fruit. However, this did fall apart on night 2 - fruit faded replaced by a bit of a metallic taste. Delicious, but time to drink up. (91 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Prior to buying these, I had (and continue to) regularly buy and drink primarily the Reserve / Original Vines bottling. But then I had 2 kids and a new house and daycare and suddenly much less money… so I shifted my purchases to the regular / WV bottling. Up until now I had consistently regretted it - they just didn’t come close to the “highs” of the reserve. But these 2 are the first that have come close. Maybe I should have waited a little longer? I did go back to buying the Original Vines as well, just fewer bottles. But I’ll have to hold on to the WV bottles a little longer as well.
Anyway, these were both very enjoyable. To me they were both at peak, but the 2011 has time to spare, while I don’t think the 2010 has much time left.
It was also fun to have them side by side. Fun to compare how similar they are in style, with vintage differences showing up.